Bertrand, et al,
Of course any civil society group or caucus can communicate
directly to the WSIS Executive Secretariat their recommendation
for speakers for the WSIS. And the human rights caucus has done so.
However we have still created a process through a selection
committee composed of representatives chosen by the different
regional groupings, the CS Bureau and Content and Themes. The
committee is still deliberating on whether or not it can support
the nomination.
I would ask us to first go through our already-agreed process to
try and get as much general support as possible. If this is not
possible, than your other option and others should be considered.
Respectfully,
Rik Panganiban
chair of the selection committee
On Oct 14, 2005, at 6:13 AM, Bertrand de La Chapelle wrote:
Having Ms. Shirin Ebadi as opening speaker for Civil Society in
Tunis would present obvious advantages and her nomination could be
forwarded to the Secretariat after a simple endorsement process
described below.
Main advantages
1) It would of course put human rights and gender balance at the
forefront of the building of inclusive information societies,
uderlining that the WSIS process is not only about technology, and
that appropriate "enabling environments" also mean freedom of
expression and access to information, and "capacity building" also
means equal opportunities for men and women, including access to
education.
2) She comes from a country that is very vocal during the WSIS
process and the last PrepCom in Internet Governance and Follow-up
discussions : in the first domain, the iranian national
representative strongly advocates that Internet Governance should
be "transparent and democratic, with full linvolvement of all
stakeholders"; and in the second one, that follow-up at all levels
should be done with the participation of all stakeholders.
If properly briefed on the status of discussions on the draft
Tunis Declaration and the written commitments that governments
plan to make in WSIS II, she would be in an ideal position to take
governments at their own words and describe in plain language how
far from these commitments actual practice in some countries
really is. This is the opportunity to point the often too large
gap between what governments say in international arenas and what
they indeed practice at home.
The WSIS has introduced something new in the international
negociation process : witnesses. Civil Society's participation was
not what it should have been; but enough organizations were
nonetheless present during the process to hear government
representatives make commitments they now can be held accountable
for.
Summits are not traditional bilateral negociations where secret is
the natural rule. Summit processes are the closest thing to a
world Parliament (far from it I know, but still the closest
thing), where general principles for our global community (Polity)
are elaborated. The first absolute rule of representative
democracy is the publicity of debates.
The ironic situation where citizens of countries (as CS actors)
are not even allowed by the rules of procedure to simply listen to
what representatives of their own government are saying on their
behalf is totally contradictory with the notion of democracy and
the transparency principle.
3) Finally, Shirin Ebadi was, if I understand well, the first
woman judge in Iran. In most countries, the judiciary is a branch
of the State and rightly so. Therefore, she is now a Civil Society
actor with a past in the governmental sector, as are today many ex-
ministers, presidents, parlementarians and civil servants. This
brings an interesting light to the discussion that recently
emerged around Adama or some "senators".
Civil society is and should indeed be open to all individuals
that, irrespective of their past functions, engage in governance
processes as peers with all other actors, relinquishing whatever
privilege they may still have and accepting to be evaluated on
their sole "capacity to contribute", rather than the traditional
intergovernmental rule of "equal right to oppose" (which is,
ultimately, the basic foundation of the UN system under the
expression "equal sovereignty of States").
Choosing Shirin Ebadi is therefore also a symbol of the
inclusiveness of Civil Society.
_______________
Endorsement process
Key question is now : if, as it seems from initial reactions,
there is a general agreement on her being the favorite CS choice
for the opening ceremony, how can this be secured ?
1) The principle that Civil society actors accredited to the
Summit process should - at least - have the right to choose who
is going to speak on behalf of civil society for the opening
ceremony must be strongly reaffirmed; this is a "make or break"
principle.
2) For obvious reasons, there is no way an absolute consensus can
be achieved on the Plenary list and we should not waste time
trying to obtain it. We are therefore in the typical situation
where rough consensus (as practiced in the internet community) is
the only way out. :
- there is a need to take a decision (only one slot and a real
deadline)
- absolute consensus cannot be achieved
- a large majority seems to emerge on a specific name
- dissenting opinions do not seem to be able to provide an
alternative that would be accepted by all
3) A two-fold process (taking inspiration from the notion of rough
consensus) could therefore be established :
- a general call on the Plenary list would ask individuals or
accredited entities to express support and a formal nomination
paper would be transmitted to the Secretariat and Amb. Karklins
with an attachment listing accredited entities and individuals
supporting the nomination
- the call would simultaneously invite actors who might still have
objections to the nomination (if any) to indicate so and allow
them to submit a separate motion (sort of dissenting opinion)
with : their name, all potential connexions with participating
governments (as a matter of transparency) and - possibly - an
alternative speaker they agree upon.
The second element, that would allow the expression of minority
positions, is essential to make the process fully legitimate.
4) On a separate basis, CS actors with particular connexions with
their governments could make them aware of the ongoing process and
ask them to support publicly or more privately to the Secretariat
the right of civil society to choose its opening speaker,
outlining the bad press the Summit would get if the name of Shirin
Ebadi were to be voluntarily refused.
I hope this will help move forward on this good idea.
Best
Bertrand
-
On 10/14/05, maseger@t-online.de <maseger@t-online.de> wrote:
[Please note that by using 'REPLY', your response goes to the
entire list. Kindly use individual addresses for responses
intended for specific people]
Click http://wsis.funredes.org/plenary/ to access automatic
translation of this message!
_______________________________________
Hallo, Meryem! & Friends!
On behalf of my (European umbrella-)Organisation
I fully support the nomination of Mrs. Shirin Ebadi
(2003 peace Nobel prize winner) as a keynote speaker
for CS at the WSIS II Summit, TUNIS.
And I thank Renata for her decision to step aside.
MARIANNE
(Gender Caucus and European Caucus)
Marianne Seger
permament European NGO observer
at the U.N. New York and Geneva
for
EURAG European Federation of Older Persons
GRAZ/AUSTRIA
( www.eurag-europe.org)
---------------------------------------------------
> On behalf of the small organization which I
> represent, I wish to say that we most strongly
> support the nomination of Ms. Ebadi as a keynote
> speaker for CS at the Tunis Summit, especially
> under the circumstances and regardless of how
> much solidarity Adama Samassékou feels with CS
> (sorry Tracey--but we just don't believe that
> he's an appropriate CS representative).
>
> Regards,
>
> Lisa
> Union for Democratic Communications
>--------------------------------------------------------------------
----
> >Dear Amir,
> >
> >This is to confirm that Ms. Ebadi has finally managed to make
herself
> >available for the Tunis Summit, despite her busy agenda. We
have got
> >the news very late, that is the reason why I posted only
yesterday the
> >message and have sent yesterday also the letters to Mr Utsumi
and to
> >Amb. Karklins.
> >The Human Rights caucus is in contact with her, through one of its
> >members. Her participation is entirely confirmed.
> >We would be happy to include the West-Asia Family in the list
of CS
> >entities proposing Ms. Ebadi as a speaker for WSIS opening.
> >
> >Kind regards,
> >Meryem
---------------------------------------------------------------------
----
