ALAI, América Latina en Movimiento
2003-12-11
Civil Society Declaration to the World Summit on the Information SocietyWSIS: Shaping Information Societies for Human Needs
WSIS Civil Society
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"Shaping Information Societies for Human Needs"
Civil Society Declaration to the World Summit on the
Information Society
WSIS Civil Society Plenary
Geneva, 8 December 2003(1)
"Shaping Information Societies for Human Needs"
Civil Society Declaration to the World Summit on the
Information Society
Unanimously Adopted by the WSIS Civil Society Plenary on 8
December 2003
We, women and men from different continents, cultural
backgrounds, perspectives, experience and expertise, acting as
members of different constituencies of an emerging global
civil society, considering civil society participation as
fundamental to the first ever held UN Summit on Information
and Communication issues, the World Summit on the Information
Society, have been working for two years inside the process,
devoting our efforts to shaping people-centred, inclusive and
equitable concept of information and communication societies.
(2)
Working together both on-line and off-line as civil society
entities, practising an inclusive and participatory use of
information and communication technologies, has allowed us to
share views and shape common positions, and to collectively
develop a vision of information and communication societies.
At this step of the process, the first phase of the Summit,
Geneva, December 2003, our voices and the general interest we
collectively expressed are not adequately reflected in the
Summit documents. We propose this document as part of the
official outcomes of the Summit. Convinced that this vision
can become reality through the actions and lives of women and
men, communities and people, we hereby present our own vision
to all, as an invitation to participate in this ongoing
dialogue and to join forces in shaping our common future.
1. A VISIONARY SOCIETY
At the heart of our vision of information and communications
societies is the human being. The dignity and rights of all
peoples and each person must be promoted, respected, protected
and affirmed. Redressing the inexcusable gulf between levels
of development and between opulence and extreme poverty must
therefore be our prime concern.
We are committed to building information and communication
societies that are people-centred, inclusive and equitable.
Societies in which everyone can freely create, access,
utilise, share and disseminate information and knowledge, so
that individuals, communities and peoples are empowered to
improve their quality of life and to achieve their full
potential. Societies founded on the principles of social,
political, and economic justice, and peoples' full
participation and empowerment, and thus societies that truly
address the key development challenges facing the world today.
Societies that pursue the objectives of sustainable
development, democracy, and gender equality, for the
attainment of a more peaceful, just, egalitarian and thus
sustainable world, premised on the principles enshrined in the
Charter of the United Nations and in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights.
We aspire to build information and communication societies
where development is framed by fundamental human rights and
oriented to achieving a more equitable distribution of
resources, leading to the elimination of poverty in a way that
is non-exploitative and environmentally sustainable. To this
end we believe technologies can be engaged as fundamental
means, rather than becoming ends in themselves, thus
recognising that bridging the Digital Divide is only one step
on the road to achieving development for all. We recognise the
tremendous potential of information and communications
technologies (ICTs) in overcoming the devastation of famine,
natural catastrophes, new pandemics such as HIV/AIDS, as well
as the proliferation of arms.
We reaffirm that communication is a fundamental social
process, a basic human need and a foundation of all social
organisation. Everyone, everywhere, at any time should have
the opportunity to participate in communication processes and
no one should be excluded from their benefits. This implies
that every person must have access to the means of
communication and must be able to exercise their right to
freedom of opinion and expression, which includes the right to
hold opinions and to seek, receive and impart information and
ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Similarly, the right to privacy, the right to access public
information and the public domain of knowledge, and many other
universal human rights of specific relevance to information
and communication processes, must also be upheld. Together
with access, all these communication rights and freedoms must
be actively guaranteed for all in clearly written national
laws and enforced with adequate technical requirements.
Building such societies implies involving individuals in their
capacity as citizens, as well as their organisations and
communities, as participants and decision-makers in shaping
frameworks, policies and governing mechanisms. This means
creating an enabling environment for the engagement and
commitment of all generations, both women and men, and
ensuring the involvement of diverse social and linguistic
groups, cultures and peoples, rural and urban populations
without exclusion. In addition, governments should maintain
and promote public services where required by citizens and
establish accountability to citizens as a pillar of public
policy, in order to ensure that models of information and
communication societies are open to continuing correction and
improvement.
We recognise that no technology is neutral with respect to its
social impacts and, therefore, the possibility of having so-
called "technology-neutral" decision-making processes is a
fallacy. It is critical to make careful social and technical
choices concerning the introduction of new technologies from
the inception of their design through to their deployment and
operational phases. Negative social and technical impacts of
information and communications systems that are discovered
late in the design process are usually extremely difficult to
correct and, therefore, can cause lasting harm. We envision an
information and communication society in which technologies
are designed in a participatory manner with and by their end-
users so as to prevent or minimise their negative impacts.
We envision societies where human knowledge, creativity,
cooperation and solidarity are considered core elements; where
not only individual creativity, but also collective
innovation, based on cooperative work are promoted. Societies
where knowledge, information and communication resources are
recognised and protected as the common heritage of humankind;
societies that guarantee and foster cultural and linguistic
diversity and intercultural dialogue, in environments that are
free from discrimination, violence and hatred.
We are conscious that information, knowledge and the means of
communication are available on a magnitude that humankind has
never dreamt of in the past; but we are also aware that
exclusion from access to the means of communication, from
information and from the skills that are needed to participate
in the public sphere, is still a major constraint, especially
in developing countries. At the same time information and
knowledge are increasingly being transformed into private
resources which can be controlled, sold and bought, as if they
were simple commodities and not the founding elements of
social organisation and development. Thus, as one of the main
challenges of information and communication societies, we
recognise the urgency of seeking solutions to these
contradictions.
We are convinced that with the sufficient political will to
mobilise this wealth of human knowledge and the appropriate
resources, humanity could certainly achieve the goals of the
Millennium Declaration, and even surpass them. As civil
society organisations, we accept our part of responsibility in
making this goal and our vision a reality.
"Shaping Information Societies for Human Needs"
Civil Society Declaration to the World Summit on the
Information Society
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. A VISIONARY SOCIETY-
2. CORE PRINCIPLES AND CHALLENGES
2.1 Social Justice and People-Centred Sustainable Development
2.1.1 Poverty Eradication
2.1.2 Global Citizenship
2.1.3 Gender Justice
2.1.4 Importance of Youth
2.1.5 Access to Information and the Means of
Communication
2.1.6 Access to Health Information
2.1.7 Basic Literacy
2.1.8 Development of Sustainable and Community-based ICT
Solutions
2.1.9 Conflict Situations
2.2 Centrality of Human Rights
2.2.1 Freedom of Expression
2.2.2 Right to Privacy
2.2.3 Right to Participate in Public Affairs
2.2.4 Workers' Rights
2.2.5 Rights of Indigenous Peoples
2.2.6 Women's Rights
2.2.7 Rights of the Child
2.2.8 Rights of Persons with Disabilities
2.2.9 Regulation and the Rule of Law
2.3 Culture, Knowledge and Public Domain
2.3.1 Cultural and Linguistic Diversity
2.3.1.1 Capacity Building and Education
2.3.1.2 Language
2.3.1.3 International Law and Regulation
2.3.2 Media
2.3.2.1 The Role of the Media
2.3.2.2 Community Media
2.3.3 Public Domain of Global Knowledge
2.3.3.1 Indigenous Peoples' Knowledge
2.3.3.2 Copyright, Patents and Trademarks
2.3.3.3 Software
2.3.3.4 Research
2.4 Enabling Environment
2.4.1 Ethical Dimensions
2.4.2 Democratic and Accountable Governance
2.4.3 Infrastructure and Access
2.4.4 Financing and Infrastructure
2.4.5 Human Development — Education and Training
2.4.6 Information Generation and Knowledge Development
2.4.7 Global Governance of ICT and Communications
3. CONCLUSION
"Shaping Information Societies for Human Needs"
Civil Society Declaration to the World Summit on the
Information Society
2. CORE PRINCIPLES AND CHALLENGES
In accordance with this vision, it is essential that the
development of information and communication societies be
grounded in core principles that reflect a full awareness of
the challenges to be met and the responsibility of different
stakeholders. This includes the full recognition of the need
to address gender concerns and to make a fundamental
commitment to gender equality, non-discrimination and women's
empowerment, and recognise these as non-negotiable and
essential prerequisites to an equitable and people-centred
development within information and communication societies.
Such a commitment means consciously redressing the effects of
the intersection of unequal power relations in the social,
economic and political spheres, which manifests in
differential access, choice, opportunity, participation,
status and control over resources between women and men as
well as communities in terms of class, ethnicity, age,
religion, race, geographical location and development status.
We have identified the following as key areas of concern. We
recognise and uphold the following principles; and we have
identified certain priority areas for action by the
international community.
2.1 Social Justice and People-Centred Sustainable Development
Within a social justice framework, human development implies
cultural, social, economic, political and environmental living
conditions that fulfill and empower individuals and
communities. Despite the enormous advancements in knowledge
and technology achieved by humanity, a majority of people
continue to live in appalling conditions.
Social justice in the information and communication societies
can only be pursued by taking into account geo-political and
historical injustices along economic, social, political and
cultural lines. Current global dynamics are characterised by
tensions resulting from the inter-linkages of global economic
liberalisation, cultural globalisation, increased militarism,
rising fundamentalisms, racism and the suspension and
violation of basic human rights.
The unequal distribution of ICTs and the lack of information
access for a large majority of the world's population, often
referred to as the digital divide, is in fact a mapping of new
asymmetries onto the existing grid of social divides. These
include the divide between the North and South, rich and poor,
men and women, urban and rural populations, those with access
to information and those without. Such disparities are found
not only between different cultures, but also within national
borders. The international community must exercise its
collective power to ensure action on the part of individual
states in order to bridge domestic digital divides.
Redressing all forms of discrimination, exclusion and
isolation that different marginalised and vulnerable groups
and communities experience will require more than the
deployment of technology alone. Their full participation in
information and communication societies requires us to reject
at a fundamental level, the solely profit-motivated and
market-propelled promotion of ICTs for development. Conscious
and purposeful actions need to be taken in order to ensure
that new ICTs are not deployed to further perpetuate existing
negative trends of economic globalisation and market
monopolisation. Instead, ICT development and applications
should be oriented to advance the social, economic and
cultural progress of the world's peoples and contribute to
transforming the development paradigm.
Technological decisions should be taken with the goal of
meeting the life-critical needs of people, not with goal of
enriching companies or enabling undemocratic control by
governments. Therefore, fundamental decisions concerning the
design and use of technologies must be made in cooperation
with Civil Society, including individual end-users, engineers,
and scientists. In particular, where community-based
technologies are concerned the study and practice of community
informatics must be applied in order to respond adequately to
the particular characteristics and needs of communities in
design processes.
2.1.1 Poverty Eradication
Poverty Eradication must be a key priority on the WSIS agenda.
Without challenging existing inequalities, no sustainable
development embracing the new ICTs can be achieved. People
living in extreme poverty must be enabled to contribute their
experiences and knowledge in a dialogue involving all parties.
Challenging poverty requires more than setting `development
agendas'. It requires a fundamental commitment to examine the
current frameworks, to improve local access to information
that is of relevance for the specific context, to improve
training in ICT-related skills, and to allocate significant
financial and other resources. Also, because volunteers are
working at the grassroots level, they play an important role
in social inclusion.
Financial resources, linked with social and digital
solidarity, need to be channelled through existing and new
financial mechanisms that are managed transparently and
inclusively by all sectors of society. Among the frameworks
that need to be examined in terms of their potentially adverse
effects on equitable development are the current arrangements
for recognition and governance of monopolised knowledge and
information, including the work of WIPO and the functioning of
the TRIPS agreement.
2.1.2 Global Citizenship
Information and communication societies have the potential to
catalyse and help release the enormous financial, technical,
human and moral resources required for sustainable
development. These resources will only be freed up as the
peoples of the world develop a profound sense of
responsibility for the fate of the planet and the well-being
of the entire human family. In this regard, there is a need
for the development in the individual and in communities, as
well as governments, of a global consciousness, and a sense of
world citizenship. Since the body of humankind is one and
indivisible, each member of the human race is born into the
world as a trust of the whole and is best served by ensuring
the equal importance of each member through the proactive
exercise and application of international human rights
standards.
2.1.3 Gender Justice
Equitable, open and inclusive information and communication
societies must be based on gender justice and be particularly
guided by the interpretation of principles of gender equality,
non-discrimination and women's empowerment as contained in the
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Fourth World
Conference on Women) and the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Actions
must demonstrate not only a strong commitment but also a high
level of consciousness to an intersectional approach to
redressing discrimination resulting from unequal power
relations at all levels of society. Proactive policies and
programmes across all sectors must be developed for women as
active and primary agents of change in owning, designing,
using and adapting ICT. To empower girls and women throughout
their life cycle, as shapers and leaders of society, gender
responsive educational programs and appropriate learning
environments need to be promoted. Gender analysis and the
development of both quantitative and qualitative indicators in
measuring gender equality through an extensive and integrated
national system of monitoring and evaluation are "musts."
2.1.4 Importance of Youth
We recognise also that young people are the future workforce
and leading creators and earliest adopters of ICTs. They must
therefore be empowered as learners, developers, contributors,
entrepreneurs and decision-makers. We must focus especially on
young people who have not yet been able to benefit fully from
the opportunities provided by information and communication
societies. In particular, we must seek to assist and empower
youth from disadvantaged backgrounds, especially young people
in developing countries. Equality of opportunity for girls and
young women must be integral to our efforts, and we must
create a greater awareness of their specific needs and
potential in the field of ICT. Issues facing young workers in
ICT industries, such as low pay, poor working conditions, and
a lack of job stability and collective representation, must
also be addressed. As main users of ICTs, young people are
most affected and vulnerable to the health risks exposed by
their use. Therefore we commit to develop and use only those
ICTs that ensure the well-being, protection, and harmonious
development of all children.
2.1.5 Access to Information and the Means of Communication
Access to information and the means of communication as a
public and global commons should be participatory, universal,
inclusive and democratic. Inequalities in access must be
addressed in terms of the North/South divide as well as in
terms of enduring inequalities within developed and less
developed nations. Barriers that need to be overcome are of an
economic, educational, technical, political, social, ethnic,
and age nature, and inequitable gender relations are embedded
into all of these and need to be specifically addressed.
Universal access to information that is essential for human
development must be ensured. Infrastructure and the most
appropriate forms of information and communication
technologies must be accessible for all in their different
social context, and the social appropriation of these
technologies must be encouraged. This implies addressing
diverse realities experienced by distinct social groups such
as indigenous peoples, diasporas and migrants, and privileging
local or targeted solutions. Traditional media and community-
based information and communication initiatives have a vital
role to play in these respects, and so does the effective use
of the new ICTs. The regulatory and legal framework in all
information and communication societies must be strengthened
to support broad-based sharing of technologies, information,
and knowledge, and to foster community control, respectful of
human rights and freedoms.
Specific needs and requirements of all stakeholders, including
those with disabilities, must be considered in ICT
development. Accessibility and inclusiveness of ICTs is best
done at an early stage of design, development and production,
so that the information and communication society becomes the
society for all, at minimum cost.
The need to access, send and receive information represents a
particularly vital challenge to vulnerable people such as
refugees, those displaced by war, and asylum seekers who often
do not know their rights, which are frequently violated.
Access to means of communication for these groups is necessary
for the defence and promotion of their rights, in order to
make legitimate claims in conformity with international law.
2.1.6 Access to Health Information
The delivery of life-critical mental and physical health
information can be facilitated and improved through ICT-based
solutions. Lack of access to information and communication has
been identified as a critical factor in the public mental and
physical health crises around the world. Experts have
suggested that providing citizens of developing countries with
community level points of access to mental and physical health
information would be a critical starting point for addressing
the mental and physical health care crises. However, such
access points should support more than one-way flows of
information (for example, from expert to community or
patient). Communities must be allowed to participate in the
selection and creation of communication flows that they find
useful and necessary to address the prevention, treatment, and
promotion of mental and physical health care for all people.
Open access to medical information is absolutely essential so
that all known data are available to medical doctors and
practitioners.
2.1.7 Basic Literacy
Literacy and free universal access to education is a key
principle. Knowledge societies require an informed and
educated citizenry. Capacity-building needs to include skills
to use ICTs, media and information literacy, and the skills
needed for active citizenship including the ability to find,
appraise, use and create information and technology.
Approaches that are local, horizontal, gender-responsive and
socially driven and mediated should be prioritised. A
combination of traditional and new media as well as open
access to knowledge and information should be encouraged.
Libraries – both real and virtual – have an important role to
play to ensure access to knowledge and information available
to everyone. At the international and multilateral level, the
public domain of knowledge and culture needs to be protected.
People-centred information technologies can foster eradication
of illnesses and epidemics, can help give everyone food,
shelter, freedom and peace.
Literacy, education and research are fundamental components of
information, communication and knowledge societies. Knowledge
creation and acquisition should be nurtured as a participatory
and collective process and not considered a one-way flow or
confined to one section of capacity building. Education
(formal, informal, and lifelong) builds democracy both by
creating a literate citizenry and a skilled workforce. But
only an informed and educated citizenry with access to the
means and outputs of pluralistic research can fully
participate in and effectively contribute to knowledge
societies.
Urgent attention should be paid to the potential positive and
negative impacts of ICTs on the issues of illiteracy in
regional, national and international languages of the great
majority of the world's peoples. Literacy, education, and
research efforts in the information and communication
societies must include a focus on the needs of people who have
physical impairments and all means of transcending those
impairments (for example, voice recognition, e-learning, and
open university training) must be promoted.
2.1.8 Development of Sustainable and Community-based ICT
Solutions
In order that communities and individuals may fully enjoy the
benefits of the information and communication society, ICTs
must be designed and manufactured according to environmentally
sustainable principles. Technological solutions must also be
sustainable in the sense that communities are able to support
their use and evolution.
Equipment recycling must meet environmental standards. The
production of technologies must not consume an unsustainable
amount of energy or natural resources.
It is essential to develop concrete proposals and policies to
improve resource efficiency and develop renewable energy
resources. This involves 'dematerialising' (for example,
using less paper) and reducing ICT-related waste; increasing
the useful life of hardware; improving recycling conditions;
ensuring safe disposal of discarded ICT hardware and parts;
and encouraging the development of alternatives to toxic ICT
components. This also implies giving the highest priority to
creating and using renewable energy resources to address the
basic needs of populations living in developing countries.
Renewable energy resources should be used for ICT-based
dissemination of information and communications, including
radio and television. Africa can particularly benefit from
solar power due to its high level of exposure to direct solar
radiation. By mobilising regional synergies, complemented by
the necessary technical and financial cooperation, Africa
could play a leading role in this strategic domain in the next
decade.
Communities must have the ability to participate directly in
the development and maintenance of ICT-based solutions to
their own problems. In order that communities may create and
sustain their own solutions using ICTs, they must be empowered
to develop their own productive forces and control the means
of production within information societies. This must include
the right to participate fully in the development and
sustenance of ICT-based projects through democratic processes,
including decision making with respect to economic, cultural,
environmental, and other issues. ICTs should be used as an
instrument for the creation of genuine and sustainable sources
of work, thus providing new labour opportunities.
In order that communities and individuals may create
economically and technically sustainable solutions, they must
have the right to use Free Software. This makes software more
affordable, and, allows people to participate in its
development and maintenance(3). ICT-based innovation should
adhere to the use of international technical standards for
hardware, software, and processes, which are open, freely
implementable, publicly documented, interoperable, non-
discriminatory and demand-driven.
It is important to support community-based communications
using both traditional and new media and communication
technologies. There is a need for the development and
nurturing of the discipline of community informatics, which
focuses on the particular characteristics and needs of
communities, in relation to design, development, deployment,
and operation of ICTs, as well as local content production.
2.1.9 Conflict Situations
We recognise that the use of media can be both positive and
negative in conflict situations, including post-conflict peace
building. We therefore insist that the rights of journalists
and of all people to gather and communicate information, using
any media, be especially respected during conflicts. These
rights should be inviolate at all times but are crucial during
war, violent conflict, and non-violent protest.
We are particularly concerned about the deployment of
"information warfare" technologies and techniques, including
the purposeful jamming, blocking, or destruction of civilian
communication systems during conflict situations; the use of
'embedded' journalists coupled with the targeting of non-
embedded journalists; the use of media and communication
systems to promote hatred and genocide; by military, police,
or other security forces, be they governmental, privately
owned, or non-state actors, during conflict situations both
international and domestic.
Information intervention in conflict situations should be
bound by international law, and the WSIS should encourage work
on a future convention against information warfare to address
these concerns. At the same time, the WSIS should not only
limit information warfare and the control of media in conflict
situations, but also actively promote media and communications
for peace. To that end, we encourage governments to decrease
public subsidy for military communications technology, and
instead spend money directly on developing peaceful
communications tools and applications.
2.2 Centrality of Human Rights
An information and communication society should be based on
human rights and human dignity. With the Charter of the United
Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as its
foundation, it must embody the universality, indivisibility,
interrelation and interdependence of all human rights – civil,
political, economic, social and cultural – including the right
to development and linguistic rights. This implies the full
integration, concrete application and enforcement of all
rights and the recognition of their centrality to democracy
and sustainable development. Information and communication
societies must be inclusive, so that all people, without
distinction of any kind, can achieve their full potential. The
principles of non-discrimination and diversity must be
mainstreamed in all ICT regulation, policies, and programmes.
2.2.1 Freedom of Expression
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is of
fundamental and specific importance, since it forms an
essential condition for human rights-based information and
communication societies. Article 19 requires that everyone has
the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right
to seek, receive and impart information and ideas, through any
media and regardless of frontiers. This implies free
circulation of ideas, pluralism of the sources of information
and the media, press freedom, and availability of the tools to
access information and share knowledge. Freedom of expression
on the Internet must be protected by the rule of law rather
than through self-regulation and codes of conduct. There must
be no prior censorship, arbitrary control of, or constraints
on, participants in the communication process or on the
content, transmission and dissemination of information.
Pluralism of the sources of information and the media must be
safeguarded and promoted.
2.2.2 Right to Privacy
The right to privacy, enshrined in Article 12 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, is essential for self-determined
human development in regard to civic, political, social,
economic and cultural activities. The right to privacy faces
new challenges in information and communication societies, and
must be protected in public spaces, online, offline, at home
and in the workplace. Every person must have the right to
decide freely whether and in what manner he or she wants to
receive information and communicate with others. The
possibility of communicating anonymously must be ensured for
everyone. The power of the private sector and of governments
over personal data increases the risk of abuse, including
monitoring and surveillance. Such activities must be kept to a
legally legitimised minimum in a democratic society, and must
remain accountable. The collection, retention, processing, use
and disclosure of personal data, no matter by whom, should
remain under the control of and determined by the individual
concerned.
2.2.3 Right to Participate in Public Affairs
Good government administration and justice in a democratic
society implies openness, transparency, accountability,
participation and compliance with the rule of law. Respect for
these principles is needed to enforce the right to take part
in the conduct of public affairs. Public access to information
produced or maintained by governments should be enforced,
ensuring that the information is timely, complete and
accessible in a format and language the public can understand.
This further applies to access to documents of corporations
relating to their activities affecting the public interest,
especially in situations where the government has not made
such information public.
2.2.4 Workers' Rights
ICTs are progressively changing our way of working. The
creation of fair, secure, safe and healthy working conditions,
in the manufacture of equipment and software, and in the
utilisation of ICTs in the workplace in general, which respect
international labour standards, for instance through
tripartite social dialogue, is fundamental. ICTs should be
used to promote awareness of, respect for and enforcement of
human rights standards and international labour standards.
Human rights, such as privacy, freedom of expression,
linguistic rights, the right for on-line workers to form and
join trade unions and the right of trade unions to function
freely, including communicating with employees, must be
respected in the workplace.
2.2.5 Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The evolution of information and communication societies must
be founded on the respect and promotion of the recognition of
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and their distinctiveness as
outlined in international conventions. Indigenous Peoples have
fundamental rights to protect, preserve and strengthen their
own language, culture and identity. ICT's should be used to
support and promote diversity and the rights and means of
Indigenous Peoples to benefit fully and with priority from
their cultural, intellectual and so-called natural resources.
2.2.6 Women's Rights
In order to realise women's rights in the information and
communication societies, as spelled out in the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW) and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
(Fifth World Conference on Women), it is crucial to
acknowledge and address the differences, disparities and
disadvantages that women experience. This means taking into
account the ways in which women are different from men, and
how these differences translate into differential levels of
access, opportunity, participation and use of ICTs. It must be
ensured that policy or legal interventions and programmes
consciously address these differences. To ensure effective
equality of women, and thereby enabling women's full ability
to claim and exercise their human rights, it is necessary to
adopt a substantive equality approach in the analysis, which
informs the content of ICT policy and programmes. This
approach implies that actions to promote women's rights must
transform the unequal power relation between women and men.
Women need not only equality of opportunity, but also equality
of access to opportunities and the ability to fully
participate in availing such opportunities.
2.2.7 Rights of the Child
Information and communication societies must respect and
promote the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child. Every child is entitled to a happy childhood and to
enjoy the rights and freedoms available to all persons under
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. All persons, civil
society, private sector and governments should commit to
uphold the Rights of the Child in information and
communication societies.
2.2.8 Rights of Persons with Disabilities
In inclusive information and communication societies, the
rights of persons with disabilities to have full and equal
access to information and communications including ICTs,
regardless of types and degree of disabilities, must be
ensured by public policies, laws and regulations at all
levels. In order to achieve this goal, a Universal Design
principle and the use of assistive technologies must be
seriously promoted and supported throughout the whole process
of building and nurturing information and communication
societies in which persons with disabilities and their
organisations must be allowed to participate fully and on
equal terms with non-disabled people.
2.2.9 Regulation and the Rule of Law
National regulation should be in full compliance with
international human rights standards, adhering to the rule of
law. Information and communication societies must not result
in any discrimination or deprivation of human rights resulting
from the acts or omission of governments or of non-state
actors under their jurisdictions. Any restriction on the use
of ICTs must pursue a legitimate aim under international law,
be prescribed by law, be strictly proportionate to such an
aim, and be necessary in a democratic society.
2.3 Culture, Knowledge and the Public Domain
Information and communication societies are enriched by their
diversity of cultures and languages, retained and passed on
through oral tradition or recorded and transmitted through a
variety of media, and together contributing to the sum of
human knowledge. Human knowledge is the heritage of all
humankind and the reservoir from which all new knowledge is
created. The preservation of cultural and linguistic
diversity, the freedom of the media and the defence and
extension of the public domain of global knowledge are as
essential, for information and communication societies, as the
diversity of our natural environment.
2.3.1 Cultural and Linguistic Diversity
Cultural and linguistic diversity is an essential dimension of
people-centred information and communication societies. Every
culture has dignity and value that must be respected and
preserved. Cultural and linguistic diversity is based, among
other things, on the freedom of information and expression and
the right of everyone to freely participate in the cultural
life of the community, at local, national and international
levels. This participation includes activities both as users
and producers of cultural content. ICTs including traditional
communications media have a particularly important role to
play in sustaining and developing the world's cultures and
languages.
2.3.1.1 Capacity Building and Education
Cultural and linguistic diversity should not only be
preserved; it needs to be fostered. This implies capacity to
express oneself, in one's own language, at any time, by any
means, including traditional media and new ICTs. In order to
become a contributor and a creator in the information and
communication societies, not only technical skills are needed,
but critical and creative competence. Media education in the
sense of the UNESCO Grunwald Declaration must be given
specific attention in education and training programs.
Cultural and linguistic diversity also implies equal access to
the means of expression and of dissemination of cultural goods
and services. Priority should be given to community-driven
initiatives.
2.3.1.2 Language
Plurality of languages is at the core of vibrant information
and communication societies. ICTs can be applied to bridge
cultural and linguistic divides, given the right priorities.
In the past, ICT development has too often reinforced
inequalities, such as dominance of roman letter based
languages (especially English) and marginalization of local,
regional and minority languages. Priority should be given in
ICT research and development to overcoming barriers and
addressing inequalities between languages and cultures.
2.3.1.3 International Law and Regulation
International law and regulation should strengthen cultural,
linguistic and media diversity, in accordance with existing
international declarations and covenants, in particular
Article 19 and Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights; Articles 19 and 27 of the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights; Articles 13 and 15 of the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights; and Articles 5 and 6 of the Universal Declaration of
Cultural Diversity adopted by UNESCO in 2001. International
trade agreements should treat culture, including audio-visual
content and services, not simply as a commodity, but should
take account of the need for cultural, linguistic and media
diversity. The establishment of an International Convention
on Cultural Diversity should be accelerated, with a view to
achieving an effective and binding international agreement.
Existing international copyright regulation instruments
including TRIPS and WIPO should be reviewed to ensure that
they promote cultural, linguistic and media diversity and
contribute to the development of human knowledge.
2.3.2 Media
2.3.2.1 The Role of the Media
Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media are central to
any conception of information and communication societies. The
media is an integral enabling mechanism for a global
communications vision. Its role in producing, gathering and
distributing diverse content in which all citizens are
included and can actively participate, is vital. Especially
for the developing countries, broadcast radio and television
will continue to be the most effective ways to deliver high-
quality information. All forms of media can make crucial
contributions to social cohesion and development in the
digital era.
Article 19 is the foundation for five regional declarations on
media freedom and plurality that must continue to frame the
role of the media in all its means of delivery. These texts(4)
have been unanimously endorsed by the member states of UNESCO.
Security and other considerations should not be allowed to
compromise freedom of expression and media freedom. Media
pluralism and diversity should be guaranteed through
appropriate laws to avoid excessive media concentration.
Editorial independence of media professionals and creators
must be protected and the formulation of professional and
ethical standards in journalism and other media production
must be the responsibility of media workers themselves. Online
authors, journalists and editors should have the same
contractual rights and social protections as other media
workers.
Public service broadcasting has a specific and crucial role to
play in ensuring the participation of all in the information
and communication societies. State-controlled media should be
transformed into editorially independent public service
organisations.
2.3.2.2 Community Media
Community media, that is media which are independent,
community-driven and civil society-based, have a particular
role to play in enabling access to and participation for all
in information and communication societies, especially the
poorest and most marginalized communities. Community media can
be vital enablers of information, voice and capacities for
dialogue. Legal and regulatory frameworks that protect and
enhance community media are especially critical for ensuring
vulnerable groups access to information and communication.
Governments should ensure that legal frameworks for community
media are non-discriminatory and provide for equitable
allocation of frequencies through transparent and accountable
mechanisms. Targets should be established for the opening up
of broadcast licenses to allow for the operation of community
broadcasting where this is not currently permitted. Spectrum
planning and regulation should ensure sufficient spectrum and
channel capacity, and appropriate technical standards, for
community media to develop in both the analogue and the
digital environment.
A Community Media Fund should be established through a donor
civil society partnership to invest in and support community-
driven media, information and communication initiatives using
traditional media and new ICTs including projects that make
provision for the poorest communities, for cultural and
linguistic diversity and for the equal participation of women
and girls. Community-based media and communication centres
should be encouraged and assisted to combine traditional media
technologies, including radio and television, with access to
new ICTs.
2.3.3 The Public Domain of Global Knowledge
A rich public domain of knowledge available to all is
essential to sustainable information societies, to bridge the
digital divide and to provide the grounds for a positive
development of intellectual creativity, technological
innovation and effective use of that technology. In
information societies, new digital forms of storing
information mean that this can be copied and transmitted in
innovative ways that challenge existing customs and laws. The
increasing privatisation of knowledge production threatens to
restrict the availability of research results. Attempts have
been made to commercially exploit traditional indigenous
knowledge without consulting the communities, who are the
owners of that knowledge.
2.3.3.1 Indigenous Peoples' Knowledge
Indigenous peoples are the guardians of their traditional
knowledge and have the right to protect and control that
knowledge. Existing intellectual property regimes are
insufficient for the protection of indigenous people's
cultural and intellectual property rights.
Traditional knowledge should be protected from any attempt at
patenting. Indigenous peoples should freely decide whether
their heritage should become part of the public domain or not.
They should decide whether or not it should be exploited
commercially and in what way.
We should give particular attention to measures to maintain
knowledge diversity and to protect the cultural, intellectual
and so-called natural resources of indigenous peoples,
especially botanical and agricultural knowledge, from
commercial exploitation and appropriation.
We urge the United Nations to establish specific legal
frameworks, in accordance with Article 26.4 of the Agenda 21
of the Earth Summit, to recognise indigenous peoples' rights
to self-determination and ancestral territories, as a
necessary prerequisite to ensure the protection, preservation
and development of their traditional knowledge in information
and communication societies.
2.3.3.2 Copyright, Patents and Trademarks
Limited intellectual monopolies, also known as intellectual
property rights, are granted only for the benefit of society,
most notably to encourage creativity and innovation. The
benchmark against which they must be reviewed and adjusted
regularly is how well they fulfill this purpose. Today, the
vast majority of humankind has no access to the public domain
of global knowledge, a situation that is contributing to the
growth of inequality and exploitation of the poorest peoples
and communities. Yet instead of extending and strengthening
the global domain, recent developments are restricting
information more and more to private hands. Patents are being
extended to software (and even to ideas), with the consequent
effect of limiting innovation and reinforcing monopolies.
Drugs that could save millions of lives are denied to disease
sufferers because pharmaceutical companies that hold the
patents resist making them available to those countries that
can not pay high prices. Copyright periods have been extended
again and again, making them practically indefinite and
defeating their original purpose.
2.3.3.3 Software
Software provides the medium and regulatory framework for
digital information, and access to software determines who may
participate. Equal access to software is fundamental for
inclusive and empowering digital information and communication
societies, and a diversity of platforms is essential to this.
We must recognise the political and regulatory impact of
software on digital societies and build, through public policy
and specific programs, awareness of the effects and benefits
of different software models. In particular, Free Software,
with its freedoms of use for any purpose, study, modification
and redistribution should be promoted for its unique social,
educational, scientific, political and economic benefits and
opportunities. Its special advantages for developing
countries, such as low cost, empowerment and the stimulation
of sustainable local and regional economies, easier adaptation
to local cultures and creation of local language versions,
greater security, capacity building, etc, need to be
recognised, publicised and taken advantage of. Governments
should promote the use of Free Software in schools and higher
education and in public administration.
The UN should carry out a fundamental review of the impact on
poverty and human rights of current arrangements for
recognition and governance of monopolised knowledge and
information, including the work of WIPO and the functioning of
the TRIPS agreement. Efforts should be made to ensure that
limited intellectual monopolies stimulate innovation and
reward initiative, rather than keeping knowledge in private
hands until it is of little use to society.
2.3.3.4 Research
Increasing private sector participation in scientific research
is leading to patents and scientific knowledge being held in
private hands instead of being available in the public domain,
and increasing competition among scientists and scientific
teams sometimes results in poor scientific practices, secrecy
and the patenting of discoveries that would previously have
been available to all. Research should continue to be based on
cooperation, openness and transparency.
Public bodies such as libraries, scientific research centres,
universities, should be able to contribute to enrich the
common good of culture and knowledge, by putting into the
public domain the results of their publicly funded activities.
The public domain of global knowledge should be defended and
extended through public policy, awareness-building and
investments in programmes. These should ensure that any work
funded by public or philanthropic bodies enters the public
domain and should increase accessibility of information in
online and offline media by means of Free Documentation,
public libraries and other initiatives to disseminate
information, such as Open Access journals and Open Archives
giving access to scientific and other public domain
information. All scientific data, such as genomes of living
beings, should be freely accessible to all in Open Access
databases.
2.4 Enabling Environment
2.4.1 Ethical Dimensions
Information and communication societies are about how our
societies create, share and utilise the information, cultural
production and knowledge, which in turn shape the evolution of
those societies. The value-base of the information society
must be founded on the principles contained in the ensemble of
internationally agreed-upon conventions, declarations, and
charters.
More specifically, equal, fair and open access to knowledge
and information resources, – whatever the technical means used
to store and transmit them – must be established as
fundamental principles of such societies. Technological,
financial and regulatory considerations must conform to these
principles.
Transparent and accountable governance, ethical business and
accounting practices in communications sector firms and
ethical media practice are of particular relevance in this
context. Codes of ethics and standards should be adopted in
these cases and mechanisms should be established to monitor
their application as well as appropriate sanctions for their
violation. Formulation of ethics and standards in journalism
and other media production should be the responsibility of
media workers themselves.
Respect for diversity must be a central criterion in
establishing the principles and mechanisms for resolving
conflicts that arise in information societies. Such
societies, if they are built on values
such as cooperation, equity, honesty, integrity, respect and
solidarity, can have a significant impact on the quality of
interaction between cultures and the promotion of meaningful
dialogue among civilisations, and thus contribute to bringing
about world peace.
2.4.2 Democratic and Accountable Governance
National and international regulations for information and
communication societies should be in full compliance with
international human rights standards. Openness, transparency,
accountability and the rule of law should be the guiding
principles for the democratic governance of societies at all
levels, from the local to the national and international.
Inclusive, participatory and peaceful information and
communication societies rest on the responsiveness of
governing bodies as well as on the commitment of all actors
involved in governance, both of governmental and non
governmental nature, to progressively implement greater
political, social and economic equity.
A democratic perspective on information and communication
societies, in which information is crucial for citizens, is
necessary in order to make choices grounded on the awareness
of alternatives and opportunities. Information and
communication are the foundation for transparency, debate and
decision-making. They can contribute to a culture and a
practice of cooperation, basis for a renewal of democracy.
Information and communication technologies offer potential
benefits to the world's communities that will only be
exploited if there is a political will to do so.
In this spirit, the aim of WSIS "to develop a common vision
and understanding of the Information Society", and the methods
to achieve such a vision, requires shared communication values
and mechanisms including the right to communicate, respect for
freedom of opinion and expression in all of its dimensions,
and a commitment to transparency, accountability, and
democracy.
2.4.3 Infrastructure and Access
The dramatic lack of a reliable infrastructure is the main
physical obstacle for ICT-based services to be offered to
populations living in Africa. Here, the fragmented and
incomplete structure and the unreliability of the existing
infrastructure and access networks constitute the underlying
structure of the so-called Digital Divide.
(Tele) communications infrastructure is essential for
disseminating ICT-based services and is central in achieving
the goal of universal, sustainable, ubiquitous and affordable
access to and usage of these technologies and services by all.
Furthermore, energy is a prerequisite for infrastructure and
access.
Most voice, data and Internet traffic between African
countries is currently routed outside of the continent because
of the lack of an efficient African backbone network,
increasing the cost of this traffic. Increased cost always
limits access. Existing efforts to build an African network
infrastructure must be supported and expanded (e.g. Internet
exchange points).
The implementation and roll-out of (tele)communications
infrastructure and access in DCs will require financial
investments consistent with the huge needs in this area. In
order to reduce the amount of financial resources needed,
investments should be optimised by consolidating projects
nationally or (sub) regionally, and by technological (re-)
designing and updating. Furthermore, synergy between different
sectors should be systematically exploited from the project
phase, particular attention being paid to the energy and
transport sectors that show very close links. Finally, the
particularly strong synergy and technological similarity
between ICT and Radio-TV networks should lead governments and
planning authorities to deploy and use a common infrastructure
for both their services to be transported and disseminated.
Community telecentres (public access centres) have become
spaces for the effective access and strategic use of
information and communication technologies with emphasis on
the democratisation of communications. Governments should
guarantee policies for the development of telecentres, among
others, to provide equitable and affordable access to
infrastructure and ICTs; to encourage digital inclusion
policies for the population, independently of gender, ethnic
aspects, language, culture and geographical situation. This
would promote the discussion and active participation of
communities in public policy processes related to the
implementation and role of telecentres for local development.
Orbital satellite paths should be recognised as a public
resource and should be allocated to benefit the public
interest through transparent and accountable frameworks.
Moreover, spectrum planning and regulation should ensure
equitable access among a plurality of media including
sufficient satellite capacity reserved for community media. A
fixed percentage of orbital resources, satellite capacity and
radio frequency spectrum should be reserved for educational,
humanitarian, community and other non-commercial use.
The expansion of the global information infrastructure should
be based on principles of equality and partnership and guided
by rules of fair competition and regulation at both national
and international levels.
The integration of access, infrastructure and training of the
citizenry and the generation of local content, in a framework
of social networks and clear public or private policies, is a
key basis for the development of egalitarian and inclusive
information societies.
2.4.4 Financing and Infrastructure
Existing and new financing measures should be envisaged and
appraised. The "Digital Solidarity Fund" has been proposed by
Africa. Such a fund could be a real hope for African peoples
if it clearly states its goals, is transparently managed, and
aims to foster primarily public services, especially for
populations living in underserved and isolated areas. In
addition, we stress the significant role that diaspora
populations from all the world's regions can play in financing
ICT programmes and projects.
In order to optimise scarce financial resources, appropriate
cost-effective technological options should be used, while
avoiding duplication of infrastructure. Additionally,
synergies between different sectors and networks can be
exploited to this end, with particular attention to the energy
and transport sectors, given their close links with the
telecommunications sector.
A Community Media Fund should be established through a donor
civil society partnership to invest in and support community-
driven and community-based media, and information and
communication initiatives using both traditional media and new
ITC's. Effort should be made to eliminate the duplication of
infrastructures and to consolidate projects in a national or
regional frame to encourage investment funding. Where
possible, ICT and radio/TV networks should use common
infrastructure for dissemination.
2.4.5 Human Development — Education and Training
Literacy, education and research are fundamental and
interrelated components of the information exchanges necessary
to build knowledge societies. Knowledge creation and
acquisition should be nurtured as a participatory and
collective process; it should not be considered a one-way flow
or confined to one section of capacity building. Education, in
its different components - formal, informal, and lifelong - is
fundamental to building democratic societies both by creating
a literate citizenry and a skilled workforce.
To utilise the full potential of e-learning and long-distance
education, they must be complemented by traditional
educational resources and methods, in a local context of media
pluralism and linguistic diversity.
Only informed and educated citizens with access to empowering
education, a plurality of means of information, and the
outputs of research efforts can fully participate in and
effectively contribute to knowledge societies. Therefore it is
also essential to recognise the right to education as stated
both in the Declaration on the Right to Development and the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Capacity building initiatives designed to empower individuals
and communities in the information society must include, in
addition to basic literacy and ICT skills, media and
information literacy, the ability to find, appraise, use and
create information and technology. In particular, educators,
students and researchers must be able to use and develop Free
Software, which allows the unfettered ability to study,
change, copy, distribute, and run software. Finally, capacity
building initiatives should be designed to stimulate the
desire for general learning and respond to specific as well as
special needs: those of young and elderly people, of women, of
people with impairments, of indigenous peoples, of migrant
communities, of refugees and returnees in post-conflict
situations, in a life-long perspective. Volunteers can help
transmit knowledge and enhance capacity, in particular of
marginalized groups not reached by government training
institutions.
Capacity building in the information and communication
societies requires people who are competent in teaching media
and communication literacy. Therefore training of trainers and
training of educators in every level is equal important in
order to reach out to people at the limits of the information
society.
Libraries are an important tool to fight digital divide and to
ensure continuous, out-of-market-ruled access to information,
by freeing the results of research funded by public support,
by sharing content and educational materials to promote
literacy, build capacities and bring autonomy to learners of
all kinds, world wide. This also entails convincing content
producers to be active participants in the open access
paradigm of knowledge.
Global barriers to knowledge and education must be
transparently evaluated by looking beyond technological
obstacles at legal and institutional gridlocks (like
Intellectual Property Laws and International standards) and
promoting a new balance of intellectual properties as a common
ground for creators to protect their works and for civil
society to benefit from their contributions.
Civil society sees the need for alternative models for the
production and exchange of knowledge and information. To
secure and finance the global knowledge commons, civil society
actors support new open and self-organised publishing models
in science and software production and community-based
communications, with in-built maintenance programs and
upgrading capacities.
2.4.6 Information Generation and Knowledge Development
Research must be promoted in all fields related to the
information and communication societies, and its development
must be sensitive to the social uses of ICTs. In particular,
research on community informatics must be supported(5). This
would include the development of a research agenda among
practitioners, scholars, and communities; the cataloguing of
community informatics projects and identification of both
factors for failure and success; and support for research
projects and systems trials. Fundamental research should be
strengthened by expanding open access to primary scientific
data and publications. Public bodies such as libraries,
scientific research centres, universities should foster
independent investigation, build a pluralistic body of
knowledge and promote the results of activities which have
been funded by public money. This body of knowledge should be
made available in all public spaces, or spaces with public
access (community centres, universities, schools, museums,
libraries, media centres, and other dedicated entities),
through appropriate and plural modes of access, avoiding the
risk of high dependency on digital technology alone.
2.4.7 Global Governance of ICT and Communications
International "rules of the game" play an increasingly central
role in the global information economy. In recent years,
governments have liberalised traditional international
regulatory regimes for telecommunications, radio frequency
spectrum, and satellite services, and have created new
multilateral arrangements for international trade in services,
intellectual property, "information security," and electronic
commerce. At the same time, business groups have established
a variety of "self-regulatory" arrangements concerning
Internet identifiers (names and numbers), infrastructure, and
content.
It is not acceptable for these and related global governance
frameworks to be designed by and for small groups of powerful
governments and companies and then exported to the world as
faits accomplis. Instead, they must reflect the diverse views
and interests of the international community as a whole. This
overarching principle has both procedural and substantive
dimensions.
Procedurally, decision-making processes must be based on such
values as inclusive participation, transparency, and
democratic accountability. In particular, institutional
reforms are needed to facilitate the full and effective
participation of marginalized stakeholders like developing and
transitional countries, global civil society organisations,
small and medium-sized enterprises, and individual users.
Substantively, global governance frameworks must promote a
more equitable distribution of benefits across nations and
social groups. To do so, they must strike a better balance
between commercial considerations and other legitimate social
objectives. For example, existing international arrangements
should be reformed to promote: efficient management of network
interconnections and traffic revenue distribution, subject to
the mutual agreement of corresponding operators; equitable
allocations of radio frequency spectrum and satellite orbital
slots that fully support developmental and non-commercial
applications; fair trade in electronic goods and services,
taking into account the developing countries' need for special
and differential treatment; an open public domain of
information resources and ideas; and the protection of human
rights, consumer safety, and personal privacy. In parallel,
new diverse international arrangements are needed to promote:
financial support for sustainable e-development, especially
but not only in less affluent nations; linguistic, cultural,
and informational diversity; and the curtailment of
concentrated market power in ICT and mass media industries.
In light of the relevant controversies in the WSIS process,
special attention must be given to improving the global
coordination of the Internet's underlying resources. It must
be remembered that the Internet is not a singular
communications "platform" akin to a public telephone network;
it is instead a highly distributed set of protocols,
processes, and voluntarily self-associating networks.
Accordingly, the Internet cannot be governed effectively by
any one organisation or set of interests. An exclusionary
intergovernmental model would be especially ill suited to its
unique characteristics; only a truly open, multistakeholder,
and flexible approach can ensure the Internet's continued
growth and transition into a multilingual medium. In
parallel, when the conditions for system stability and sound
management can be guaranteed, authority over inherently global
resources like the root servers should be transferred to a
global, multistakeholder entity.
The international community must have full and easy access to
knowledge and information about ICT global governance decision
making. This is a baseline prerequisite for implementation of
the principles mentioned above, and indeed for the success of
the WSIS process itself. We need public-interest oriented
monitoring and analysis of the relevant activities of both
intergovernmental and "self-governance" bodies including,
inter alia, the International Telecommunication Union, the
World Trade Organization, the World Intellectual Property
Organization, the United Nations Conference on International
Trade Law, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, the Hague Conference on International Private
Law, the of Europe, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, the
North American Free Trade Agreement, the Internet Corporation
for Assigned Names and Numbers, and Wassenaar Arrangement.
As a viable first step in this direction, we recommend the
establishment of an independent and truly multistakeholder
observatory committee to: (1) map and track the most pressing
current developments in ICT global governance decision-making;
(2) assess and solicit stakeholder input on the conformity of
such decision-making with the stated objectives of the WSIS
agenda; and (3) report to all stakeholders in the WSIS process
on a periodic basis until 2005, at which time a decision could
be made on whether to continue or terminate the activity.
3. CONCLUSION
It is people who primarily form and shape societies, and
information and communication societies are no exception.
Civil society actors have been key innovators and shapers of
the technology, culture and content of information and
communication societies, and will continue to be in the
future.
Human rights stand at the centre of our vision of the
information and communication society(6). From this
standpoint, action plans, implementation, financing
mechanisms and governance must all be shaped by and evaluated
on the basis of their ability to meet life-critical human
needs.
Host countries and institutions contributing to and
participating in the post-Geneva WSIS process should fully
respect the principles enunciated in the Declaration adopted
at the Geneva Summit, including those relating to human rights
that are fundamental to the information and communications
society. These include, but are not limited to the freedoms
of expression, association and information.
Toward this end, and in preparation for the second phase of
WSIS, an independent commission should be established to
review national and international ICT regulations and
practices and their compliance with international human rights
standards. This commission should also address the potential
applications of ICTs to the realization of human rights, such
as the right to development, the right to education and the
right to a standard of living adequate for the mental and
physical health and well-being of the individual and his or
her family, including food, housing and medical care.
The full realisation of a just information society requires
the full participation of civil society in its conception,
implementation, and operation. To this end, we call on all
governments involved in the preparatory processes of WSIS to
work in good faith with non-governmental and civil society
organisations and fully honour the recommendations of
Resolution 56/183 of the United Nations General Assembly. In
particular, participating governments must honour civil
society's right to participate fully in the remaining
intergovernmental preparatory processes leading to the second
phase of WSIS.
We commit ourselves – independent of the modalities of
participation granted to us by governments – to pursuing by
all just and honourable means necessary the realization of the
vision of the information society presented herein. To this
end, civil society organisations will continue to cooperate
with one another to develop a Plan of Action for the second
phase of WSIS. We call upon the world's leaders to urgently
assume the heavy responsibilities they face, in partnership
with civil society, to make this vision a reality.
Endorsements of this declaration are being compiled at ct-endorse@wsis-cs.org and archived on http://www.wsis-cs.org.
Notas:
(1) Version with corrections: 12-12-2003
(2) There is no single information, communication or knowledge
society: there are, at the local, national and global levels,
possible future societies; moreover, considering communication
is a critical aspect of any information society, we use in
this document the phrase "information and communication
societies." For consistency with previous WSIS language, we
retain the use of the phrase "Information Society" when
directly referencing WSIS.
(3) In this document, we use the term "Free Software" to refer
to the specific concept defined by the Free Software
Foundation. Free Software is software that is licensed in such
a way that people have the freedom to run, copy, distribute,
study, change and improve it. Free Software implies access to
source code as does "open source software"; however, open
source software as the term is popularly used is not
necessarily Free Software in our definition. Some
organisations release open source software without permitting
all of these actions. See http://www.fsf.org and
http://www.fsfeurope.org for in-depth discussions of this
concept.
(4) The Windhoek Declaration on the Promotion of Free and
Pluralistic African Press, 1991; the Declaration of Alma Ata
on Promoting Independent and Pluralistic Asian Media, 1992;
the Declaration of Sana'a on Promoting Independent and
Pluralistic Media, 1994; the Sofia Declaration on Promoting
European Pluralistic and Independent Media, 1997 (adopted in
95 and 97)
(5) Community informatics refers here to the interdisciplinary
study and practice of the design, implementation, and
management of information and communication technologies
developed by communities to solve their own problems. This
field takes into account social science research about the
social impacts of ICTs -- also known as social informatics --
as well as information and communication systems analysis and
design techniques.
(6) Nothing in this declaration may be interpreted as implying
that civil society wishes to engage in any activity or to
perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights
and freedoms set forth in the International Bill of Rights and
other human rights treaties.
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