Congo(Conference Of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United
Nations)가 주최한 아시아 시민사회포럼 2002의 WSIS 세션
논의결과 발표된 선언문입니다.
...........
[DRAFT] December 13, 2002
Joint statement from Asia Civil Society Forum participants
on World Summit on Information Society (WSIS)
This is a joint statement of national, regional and international NGOs
participating at the “Asian Civil Society Forum” of the Conference of
Non-governmental Organizations in Consultative Relations with the United
Nations (CONGO).
Asia and the Pacific, a region of over half of the population of the world
including the most prosperous but also a majority of the planet’s poor, is
the seat of humanity’s important cultures, civilizations, religions,
philosophies and languages. It is a center of global dynamism yet contrasted
with gross underdevelopment. We realize that the challenge of globalization
and its effects on the lives of Asian and non-Asians in the region lies in
how we can transcend the divides between enabled citizens and marginalized
communities, through information and communication that is based on justice,
non-discrimination, gender equality and human rights.
This should be guided by, inter alia, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights that states “Everyone has the rights to freedom of opinion
and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without
interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through
any media and regardless of frontiers.”
Our vision is to evolve into a true communicative, just and peaceful society
grounded in respect for diversity and plurality. The broad-based
participation of civil society, especially from those communities which are
excluded, marginalized and severely deprived, is critical in defining and
building such a society.
This implies the following:
1) Giving access to and sharing information and communication technology
(ICT) in all forms that will not be constrained by the barriers of literacy,
language, politics, socio-cultural and economic disparities.
2) ICT should be offered with training and support, community Internet access
points such as telecenters, cyber cafés, and using radios as a gateway
to Internet.
3) Financial support, training, preferred access to licenses, frequencies and
technologies to promote community-based media, including facilitating links
between traditional media and new ones, and to bridge the digital divide
between the have and the have-nots.
4) This also requires infrastructure with meaningful content,
capacity-building and an enabling environment that encompasses the needs
based on gender equal, inter-generational, non-discriminating criteria and
targeting particularly the vulnerable groups such as persons with diverse
disabilities; migrants and displaced persons, indigenous peoples; refugees
and diaspora communities; rural communities; small island developing nations
and post-conflict states.
5) We recommend that all stakeholders invest in capacity building focused on
creation of locally-produced, audience sensitive content that responds to
local needs. It should also strengthen relevant and appropriate programs
focused on gender-sensitive curricula in formal and non-formal education for
all and enhance communication and media literacy for women.
6) We call on governments to commit to the principles of open, transparent,
decentralized and accountable governance mechanisms at all levels, from local
to global and in all spheres of society, mutually related to the governance
of information and communication systems.
7) We ask governments to guarantee and extend the participation of the entire
society, in particular representatives from marginalized communities,
indigenous peoples, women, the youth and the elderly, in the policy and
decision-making processes in all sectors and levels of the “information
society.”
8) We call on all governments to take appropriate measures to protect the
right to privacy including freedom from surveillance at all levels of
information society. We are opposed to any kind of censorship imposed by the
governments which restricts freedom of expression. We also urge governments
to protect, promote and realize possibilities for community-based forms of
communication and expressions including oral-based tradition of knowledge
transfer and networks.
9) We also call on the private sector as good corporate citizens, to pay full
attention to the following concerns and engage in productive dialogue with
NGOs and civil society members. They include, but are not limited to,
- Balancing the Intellectual Property Right with open source and free
software and content development and distribution.
- Fair and open competition in the marketplace without giving excessive
dominance to the status quo
- Protect and promote the right of individuals for privacy and security,
freedom of expression and communication
- Embrace and support the need of the less developed, marginalized and
deprived in the area of capacity-building and human resource development
10) We welcome sincere efforts and contributions of all members of the
international community, those of international organizations, donors and
other NGOs involved in development activities, and call on them in true sprit
of partnership, to interact on equal terms with us.
11) We commit ourselves, and call on our friends and colleagues, the NGO
community and the civil society, to communicate, coordinate, and cooperate
with each other more, and not tend to focus on our immediate concerns only
and overlook the need to reach out and collaborate. We need to be committed
to constructive and fruitful dialogue with our peers in different social
sectors, respect each other despite different views and perspectives.
Finally we strongly welcome and endorse the multi-stakeholder participatory
approach to the Summit and its preparatory process articulated in Resolution
56/183 by the General Assembly. Having said this however, we express some of
our concerns to the preparatory process in reality. We note that the draft
schedule of the Asian Regional Conference for the WSIS in Tokyo has not yet
included an official program for NGOs and the civil society. We urge that the
organizer should make it more open to NGOs and the civil society and
guarantee participation of civil society as equal to any other stakeholders.
We also like to request that the organizer commit to reflect the inputs from
the NGOs and the civil society in the final document.
In conclusion we express the hope that this World Summit on the Information
Society, will be all inclusive and participatory, for it is only in involving
the multi-stakeholders can we overcome the adverse effects of war, social
exclusion, exploitation and environmental degradation.
Drafted by:
Izumi Aizu GLOCOM Japan
Kazi Rafiqul Alam Dhaka Ahsania Mission Bangladesh
Al Alegre Foundation for Media Alternative, The Philippines
James Gomez Friedrich Naumann Foundation Singapore
Satcha Jotisalikorn Forum Asia Thailand
Jaba Menon OneWorld South Asia India
Conchiita Poncici International Federation of University Women Switzerland
Kim Jeong-woo (PatchA) Korean Progressive Network JINBONET South Korea
NOTE: The drafters worked as individuals, not as representatives of
organizations they are affiliated with.
