World Summit on the Information SocietyPrepCom-2 - Geneva, February
2003

25 February 2003 16:00

WSIS- Civil Society Working Group on Content and Themes -- Drafting
Committee Contribution on Common Vision and Key Principles for the
Declaration

DECLARATION

A. Preamble

Recognizing the efforts of governments for developing the Compilation
of the Outcomes of the Regional Conferences (Document WSIS/PC-
2/DT/1(Rev.1)-E), the Civil Society Working Group on Content and
Themes contributes this document.

This document includes input from over twenty thematic caucuses.

B. Comments on Common Vision

Visions: We particularly welcome and underline the following
references in the compilation document and recommend their inclusion
in the declaration:

- "Freedom of opinion and expression" fundamental to the
information society (as embodied in article 19 of the UDHR);
"the right to communicate and the right to access information"

- "Knowledge and information constitute fundamental sources of
well-being and progress"

- Recognition that the digital divide "reflects and is a factor in
the differences that exist between and within countries"

- Development of an information society based on "respect for
human rights…, democracy, environmental protection, the
advancement of peace, the right to development, fundamental
freedoms, economic progress and social equity".

- Pursuing the Millennium Declaration goals: "reducing poverty and
unemployment, raising levels of education, improving health
services, enhancing empowerment and minimising loss of
environmental resources"; also the aim to pursue "goals of
promoting sustainable economic and social development, improve
quality of life for all, alleviate hunger and facilitate
participatory decision-making processes".

- Serving "the needs of developing countries" and their
"opportunity to harness ICTs for shaping their future without
the risk of losing cultural identity."

- "The process of transformation into an information society
should be sustainable and equitable."

- The "need for a people-centred approach"

- Harnessing "the knowledge and experience of citizens" as the
"driving force behind the Information Society"

- The "genuine participation of all stakeholders"

- "Women's equal access to information and knowledge as well as
equal opportunities as participants and decision-makers in (…)
shaping ICT policies and frameworks"

In addition we propose to include the following ideas: We envision
inclusive information and communication societies founded on human
dignity, human rights and intercultural dialogue for the advancement
of world peace, in an environment free from violence and hatred.
The right to express and communicate information and opinions freely
is fundamental to the information society. It encompasses the right to
create, innovate, research, access, and impart information and
knowledge freely. Societies where every citizen has the opportunity
not only to access information but also to produce it and exercise
their creativity. Societies that mobilise global solidarity to
overcome social and geographic inequities and contribute to a more
equitable distribution of technological and information resources.
Knowledge and creativity are at the heart of the information
society. The diversity and plurality of knowledge plays a crucial
role. Knowledge is the heritage of all humanity. It is an
unlimited resource, that grows and is enriched as it is shared.
Extending and protecting the information in the public domain (global
information commons) is a major way of bridging the digital and
information divide within and between countries and ensuring
conditions for intellectual creativity, technological innovation and
participation in the information society.

The personal and public domain knowledge shall be shared between
people. In a democratic society, Information and communications are
the foundation for transparency, debate and decision-making and for
informed choice of an active citizenry. C. Comments Key Principles

General Principles: We welcome and underline the following issues in
the compilation document and recommend their inclusion in the
declaration:

- Communication as "the basis of individual and societal
existence", and its contribution to securing "the fair, balanced
and harmonious development of all people of the world",
particularly "the most disadvantaged".

- Addressing "the interests of all nations, most particularly the
interests of developing countries", as well as the "special
circumstances of regional, small island developing states".

- Centrality of "social and economic progress of countries and the
well-being of persons and communities' well being; use and
benefit of ICTs in order to satisfy needs of individuals,
communities and society.

- "Pooling global and regional available resources" to "extend the
benefits of ICTs to all inhabitants of the world".

- Attention to overcoming "unequal power relations" and "the use
of ICTs for empowerment of women".

- "Averting new forms of exclusion and reducing disparities
between developed and developing countries."

- "Ensuring equal opportunities for access to information and
communication technologies."

- "Invoking use of ICTs as a tool for environmental preservation
and sustainability, (and…) disaster mitigation and prevention."

- Promoting "appropriate and affordable technologies."

In addition we propose to include the following principles: Any
action relating to development of information and communication
societies should be based on human rights and sustainable human
development, with reference to the human rights framework. This
framework is articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other
international instruments adopted by member states.

The principles of the United Nations Millennium Declaration, and
especially those articulated in its sections I and V -- "Values and
Principles" and "Human rights, democracy and good governance,"
respectively -- constitute the framework for evaluating these
developments. The final Declaration and plan of action of WSIS should
include a direct reference to the UN Human Rights framework, as
proposed above.

The final declaration of the WSIS should explicitly express the strong
connection between free exchange of knowledge and preservation of
peace. Knowledge and education are critical enabling agents in
building information societies in which all citizens can participate
on an equal footing. Collective cleverness and innovation based on
cooperative work should be promoted. Research and academic freedom
are keystones of the information society. Academic and public research
results should be as far as possible included in the public domain.
The public domain plays a crucial role in the creation, evaluation and
dissemination of knowledge. ICTs, communication and knowledge can
play a major part in solutions to the major global problems
articulated in the UN Millennium Declaration. Effective and equal
participation of both women and men in the information society needs
to be assured if countries are to achieve their development goals and
priorities. Technologies should be at the service of people and
their needs. Shaping the future cannot be left solely to market
forces. Recognising cultural development as an alive and evolving
process, linguistic diversity and cultural identity need to be not
only preserved but also actively fostered. ICTs may provide a means of
sustaining languages and cultures. Particular attention should be
given to indigenous peoples' needs and contributions. Media, whether
based on digital and traditional technologies, is central to any
conception of an information society. Policies must be adopted to
guarantee the existence of free, independent, plural and diverse
media, including community-owned and managed media. Radio, as the
most widespread electronic communications device in the world, is an
effective means of reaching the world's poorest communities. Community
broadcasting is increasingly recognised as a bridge across the digital
divide between those who have access to the world's information
resources and those who do not.

A global debate must be fostered on the future of the information
society, and in particular on the role of ICTs in social and community
development. An environment should be created that supports social
and community appropriation of technology to meet particular needs.
The global commons, developed as it is by means of public funding and
the will of creators, and deriving from our shared physical
environment, constitutes a public resource that should not be sold for
private profit. The concept of fair use should be protected to
maximise the potential of creativity in the public sphere. Non
commercial use of digital contents should be regarded as fair use and
thus protected. Authors should be enabled to donate their intellectual
contents to the public domain without technological or financial
obstacles. Promote policies to build the infrastructure of the
information society in developing countries through responsible re-
investment of telecommunications profits made in those countries,
whether from the private or public sector. Recognising young people
as leading creators, adapters and adopters of ICTs, with a crucial
role to play as agents of change, multi-stakeholder and
intergenerational partnerships should be encouraged. While
harnessing the use of ICTs as a tool for environmental preservation
and sustainability, there is a need to pay attention to: the energy
consumption of ICTs, the potential of ICTs to help dematerialize our
economic activities, ecodesign and longer life cycles of electronic
equipment, recycling and the trade in e-waste, and improved coherence
of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEA) such as the Basel
Convention on Toxic Waste (including electronic waste) with the WTO.

There must be democratic and transparent Internet Governance,
including globally shared responsibility Root-Server management. [PPP,
Public Private Partnership Model]

Each country should have the right to make their own rights and
policies, including intellectual property laws for developing its own
knowledge base and culture without any oppression from other
countries. Priority should be given to community-driven
communication initiatives, developed in response to local needs and
under community control. Global intellectual rights regimes should
be reviewed to restore the balance between common interest of sharing
knowledge and culture on the one hand and ensure continuing expansion
of creation on the other. They should also protect the access to past
knowledge, in any new format and media, as part of the global heritage
of humanity.

Current concerns felt by many governments in the area of 'information
security' is resulting in the formulation of policies and regulation
(in areas such as data retention, data sharing, monitoring,
surveillance, interception, filtering, blocking) which run the serious
risk of infringing people's right to communicate freely using
information and communication technologies and services. It also
contributes to an insecure atmosphere which is incompatible with peace
seeking.