wfn.org | LWF Protests against Attacks on Freedom of Expression at

["Frank Imhoff" <Frank.Imhoff@elca.org>]

LWF Protests against Attacks on Freedom of Expression at Information
Society Summit 
NGOs Urge UN Secretary General to Review Procedures of Choosing Host
Country

GENEVA, 20 December 2005 (LWI) - The Lutheran World Federation (LWF)
has joined national and international non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) protesting against attacks on human rights and the right to
freedom of expression during the World Summit on the Information Society
(WSIS) held in Tunis, Tunisia, 16-18 November 2005. 

"... at the World Summit on the Information Society, both inside and
outside the official Summit, we have witnessed serious attacks on human
rights and the right to freedom of expression," the NGO representatives
state in their open letter to United Nations (UN) Secretary General,
Kofi A. Annan. They also call upon the UN Secretary General to
"undertake a thorough-going review of procedures leading up to the
choice of host country, the protocols for host country agreements with
UN agencies and the commitments required of the host country." 

There are also requests for the revision of UN rules for civil society
accreditation to the Economic and Social Council and to UN conferences
"in order to end the exclusion of civil society organizations where the
basis for that exclusion is a decision of an individual government with
no right of appeal to any independent commission."

The LWF Deputy General Secretary and Office for Communication Services
Director, Ms Karin Achtelstetter, and Ms Malin Brostroem from the Church
of Sweden represented the Federation at the Tunis Summit.

Harassment of Summit Delegates

Prior to the Summit, civil society organizations had already expressed
concern about the suitability of Tunisia as a host country. The November
24 letter to Annan draws attention to the harassment of WSIS delegates,
assaults on Tunisian and international journalists, and human rights
defenders. It also cites denial of entry to the country, blocking of Web
sites, censorship of documents and speeches, as well as the prevention
and disruption of meetings. In reaction to the situation in Tunisia,
many civil society organizations jointly decided to cancel their
side-events planned for November 15, the day before the Summit's
official opening.

"The holding of the Summit in Tunisia, under the auspices of the
Tunisian government has not only put the spotlight on the host country's
poor human rights record, it has also brought into question the adequacy
of the United Nation's mechanisms for civil society participation," says
the letter to the UN Secretary General. 

The Summit in Tunis was the second part of a process that was initiated
by a 1998 International Telecommunication Union resolution to hold a
WSIS. In 2001 it was decided to have a two-phase process - the first
Summit, 10-12 December 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland, and the second,
16-18 November 2005 in Tunis, Tunisia. This year's marked the end of the
official WSIS process, and the starting point for implementation, in
which civil society is expected to play a crucial role as a partner to
governments and the private sector.

In Tunis it was decided that further discussions about Internet
governance would henceforth take place in a multi-stakeholder Internet
Governance Forum, which will have its first meeting in the second
quarter of 2006. It was also agreed that a Digital Solidarity Fund
established during the WSIS' first phase, would serve as a voluntary
financial mechanism aimed at transforming the digital divide into
digital opportunities for developing countries. The UN General Assembly
will oversee follow-up of the WSIS outcome, with a review expected in
2015.

LWF's Ongoing Involvement

The LWF has been involved in the WSIS since the process began. In 2004
and 2005, the Council called upon the LWF and its member churches to
actively engage in the Summit process and its related issues including
communication rights. Since June this year, Brostroem, seconded by the
Church of Sweden, has been monitoring the process on behalf of the LWF.

At the final WSIS Preparatory Committee held in Geneva in September
2005, the LWF hosted a panel discussion on communication rights and a
rights-based approach. One of the panelists, Ms Manisha Mahanandia, a
youth representative of the Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church in India
added an important grassroots' perspective to the discussion with her
description of the consequences of lack of information and communication
in Orissa, northeastern India. 

Achtelstetter affirms the LWF's continuing involvement in WSIS-related
issues: "The Council gave us the task to develop a policy on the
Information Society with a specific focus on communication rights. In
this process we highly depend on support from our member churches, their
expertise and experience." (758 words)

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(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140
member churches in 78 countries all over the world, with a total
membership of nearly 66 million. The LWF acts on behalf of its member
churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith
relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights,
communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work.
Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service.
Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent
positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the
dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the material may be
freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]

*	*	*

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