close of the WSIS: The civil society verdict

On the afternoon of Friday, November 18, 2005, one of three stakeholders taking part in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) drew a line in the sand. Civil society (CS) representatives from all continents lined up to deliver a stark closing statement.

There were civil society thumbs up for: - the new multistakeholder Internet Governance Forum - the awareness built that people from all walks of life should be involved in ICT policy development, not just technology specialists and government officials - the spotlight shone on state repression and surveillance in the host nation, Tunisia But thumbs down for: - the UN for choosing a flagrant violator of human rights as the host of a UN summit - wealthier governments which insist that financing for ICT for development should be voluntary only - the vague language on internet oversight - the fact that WSIS follow-up will probably be assigned to technology-focused specialist committee link