<div dir="ltr">Dear all, <div><br></div><div>Just a friendly reminder that if you'd like to send edits/comments on the draft letter on WSIS+10, could you please do so by end of day Monday, 3 February (EST)? The draft text is below, and additional context is in the previous email.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Kind regards, </div><div>Deborah </div><div><br></div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><div style="line-height:16px;margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Your Excellencies,</font></span></div>
</div><div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"><br></span></div></div><div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">We [the undersigned] are writing as members of civil society deeply engaged </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">i</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">n Internet governance </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">and ICT for development </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">issues. </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">Some/many of us have been engaged in this field since </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">the inception of </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">WSIS. </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">At the outset, we would like to congratulate you on your appointment as co-facilitators of the General Assembly’s open intergovernmental consultations to finalize the modalities for the overall review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society.</span></div>
</div><div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"><br></span></div></div><div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">We [the undersigned] feel strongly that all stages of the </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">overall WSIS </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">review process should be open to all interested stakeholders,</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"> and as members of global civil society would welcome the opportunity to input into these informal consultations </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">.</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"> </span></div>
</div><div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"><br></span></div></div><div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">The </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">modalities for the overall </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">review must embody the spirit</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"> </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">of WSIS and the progress that has been made since 2005, as exemplified in the various multi-stakeholder processes </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">such as </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">the Multistakeholder Preparatory Platform for the WSIS High Level Event and the UNESCO WSIS+10 Review</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"> Event</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">, but also the Internet Governance Forum, the Working Group on Internet Governance</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">,</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"> the Working Group on IGF improvements, and the Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">. </span></div>
</div><div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"><br></span></div></div><div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">We [the undersigned] envision an overall WSIS review that renews and revives commitment to the Geneva principles’ vision of a “people-centred, inclusive, development-oriented and non-discriminatory Information Society”, is rooted in the international human rights framework, and builds on the achievements and addresses the challenges experienced in the 10 years since WSIS. </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">Additionally, we </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">believe that the overall WSIS review should seek to find </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">synergies and </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:15.989583969116211px">synchronicities</span><span style="line-height:16px"> </span></font></span><font color="#000000" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="margin:0px;padding:1px 0px;line-height:16px"></span></font><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">with</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"> </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">the post-2015 development agenda, and in this context </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">we </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">would encourage the development of more concrete, </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">measurable</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"> targets relating to ICTs and development. </span></div>
</div><div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"><br></span></div></div><div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">To conclude, we [the undersigned] consider it cr</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">i</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">tical that the modalities of the overall WSIS review take into account the viewpoints of all stakeholders</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"> and establish concrete mechanisms for civil society to channel its contributions</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">, including through remote participation</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">. Therefore, we, as members of global civil society, are keen to input into the informal consultations that you are facilitating and look forward to engaging more formally in the preparatory process to the overall review. </span></div>
</div><div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"><br></span></div></div><div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">Sincerely, </span></div>
</div><div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><br></div></div><div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">xx</span></div></div>
</blockquote><div><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"><br></span></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 12:22 AM, Deborah Brown <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:deborah@accessnow.org" target="_blank">deborah@accessnow.org</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr"><div>
Dear all, <br></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span><div>As you may be aware, negotiations over the modalities for the overall WSIS review are resuming at the UN General Assembly in NY. After failing to reach an agreement by their deadline in December, the General Assembly decided to appoint two co-facilitators to convene open intergovernmental consultations to finalize the modalities for the overall WSIS review (<span>A</span> /C.2/68/L.73-attached). It was recently announced that the co-facilitators are <b>Finland</b> and <b>Tunisia</b>. UNGA has until the end of March to adopt a new resolution finalizing the modalities for the WSIS review. </div>
</span></div><div><div><br></div><div>As you might remember, there was an earlier draft of the resolution introduced by the G77 (A/C.2/68/L.40- attached), which called for the formation of an inter-governmental preparatory committee to set the agenda, finalize the outcome documents, and decide on modalities of participation of other stakeholders (OP22) for a 10-year review summit (OP21). This proved to be too controversial which is in a large part why it was decided to continue the negotiating. (See Sam Dickinson's post for more info: <a href="http://linguasynaptica.com/unga-68-ict4d-resolution/" target="_blank">http://linguasynaptica.com/unga-68-ict4d-resolution/</a>)</div>
<div><br></div><div>Given the approach that the draft resolution initially took, I am writing to see if there is interest developing a joint letter to the co-facilitators to communicate a desire by members of civil society to engage in the overall review process and establish concrete mechanisms for contributions. My sense is that if there is an opportunity to do so it is now, while governments are negotiating the modalities. <br>
</div><div><br></div><div>I drafted some points that could serve as the basis for a joint letter (see below) with input from a few people who have been following the WSIS review process, including the small group (Matthew, Lea, Joana, and myself) that worked on some initial analysis of the early draft of the ICT4D resolution (attached). </div>
<div><br></div><div>The goal of this letter is to demonstrate an interest and willingness of CS to engage in the WSIS review process now, and have the opportunity to help shape the outcome from the beginning. <u> We're very interested in your thoughts on this draft and would welcome feedback, suggested edits, etc. by the end of your day Monday, 3 February</u>. If there's support, it would be great to post the final letter on the Best Bits website for endorsement next week.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Here's the draft text: <br></div><div><br></div></div><div style="line-height:16px;margin:0px;padding:0px">
<span style="margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Your Excellencies,</font></span></div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"><br>
</span></div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">We are writing as members of civil society deeply engaged </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">i</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">n Internet governance </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">and ICT for development </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">issues. </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">Some/many of us have been engaged in this field since </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">the inception of </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">WSIS. </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">At the outset, we would like to congratulate you on your appointment as co-facilitators of the General Assembly’s open intergovernmental consultations to finalize the modalities for the overall review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society.</span><br>
<span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"><br></span></div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">We feel strongly that all stages of the </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">overall WSIS </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">review process should be open to all interested stakeholders,</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"> and as members of global civil society would welcome the opportunity to input into these informal consultations </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">.</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"> </span><br>
<span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"><br></span></div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">The </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">modalities for the overall </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">review must embody the spirit</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"> </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">of WSIS and the progress that has been made since 2005, as exemplified in the various multi-stakeholder processes </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">such as </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">the Multistakeholder Preparatory Platform for the WSIS High Level Event and the UNESCO WSIS+10 Review</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"> Event</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">, but also the Internet Governance Forum, the Working Group on Internet Governance</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">,</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"> the Working Group on IGF improvements, and the Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">. </span><br>
<span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"><br></span></div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">We envision an overall WSIS review that renews and revives commitment to the Geneva principles’ vision of a “people-centred, inclusive, development-oriented and non-discriminatory Information Society”, is rooted in the international human rights framework, and builds on the achievements and addresses the challenges experienced in the 10 years since WSIS. </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">Additionally, we </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">believe that the overall WSIS review should seek to find </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">synergies and </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:15.989583969116211px">synchronicities</span><span style="line-height:16px"> </span></font></span><font color="#000000" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="margin:0px;padding:1px 0px;line-height:16px"></span></font><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">with</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"> </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">the post-2015 development agenda, and in this context </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">we </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">would encourage the development of more concrete, </span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">measurable</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"> targets relating to ICTs and development. </span><br>
<span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"><br></span></div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">To conclude, we consider it cr</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">i</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">tical that the modalities of the overall WSIS review take into account the viewpoints of all stakeholders</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"> and establish concrete mechanisms for civil society to channel its contributions</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">, including through remote participation</span><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">. Therefore, we, as members of global civil society, are keen to input into the informal consultations that you are facilitating and look forward to engaging more formally in the preparatory process to the overall review. </span></div>
<div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px"><br></span></div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">Sincerely, </span></div>
<div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><br></div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><span style="line-height:16px;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px;padding:1px 0px">xx</span></div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px">
<br></div><span><font color="#888888"><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34)">Kind regards, </span><span class=""><font color="#888888"><br></font></span></div><span class=""><font color="#888888"><div>
<div style="color:rgb(34,34,34)">Deborah </div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34)">
<br></div></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr"><div style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-size:13px"><font face="garamond, serif">Deborah Brown</font></div>
<div style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-size:13px">
<font face="garamond, serif">Senior Policy Analyst</font></div><div style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-size:13px"><font face="garamond, serif">Access | <a href="http://accessnow.org" target="_blank">accessnow.org</a></font></div>
<div style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-size:13px"><font face="garamond, serif"><a href="http://rightscon.org" target="_blank">rightscon.org</a></font></div><div style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-size:13px">
<font face="garamond, serif"><br></font></div><div style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-size:13px"><font face="garamond, serif">@deblebrown</font></div><div style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-size:13px">
<font face="garamond, serif">PGP 0x5EB4727D</font></div></div>
</font></span></font></span></div>
</div><br><br>
</div>
</blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr"><div style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><font face="garamond, serif">Deborah Brown</font></div><div style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<font face="garamond, serif">Senior Policy Analyst</font></div><div style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><font face="garamond, serif">Access | <a href="http://accessnow.org" target="_blank">accessnow.org</a></font></div>
<div style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><font face="garamond, serif"><a href="http://rightscon.org" target="_blank">rightscon.org</a></font></div><div style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<font face="garamond, serif"><br></font></div><div style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><font face="garamond, serif">@deblebrown</font></div><div style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
<font face="garamond, serif">PGP 0x5EB4727D</font></div></div>
</div></div>