It has been announced that the second phase of the Summit, which will be held in Tunis, Tunisia, is finally scheduled to take place on 16-18 November 2005. Meanwhile, the third Preparatory Committee Meeting (PrepCom-3) will be held in Geneva, Switzerland on 15-26 September 2003. The League of Arab States Regional Conference is scheduled to take place in Cairo, Egypt on 16-18 June 2003.
It has been proposed that an Intersessional Period should be held before PrepCom-3, the purpose of which is to refine the working documents for the Draft Declaration of Principles and Draft Action Plan. If organisations have specific comments on these working documents, they are encouraged to be submitted no later than 31 May 2003 to this e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The Intersessional Period is scheduled to take place in Paris, France on 21-25 July 2003.
It is important for women to be vigilant in the development of engendering the WSIS process, especially now, during these times of war and aggression, and also now that most major WSIS events have already happened. As we all know, the U.S. and most stakeholders from the global North have been keen on influencing international policies that govern the world. Observers critiqued that rarely do these countries support the common good during the drafting of international conventions, and sometimes, they influence existing ones to change in order to serve their own good only. And most of these changes are affecting women in all levels. A recent example of this is when, last November 2002, the Bush Administration withdrew its support for an international health care pact adopted at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, Egypt which established reproductive healthcare as a means to curb population growth. One implication of this is the withdrawal of aid and supplies of contraceptives which are handed out for free to the poor people of developing countries.
Moves like this one are not far behind when it comes to communication and information. Just last year, the U.S. Patriot Act of 2002 caused quite a stir as it threatened to impose strict regulations on communication infrastructures and practices. Human rights advocates are wary that this Act could be used to manipulate citizens’ information which could lead to the suspension of certain civil liberties. A primary concern that rose among women’s groups’ discussions is that this kind of Act could be used to manipulate information holders and thus, endanger privacy and human development in the name of national security or worse, in the name of “war against terror/terrorism.”
Similar issues and concerns are at the core of the WSIS agenda this coming December, that is why it is important to still learn of what is going on in the global South and around the world in relation to civil society’s preparations for the Summit, and it is important to keep abreast of what the women’s organisations are doing, and maybe even contribute in the process.
To start with, a look at the outline for the Intersessional Period can perhaps help in assessing how the WSIS players are handling the major events, and how civil society can further engender the process. (For more details on past efforts, please visit the site mentioned at the end of this article.)
More suggestions on how women can contribute to the WSIS process will be printed in future issues of we!
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Isis Resource Center holds one of the largest feminist collections of materials in the Global South. With 40 years of publication experience, Isis holds a vast collection.