13 January 2003

Report from Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, Isis International-Manila

Participants of the Communication Rights Workshop held in conjunction with the ongoing Asian Regional Conference for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) criticised the Japanese government for its decision to not invite delegates from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) to this Tokyo meeting.

Led by JCA-Net, a Tokyo-based organisation that provides IT support to Japanese NGOs and other members of civil society; and Jinbonet, a South Korean network that advocates for the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for social transformation, the participants demanded that the Japanese Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) apologise to North Korea and the conference participants.

The Communication Rights Workshop participants asserted that all WSIS processes including the Asian Regional Meeting should be spaces where all ICT stakeholders will be able to freely participate. They invoked the United Nations statement that "The World Summit on the Information Society will provide a unique opportunity for all key stakeholders to assemble at a high-level gathering and to develop a better understanding of this revolution and its impact on the international community. It aims to bring together Heads of State, Executive Heads of United Nations agencies, industry leaders, non-governmental organizations, media representatives and civil society in a single high-level event."

An official of the MPHPT International Affairs Department who was interviewed for this report stated that "North Korea was not invited because this is a meeting of members of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and North Korea is not an ESCAP member."

Following is the full statement circulated by the Communication Rights Workshop participants:

Japanese government should apologize to Democratic People's Republic of Korea and conference participants

2003, 12th, January.

We, the participants of the side event of the Asian Regional Conference for the World Summit at the United Nations University, strongly condemn Japanese government (Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications) for not inviting delegates from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) to the Asian Regional Conference for World Summit on the Information Society, while North Korea is a member of the United Nations and they are considered as a fully qualified stakeholder of the conference.

The Asian Regional Conference for the World Summit on the Information Society should be a place where all the stakeholders related to information and communication societies including governments, private sectors and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) can participate without any conditions. Even the United Nations (UN) already expressed, "The World Summit on the Information Society will provide a unique opportunity for all key stakeholders to assemble at a high-level gathering and to develop a better understanding of this revolution and its impact on the international community. It aims to bring together Heads of State, Executive Heads of United Nations agencies, industry leaders, non-governmental organizations, media representatives and civil society in a single high-level event."

Japanese government stated officially that they have no diplomatic channel between Japan and North Korea, so they could not send invitation. We can never accept such an excuse made by Japanese government. Japanese government could invite some suitable person,who is not necessarily a government delegate, from North Korea if they really tried to do so. However, the truth seems to be different. We are informed that Japanese government decided not to invite North Korea for the reason of the political circumstances in Japan.

The Asian Regional Conference for World Summit on the Information Society is the place where not only those who are favourable to Japanese government, but all stakeholders in Asia are expected to discuss over the various aspects of ICTs. Japanese government must recognize the fact that Asia is characterized as a region of great diversity; North Korea is obviously one of unique country in this diverse region and, in a sense, one of the important players. Moreover, this type of UN related fora is seeking regional and global cooperation overcoming the present political, economic and social differences.

We hope that the Japanese government apologise to North Korean government for not inviting them and also to participants who were deprived of a chance to discuss various issues with North Korean people. And we demand Japanese Government to include those apologies to Final Report of this conference in order to make sure that all stakeholders including North Korea can participate WSIS in meetings.