The WSIS Disability Caucus came out with a statement highlighting the absence of persons with disabilities in the Draft Declaration of Principles for the WSIS last 24 September 2003.
According to the statement, the Declaration has made "no substantive commitment" towards people with disabilities. To have a truly inclusive Information Society, the needs and problems of over 600 million people with disabilities around the world should be addressed. ICTs should be made accessible to this group of people, taking into consideration their unique problems in the design and development of ICT.
The Declaration has references to "disadvantaged groups" and "vulnerable groups" but this, declares the statement is not inclusive in reality. Experiences in the past showed that under such categorisation, persons with disabilities have always been either ignored or completely neglected. The Disability Caucus therefore is suggesting that the term "persons with disabilities" be included, where appropriate even though the term " disadvantaged groups" or "vulnerable groups" has been used in such context.
They are pushing for the reinstatement of subparagraph 20B of the previous draft that was proposed by the delegation of Thailand. Extracted from the July 18, 2003 Draft Declaration of Principles (as developed at the WSIS inter-sessional), paragraph 20B states:
"Specific needs and requirements of all stakeholders, such as those with disabilities must be considered in ICT development. Accessibility and inclusiveness of ICTs is best done at an early stage of design, development and production, so that the Information Society is to become the society for all, at minimum cost"
In the latest version (26 September 2003) of the draft Declaration of Principles, "persons with disabilities" are still lumped with "marginalised and vulnerable groups" under paragraph 9bis:
"In building the information society, particular attention should be paid to marginalised and vulnerable groups of society, including migrants and refugees, unemployed and under-privileged people, the elderly, the person with disabilities, minorities, and those living in remote and rural areas."
Women's advocacy groups are also lobbying against paragraph 9bis. They are troubled by how the groups enumerated in paragraph 9bis are conveniently lumped under one category, maintaining that doing so will not emphasise the importance of each constituency's particular issues.
For a full copy of the Disability Caucus statement, visit http://www.prepcom.net/wsis/1064590573909/view
The Working Group on Community Media, on the other hand, has called on the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan last 26 September 2003 to ensure that the WSIS "prioritise the empowerment of the poorest people and communities in the world including better access to traditional communications media alongside new information and communication technologies."
Many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and CSOs involved in community-based media and communications are deeply dissatisfied with the outcome of PrepCom 3. The present draft Declaration and Action Plan gives priority to the infrastructure for internet connectivity but fails to address the fundamental barriers of electricity supply, literacy and equipment costs that will exclude the world's poorest people.
The low profile of traditional communications media in the draft documents and the absence of any measurable indicators between the proposed ICT infrastructure targets and the agreed UN Millennium Development Goals is leading many CSOs to question the real commitment to development at the forthcoming UN World Summit.
The statement emphasised that community-based communications media have a crucial role to play in enabling participation, strengthening cultural diversity, promoting gender equality and supporting a more just and equitable information society that includes the voices of the poor and the marginalised.
For the full statement, http://www.prepcom.net/wsis/1064587116987/view
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