Friday, February 04, 2005
Tunisia ready to host WSIS
By Emrakeb Assefa
Tunisian officials attending the Africa Regional Preparatory Conference for World Summit for Information Society (WSIS) here in Accra say that they are ready to make Africa proud by hosting the second phase of the Summit scheduled to take place in November 2005 in Tunis.
Guellouz Ridha, advisor to the Tunisian minister of communication and technologies was responding to reports that accuse his country of gross human rights violations and the infringement of freedom of expression in Tunisia. Ridha denied the allegation and instead dared the outside world to attend the Tunis Summit to find out whether the country is guilty of any human rights violations.
“Is it possible to imagine a country which has realised progressive ICT policy, almost eradicated poverty, abolished illiteracy, and proposed the holding of WSIS could violate human rights?” he asked.
Tunisia proposed the holding of a global summit to develop an approach for action aimed at bridging the digital divide and to reach a common vision of the information society at an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) conference in 1998.
Ridha stressed, “We are hosting the summit and the event by itself will provide people with a chance to see for themselves if we are indeed violating any human rights.”
“It is easy to talk but very hard to work,” he said, explaining that Tunisia has committed itself to broadening the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for development on the global agenda.
The holding of the WSIS in Tunisia has put the country under close scrutiny over the last year. Most of the preparatory committee meetings are scheduled to take place in Tunisia up to the Tunis summit from 14-16 November 2005.
The Tunisia Phase of WSIS involves a process of monitoring and evaluating the progress of feasible actions laid out in the Geneva Plan of Action, and a concrete set of deliverables that must be achieved by the time the Summit meets again in Tunis.
Efforts are now being made to put the Plan of Action into motion while working groups have already been set up to find solutions and reach agreements in the fields of internet governance and financing mechanisms.
Tunisian officials attending the Africa Regional Preparatory Conference for World Summit for Information Society (WSIS) here in Accra say that they are ready to make Africa proud by hosting the second phase of the Summit scheduled to take place in November 2005 in Tunis.
Guellouz Ridha, advisor to the Tunisian minister of communication and technologies was responding to reports that accuse his country of gross human rights violations and the infringement of freedom of expression in Tunisia. Ridha denied the allegation and instead dared the outside world to attend the Tunis Summit to find out whether the country is guilty of any human rights violations.
“Is it possible to imagine a country which has realised progressive ICT policy, almost eradicated poverty, abolished illiteracy, and proposed the holding of WSIS could violate human rights?” he asked.
Tunisia proposed the holding of a global summit to develop an approach for action aimed at bridging the digital divide and to reach a common vision of the information society at an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) conference in 1998.
Ridha stressed, “We are hosting the summit and the event by itself will provide people with a chance to see for themselves if we are indeed violating any human rights.”
“It is easy to talk but very hard to work,” he said, explaining that Tunisia has committed itself to broadening the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for development on the global agenda.
The holding of the WSIS in Tunisia has put the country under close scrutiny over the last year. Most of the preparatory committee meetings are scheduled to take place in Tunisia up to the Tunis summit from 14-16 November 2005.
The Tunisia Phase of WSIS involves a process of monitoring and evaluating the progress of feasible actions laid out in the Geneva Plan of Action, and a concrete set of deliverables that must be achieved by the time the Summit meets again in Tunis.
Efforts are now being made to put the Plan of Action into motion while working groups have already been set up to find solutions and reach agreements in the fields of internet governance and financing mechanisms.
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