participation of HCHR

[Rik Panganiban <rikp@bluewin.ch>]

25 September 2003

Osamu Shiraishi
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Geneva, Switzerland

Dear Osamu,

The new "Note from the WSIS Executive Secretariat" on the Organization of Work of the Geneva Phase of the Summit indicates that it may not be possible for the High Commissioner for Human Rights to participate in the official plenary or even in the high-level roundtables being organized in parallel to the Plenaries.  The proposed format for the Geneva Summit indicates that only those intergovernmental organizations that are members of the "High Level Summit Organizaing Committee can make statements to the plenary.  In addition, the roundtables seem to indicate a similar restriction.

There of course may be other parallel events that the High Commissioner would be welcome at, i.e. the World Forum on Communications Rights on December 11, but he apparently can not participate in the actual Summit.  I personally find this very discouraging and alarming, given the human rights considerations in the WSIS.

You may wish to follow this up with the WSIS executive secretariat on this question, assuming that The High Commissioner expresses an interest in speaking at the WSIS in December.  If we can assist at all in this regard, please be in touch.

Thank you again for your support for our human rights event last week.  Your presence, on behalf of the High Commissioner, was much welcomed by all of us present.

Respectfully,



Rik Panganiban
World Federalist Movement

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Rik Panganiban             email: rikp@bluewin.ch
Special Adviser            tel: +41 22 734 9774
World Federalist Movement  Fax: +41 22 734 9775
www.wfm.org                Mobile: +41 76 473 3274
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=