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 Participation and accreditation of NGOs, civil society and the private sector for PrepComs
Summary of Official PrepCom-1 Document WSIS/PC-1/DOC/9
Participation
By laying down in its Rules of Procedure the principles of effective participation by non-governmental organizations, civil society and business sector entities, the Preparatory Committee decided to encourage the active participation of these stakeholders in the intergovernmental preparatory process. Adopted at the PrepCom's first session in July, the Rules of Procedure allow accredited NGOs, civil society and business sector entities to participate as observers in public meetings of the Preparatory Committee, and its subcommittees. They may accordingly make oral statements and submit written contributions on matters relevant to the preparatory work. Such written statements will be distributed to all delegations. At its first session, the Preparatory Committee also established arrangements to govern such participation,
under which representatives of civil society and the business sector will have the same status. They will be allowed to submit substantive contributions along with executive summaries pertaining to issues dealt with at meetings of the Preparatory Committee and the Summit. The contributions will be circulated to governments and published on the WSIS website. The Executive Secretariat will be responsible for compiling the executive summaries in a document, which will
be widely circulated so that it may be discussed before the next session of the Preparatory Committee. Furthermore, all stakeholders will be able to take part in thematic roundtables to be organized at the second session of the PrepCom. The outcome of the thematic roundtables will be a summary of the discussion, which will form part of the preparatory work and be incorporated in the records of the Preparatory Committee. Lastly, with a view to contributing effectively to the success of the Summit, NGOs, civil society and business sector entities are invited to nominate speakers who will report to the Preparatory Committee on parallel and networked events.
See also: https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-s/md/02/wsispc1/doc/S02-WSISPC1-DOC-0009!!MSW-E.doc
Accreditation
Non-governmental organizations that have consultative status with ECOSOC and ITU Sector Members are accredited automatically. Other civil society and business sector entities wishing to take part in the preparatory work for the Summit must apply for accreditation to the Executive Secretariat at least six weeks before the next session of the Preparatory Committee. The application must give basic information on the entity in question (name, legal status, year of establishment, list of members, description of the membership, description of programmes and activities). Together with the application, the entity must submit inter alia copies of annual reports and its constitution and bylaws. On the basis of this information the Executive Secretariat will make its evaluation and submit its recommendations to the Preparatory Committee two weeks before its next session. The decision as to the accreditation of such entities will ultimately
rest with governments. Accreditation being a continuous process, entities accredited at the second PrepCom will be allowed to take part in all subsequent PrepComs and the Summit unless the Preparatory Committee or the Summit decides otherwise. Since accreditation to the first PrepCom of civil society and business sector entities was granted on a provisional basis, it will have to be reviewed at its second session.
See also: https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-s/md/02/wsispc1/doc/S02-WSISPC1-DOC-0009!A1!MSW-E.doc
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