Regional Civil Society Forum on the Information Society for the Middle East and West Asia unexpectedly banned by government authorities.

The Arab Network for Human Rights Info:

A regional civil society forum in Iran, grouping 40 Iranian and international delegates to talk about the Internet and information society was banned a few hours before the start of the event.

The second Regional Civil Society Forum on the Information Society for the Middle East and West Asia was to take place in the free trade zone of Kish Island, Iran on August 23-25.

The Forum was organized by Volunteer Actors, an Iranian NGO which also serves as the civil society focal point for the WSIS for the Middle East and West Asia.

The United Nations, the World Bank, UNESCO and the WSIS secretariat collaborated in the planning of the event. READ MORE

The Forum was designed to form recommendations from the region on the Internet and information policy to take to the UN-sponsored WSIS-2 summit scheduled for Tunisia in November, which all national governments and major international organizations will attend.

Civil Society organizations have been an integral part of the WSIS process since its inception and have actively been engaged in drafting declarations.

We, the international organizations present, strongly regret the decision of the Iranian authorities to ban the civil society forum which was to discuss the issues of access to information, freedom of expression on the Internet, and to build the capacities of civil society organizations and women's NGOs through a series of ICT related training programs.

An Iranian governmental delegation attended the WSIS-1 summit in 2003 and Iran is an active participant and signatory to the WSIS Declaration and Plan of Action.

It committed itself to the spirit and ambitions of the Summit and information society, which include the wide participation of government, private and NGO sector actors.

A similar conference to prepare for WSIS-1 was also held at Kish in August 2003 with the full acceptance of the authorities.

Canceling the event is in violation of the established goals and principles of the WSIS.

In Iran, as elsewhere, ICTs play an important part in the development of Iran's economy and society, and its role in the region.

We sincerely hope that this decision was due to local administrative error, and not a considered policy at a strategic level by the Iranian authorities.

Call to action:

The Iranian authorities:

1 We would request that Iranian authorities clarify the reasons why this meeting was cancelled in violation of the spirit of both WSIS and Article 19.
2 We would also like to request the cooperation of the government in guaranteeing the ability to hold future meetings of civil society organizations.
3 The Iranian government should live up to its international commitments and international human rights instruments.
4 The Iranian government should recognize the important role of NGOs and CSOs in advancing social and economic development.

To international development partners and UN bodies:

1 We would request you to use all networks and channels available to you to protest against the decision by the Iranian authorities.
2 We also would like to request you to continue your support to Iranian CSOs, the strengthening of the Iranian civil society, the WSIS process and international human rights.

WSIS authorities:

3 We would request you to lodge a protest with the Iranian authorities on the grounds that their restriction of this conference has contravened their own obligations under the WSIS framework, to which they are signatories.
4 We also would like to request you to facilitate and monitor the participation of Iranian civil society and private sector in all aspects of the WSIS process.

National governments, regional and diplomatic communities

5 We would request you to lodge a protest with the Iranian authorities on the grounds that their restriction of this conference has contravened their own obligations under the WSIS framework and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which they are signatories.
6 We also would like to request you to facilitate and monitor the participation of Iranian civil society and private sector in all aspects of the WSIS process.

Annex: The events as they unfolded…

A month before the meeting:

1 Organizers traveled to Kish and met with the Executive Director of the Kish Free Trade Zone, Mr. Ghasemi and Kish University to coordinate the logistics for the implementation of this meeting in Kish.

The meetings were followed by official letters to both the University and the Kish Free Trade Zone and asking for their cooperation and coordination in convening the meeting.

There were no problems or objections to convening this meeting expressed by the government.

The day before the meeting:

1 Officials from the Office of Amaken (Public Spaces) of the Police Force requested the organizers to submit to them a list of participants, both national and international.
2 Through telephone conversations the Office of Amaken (Public Spaces) of the Police Force informed the organizers that a license was necessary to convene the event.
3 The Office of Foreign Citizens contacted the organizers asking for an explanation for the participation of international organizations, especially those from outside the region.

The organizers explained that the international participants are either qualified trainers or working in the region.

4 The organizers attempted to get a permit from the Kish authorities, who informed them that these types of meetings do not require a license.

But at the same time, the organizers were perplexed because the Amaken office was requiring a license.

5 Finally, the Dept. of Social Affairs in Kish agreed to consider the organizers request for a license and then would respond promptly.

The Dept. of Social Affairs convened a Provincial Security Council meeting.
Day 1 of the meeting (as scheduled):

6 The authorities informed the organizers that the meeting was cancelled because - given the transitional state of the government - the meeting has political consequences for the Kish Free Trade Zone
7 Kish University officials contacted the organizers that they had also been contacted by the Kish authorities and told that the meeting was officially cancelled.
8 The organizers contacted the National High Council on ICT, the Iranian representative to the United Nations, and the Secretariat of the High Council on National Security to lobby for their support and to alter the decision.

The organizers also contacted the Secretariat for Free Trade Zones with responsibility for Kish and other free trade zones in Iran.

9 These efforts and contacts resulted in a change in the position of local authorities which was that the conference could continue but only with certain conditions.

The stipulations were that:

1. The conference could not make any comment on Iran.
2. The organizers should guarantee in writing that they would take responsibility for everything discussed at the meeting, including their opinions.

Discussion of conditions continued through the day and night of the first day of the scheduled conference.

Day 2 of the scheduled conference:

1 The organizers asked for specifics on the terms to see if there steps that could be taken to accommodate the conference. At that point the conference was officially cancelled.
2 The officials announced to the hotel that participants should not gather in groups.
3 A morning meeting intended to inform participants of the conference of the situation was also interrupted as an unsanctioned meeting.
4 The police arrived to inform hotel officials that conference participants are not allowed to gather.