Full Coverage: North Africa

28.11.2005 Civil Society organisations had earlier written to United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan expressing serious concern about the suitability of Tunisia as a host country for the WSIS because of its poor huiman rights record. They have now asked him, again, to take follow up measures after serious attacks on human rights and the right to freedom of expression at the summit.

25.11.2005 An estimated three million girls in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East undergo genital mutilation every year, but the practice could be eliminated within a generation, says the UN Children's Fund.
* Razor's Edge - The Controversy of Female Genital Mutilation, OneWorld TV

22.11.2005 The U.S. should urge the U.N. to provide a stronger mandate and larger force to protect the vulnerable in Darfur, Sudan, said Africa Action Monday. The U.S. is in a strong position to initiate an intervention and Americans want it, the group said, citing the thousands of postcards U.S. citizens have sent to the White House calling for action.

21.11.2005 The legitimacy of the World Summit On the Information Society had been put in question by the interference of the Tunisian authorities, and no UN-sponsored summit should ever again be held under such oppressive conditions, said a leading right group.

20.11.2005 On the afternoon of Friday, November 18, 2005, one of three stakeholders taking part in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) drew a line in the sand. Civil society (CS) representatives from all continents lined up on a panel to deliver a stark closing statement. At the same time, International Telecommunications Union UN-o-crats drew conclusions of their own a couple of hundred meters away in the plenary room.

18.11.2005 "I guess, once again, the “All” in ICTs for all seems to be selective in its application", writes Jac sm Kee, the regular contributor to the APC WSIS blog.

18.11.2005 Swiss Communications Minister Moritz Leuenberger denies a rupture with Tunisia over his government's controversial stand on the host government's treatment of journalists and human rights activists before the UN World Summit on the Information Society.

18.11.2005 The African Union will tarnish its credibility and condone the Sudanese government’s complicity in crimes against humanity if it allows Khartoum to host the organisation's summit in January, a leading rights group has told heads of state.
* More trouble at another Summit: Amnesty International delegates prevented from meeting leading Tunisian human rights group; Tunisia slated over net controls

18.11.2005 APC vi go pretstavuva Taurai Maduna, informaticar od nevladina organizacija od Zimbabve, Kubatana i ucesnik na WSIS.
Maduna e ucesnik na rabotilnicata koja ja organizira HIVOS, nerecena "Izrazuvanje pod reprasija", koja se odrza deneska. Kako sto izjavuva, nego ne go interesira sto imaat da kazat vladite prisutni na WSIS, koi idat i nametnuivaat uslovi za koi ne moza da se pregovara, tuku go interesiraat ucesnicite od gragjanskite organizascii od cel svet i razmenata na idei.

18.11.2005 Taurai Maduna is an information officer with the Zimbabwean NGO online community Kubatana, and we met up with him in the middle of the exposition centre of the Kram, Tunis. APC's Karel Novotny reports from Tunis.

18.11.2005 Digital Opportunity Channel familiarisation and community engagement programme was hosted at the BCO Souk in the WSIS II, Tunis reports Atanu Garai from Tunis.

18.11.2005 Latha Gauri, a video reporter from Kothlapur village, Andhra Pradesh India, was the second grassroots knowledge worker to take the voices and concerns of the grassroots communities across the world, to the international policy platform at WSIS II at Tunis on November 17, 2005.

18.11.2005 A High-Level Round Table on “Shaping the Future through Knowledge”, the second of three events organised by UNESCO at the Tunis meeting of the World Summit on the Information Society, is taking place today.

18.11.2005 The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, José Antonio Ocampo, launched the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament, an alliance of national and regional assemblies, bilateral and multilateral agencies, international organisations, media, corporations and civil society.

18.11.2005 Now that water has been poured over the 'burning issue' of who controls the internet - with yesterday's agreement to set up a new Internet Governance Forum, the focus in Tunis has switched to tackling poverty.

17.11.2005 Wednesday afternoon, November 17, the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH) invited the press and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for what was to become a marathon of explicit talks challenging the Tunisian government on its human rights record. While heads of states’ speeches present at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) were pouring in on all TV channels, revolution was just around the corner in another district of Tunis. Report by APC News.

17.11.2005 Participants in the ‘Media in the making of Information Society’ dialogue in the WSIS II highlighted the pivotal role that media plays in local development. OneWorld South Asia organised the dialogue on November 14, 2005 during the ongoing Tunis Summit reports Atanu Garai of OneWorld South Asia from Tunis.

17.11.2005 Nastanot, imaku prilicno impresiven, na koj govorea Kofi Anan, generalen sekretar na ON, tuniskiot pretsedatel Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Yoshio Utsumi, generalen sekretar na megunarodniot sendikat za telekomunikacii i dr, sepak ostana odbelezan po obrakjanjeto na Shirin Ebadi, pretsedatel na Ligata za covekovi prava od Tunis (LTDH) i dobitnik na Nobelovata nagrada za mir 2003. Vo svoeto obrakanje Ebadi se osvrna najmnogu na zacuvuvanjeto na slobodata na govorot, a istakna deka e neprifatlivo vo ON seuste da clenuvaat zemji koi otvoreno koi krsat covekovite prava.

17.11.2005 It has been a crazy tiring, hectic and running-around day, so I am hoping to give a small glimpse at least before I pass out into oblivion. So, after working on this process for close to 7 years, we are finally tying up the ribbons and signing on the dotted line with icing. Yes, it is WSIS II opening! Jac sm Kee reports for APC WSIS Blog.

17.11.2005 A Workshop on "ICT and Persons with Disabilities", the first of three events organised by UNESCO at the Tunis meeting of the World Summit on the Information Society, is taking place today.