• wsf2012 wsffp questions

last modified May 27, 2012 by pierre

A - 4 Questions on the WSF Free Palestine reference document-

http://openfsm.net/projects/espacios-oe/event-wsffp-poa2012

The “WSF Free Palestine reference document” is essentially a double call:

  • 1/a call to participate in the Jordan meeting and join the international committee and
  • 2/a call for developing 15 types of actions around Palestine issue, which maybe giving indication of “WHERE” the forum participants might locate themselves in term of mode of developing solidarity with Palestine ( is this binding participants or not?)  , but not “WHAT will or will not happen  “inside the forum space” .

It is not plainly mentioned that this WSF free palestine event process , described as a “new kind of global forum “, will follow the methodology of a social forum and abides by WSF charter  and is organized with reference to “guiding principles for organizing WSF events”. 

The simple mention of WSF in the name cannot be considered enough to confirm this especially when other key elements seems to be contrary to this , as the participation of political parties in the international committee of this event ( part B)

 

  • 1>Will this World Social forum free Palestine process be proceeding  along  the two reference documents in WSF: “WSF charter” and the “guiding principles for organizing a WSF event”. This implies in particular that no activity is organized by political parties and that there is no final statement made in the name of WSF Free Palestine .
  • 2>How can explicit mention of a “methodology aligned with WSF charter” be added in a version of the reference document ? Will organizations registering within this forum process be asked to state their agreement with WSF charter as is done in any WSF event registration
  • 3>What are the “positions and issues adopted by the First National Meeting of Solidarity with the Palestinian people in Brazil” which seem to be the ground on which the Palestine committee is making a call to join the WSF free Palestine process ? As such they should be made accessible to the readers of the documen
  • 4>If some organizations are thinking they are active on solidarity with Palestine but do not necessarily accept all the 15 grounds of action listed in the reference document ( eg they do not want to participate in the BDS campaign) , are they welcome in the WSF Free Palestine forum space ? In other words do potential participants have to support fully the content of the “reference document”, and not only the WSF charter?

 

B - 5 Questions on WSF free Palestine methodology – presence of political parties in the committee:

 

The function of the Jordan meeting next June 12th appears be to create an “international committee”, which is announced in the circulated call  to be including political parties,. and to have the responsibility to “Follow up WSF-Free Palestine strategies and recommendations” –

This seems to take this event away from being a “social forum” and raise a series of questions.


  • 1> Will there be an explicit prohibition of activities organized by political parties in the space of the forum,( as excluded per the WSF charter  whereby member of political parties can only be invited to participate individually  in activities organized by civil society organisations?)
  • 2> Will this WSF Free Palestine forum event end up with some kind of unique final statement about “strategies and recommendations” that the international committee would be appointed to “follow up”, or will there be a plurality of self organized assemblies, not speaking in the name of the WSF Free Palestine, each expressing strategies and recommendations ( and which would be publicized “as a service from the process ” analogous to what is said in WSF charter article 7)
  • 3 > Will political parties be entitled to participate in and undersign declarations made in the unique, or diverse, assemblies, or only civil society organizations ?
  • 4> will this committee be acting on consensus ?( will political parties member of this committee be part of this consensus making or be only observers)
  • 5> Inasmuch methodology  would not be described upfront “as per WSF charter” , How/when will this “new kind of global forum” methodology be defined later within the international committee formed in Jordan, thus allowing to give answers to questions raised in this B section?.