Statement to the Social Movements Assembly from the global Campaign for Communication Rights in the Information Society (CRIS)

World Social Forum 2007, Nairobi, January 24

At a convergence session on communication rights, held on January 24, the following agenda items were agreed on:

1) Communication rights are fundamental to democratic process, to the organization and struggles of social movements and to the exercise of all human rights.

2) Information, communication and knowledge must be recognized as common goods and public services, not commodities.

3) We call on all social movements:

a) to claim communication rights to be enforced through public policy. Information, communication and knowledge should be kept out of trade agreements.

b) to claim the electric/radio spectrum and Internet as public goods which must be open and freely accessible to all.

c) to mobilize on the common day of action in January 2008 around these issues and link them to our other social struggles.