[governance] FINAL? DRAFT statement on enhanced cooperation

[Katitza Rodriguez]

I have trouble understanding Parminder's opinion. While I agree with 
this phrase (quote below), I do not understand why he thinks that by 
having this new global policy setting, Bilateral agreements (US FTAs - 
other countries), ACTA, etc will stop from happening. Better to said: 
Why creating a new  global policy setting with binding recommendations 
will avoid / stop those agreements to happen.  The United States start 
using this strategy when they failed to incorporate some of these 
proposals through WIPO, so they end up adding those proposals through 
the bilateral or multi lateral agreements (which of course, we object).

"It is now especially critical that the global community give renewed 
attention to these principles, at a time when we see danger of them 
being forgotten - for example, in that a proposed Anti-Counterfeiting 
Trade Agreement that will affect Internet users around the world 
(including the most marginalized), has been shaped almost entirely by 
powerful corporate and state actors from the global North."



--- begins ---

The Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus (CS-IGC) regards the 
process towards enhanced cooperation as a vital step towards addressing 
the "many cross-cutting international public policy issues that require 
attention and are not adequately addressed by the current mechanisms" 
(Tunis Agenda para 68).

Despite an intergovernmental mandate from WSIS to address this 
governance deficit, much remains to be done.  It is imperative that this 
deficit continue to be addressed, where appropriate through new 
institutional developments that comply with the WSIS process criteria of 
being multilateral, transparent, democratic and inclusive.

It is now especially critical that the global community give renewed 
attention to these principles, at a time when we see danger of them 
being forgotten - for example, in that a proposed Anti-Counterfeiting 
Trade Agreement that will affect Internet users around the world 
(including the most marginalized), has been shaped almost entirely by 
powerful corporate and state actors from the global North.

We make three further points.  First, enhanced cooperation should 
encompass all Internet-related public policy issues; second, many of our 
members believe the existing arrangements of relevant organisations 
(including the Internet Governance Forum) do not fully implement 
enhanced cooperation, and thirdly whatever new arrangements may be put 
in place, civil society must play an integral part in them, as one of 
the prerequisites for their legitimacy.

These points will be explained in turn:

1. Although much of the discussion of enhanced cooperation at WSIS 
turned around the narrow issue of internationalising the oversight of 
Internet naming and numbering functions critical Internet resource 
administration, the Tunis Agenda expresses this principle far more 
broadly to include other substantive Internet related public policy 
issues that require attention and resolution at the global level.  It 
also reminds us that the ultimate objective of our cooperation is to 
advance a people-centred, inclusive, development-oriented and 
non-discriminatory Information Society.

This is not to say that the broadening of oversight of critical Internet 
resource administration is not an important issue - it is, and CS-IGC 
members are among many who strongly consider the continuing supervisory 
role of the US government to be inappropriate for a truly global 
resource such as the Internet. But this is only one of many important 
public policy issues on which enhanced cooperation is needed.

2. The IGF in its present form is a very important part of the broader 
enhanced cooperation process, in that its multi-stakeholder process can 
provide input to shape decisions taken on Internet related public policy 
issues in other fora.  However the full realisation of enhanced 
cooperation will require a multi-stakeholder process to extend to all 
other Internet governance organisations, whether new or established.

If institutional changes are to be made, tThere are various options for 
enhancing multi-stakeholder cooperation within and amongst all relevant 
organisations (which may be complementary).  These include:

* making no institutional changes but encouraging organisations to 
enhance their own cooperation with other stakeholders and to report to 
the CSTD on their progress;

* establishing a lightweight multi-stakeholder observatory process 
perhaps hosted under the auspices of the IGF (pursuant to its mandate in 
paragraph 72(i));

* utilising a virtual and voluntary global social community or 
ecosystem, linking together all Internet governance organisations, in 
which all stakeholders would participate; or

* establishing a new umbrella governance institution for Internet policy 
development establishing new governance arrangements designed to address 
any pressing public policy matters that cannot be managed through 
existing institutions, with space for the full participation of each 
stakeholder group in its respective role. This might also be situated 
within the IGF, but pursuant to a new and supplementary mandate.

3. Paragraph 71 of the Tunis Agenda makes very clear that civil society 
is an integral participant in the development of any process towards 
enhanced cooperation.  Therefore the IGC, in our capacity as members of 
civil society, looks forward to contributing constructively in 
transparent, accountable and democratic multi-stakeholder 
consultations towards this end.

--- ends ---


-- 
Katitza Rodriguez
International Rights Director
Electronic Frontier Foundation
katitza at eff.org
katitza at datos-personales.org (personal email)

Please support EFF - Working to protect your digital rights and freedom of speech since 1990

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