[governance] On; Is there any hope for the Internet Governance Forum? | IGP Blog

[Fouad Bajwa]

Dear Milton and all,

I was just reading through the article Milton published on his blog (link
below) and one of the questions that continues to strike was that is ITU
trying to tackle through the ITRs where the IGF is failing and falling
apart?

Secondly is the private sector contributing to the overall ITR paranoia by
lobbying and pushing certain legislations and surveillance activity in the
name of national security and cyber defence stifling HR and FoE that will
be later framed as the fault of the ITU, ITRs, failed IGF and weak and
corrupt governments!

We have seen other UN supported broader settings with a weak foundation
slowly crumbling without any outcome such as the UNGAID though the analogy
may not truly fit this argument but can be used as a recent reference.

Leaving the CSTD/ECOSOC approved IGF improvements aside, as I remain highly
skeptical they will ever get implemented, the role of private sector
remains self possessed and sneaky to keep things in their hands and exploit
their position and sustain their self-designed grip on the global Internet
development business.

On the note about the CIR session, why did we forget the IG4D session that
was thrown out in every other direction. On certain occasions, one of our
own CS MAG member was seen slowly tilting towards private sector led
objections to CS backed interventions. That member's stake was private
sector funding into their group's project. Private agendas and cashing the
weak IGF setting is also an opportunity for some in the name of advocacy
and capacity raising. No one raises capacity on the solid changes required
to evolve the IGF into that initial belief that supported its founding.
That also leads to losing ground for participation from LDCs etc.

Sadly, the IGF private sector stakeholder setting is heavily if not
completely filled with US centric and developed nation business backed
lobbyists and the same faces that are there are everywhere in every
Internet policy and freedom of expression dialogue in the world ironically
both leading and moderating discussions portraying local business owners or
self-identified locals as leaders or catalysts of revolutions in those
countries.

My hopes with the IGF are becoming skeptical every passing day as I see it
lacking impact. First, since 2005, there has been no delegation from my or
many South Asian/SAARC countries to the IGF. They participate in the ITU
because it funds them to almost all of its meetings and gives space to
country delegations etc in whatever form or model it runs.

On the other hand, countries like mine and many others being pushed and
funded by the Internet private sector backed lobbyists to quickly design
and implement repressive policies and legislations before the wcit ITR's
happen so that such legislations and policy changes can be blamed on ITRs.

Examples include development or modifications to electronic, privacy,
e-payment safety-nets, cybercrime legislation backed by ideas from
commonwealth cybercrime initiative without leading any open press releases
and public or multistakeholder consultations.

And all the things I have shared are in the open and happening whereas we
continue to believe and live in a fools paradise about evolving a rosy
world. Internet Public Policy and any related notion is being tangled by
private sector lobbying.

There are examples even on this list where Private Sector people from my
country portray themselves as CS have and are participating in key igc
activities including nomcom processes and have been floating false
credentials and whenever pointed out are ignored in the name of openness
and inclusiveness. How long will we be allowing ourselves to be eaten from
the inside where as other IGF stakeholder groups completely ignore us.
Sorry this is not ICANN and no, it has its own crazy mess!

I am becoming self-critical because the IGF multistakeholder-ism itself is
being gnawed down from the inside due to limited regular self-assessment
and watching out who tries to take part in our open processes. Every
stakeholder in the IGF process needs some self-reflection as to what are we
doing to the future of a single and open Internet with our private agendas.

http://www.internetgovernance.org/2012/07/30/is-there-any-hope-for-the-internet-governance-forum/

Fouad Bajwa
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.igcaucus.org/pipermail/governance/attachments/20120809/a7e06446/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.igcaucus.org
To be removed from the list, visit:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing

For all other list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/governance
To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/

Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t