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<font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">IT for Change is planning to
submit to the following comments on JPA. <br>
<br>
These comments are premised on our belief that what we are looking for
here is a *major* political decision from the highest level of the US
government, and not merely </font><font
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">an </font><font
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">administrative change. Therefore,
the principal appeal we make has to be strongly political, pitched to
the highest principles of fairness and justice, and of globally
democratic governance for global issues. The best way to do so is to
remind the US government of its commitments at the WSIS, and point out
how these commitments call for specific actions by the US government as
the JPA comes to an end. It is accordingly also important to connect
the post-JPA arrangement to the corresponding elements in the Tunis
Agenda that all have agreed to - the 'enhanced cooperation'
framework. We are a bit surprised as to why the comments of </font><font
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">even the </font><font
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">actors who are opposed to JPA as
well as to a free-float ICANN are not focusing on the obvious space
that has some (significant) existing recognition and legitimacy, and
was always meant as an exercise</font><font
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">, inter alia,</font><font
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"> to create post-JPA oversight
mechanisms.<br>
<br>
Text of the proposed statement<br>
<br>
Speaking as a civil society
organization from a developing country, we are impressed by the
stance taken by the present US administration on issues related to
perceptions as well as facts of US hegemony in various global
affairs. The most recent pronouncement by President Obama in his
address at the Cairo University attests to this refreshing approach
which promises a new role for the US in managing our collective
global affairs, and a new perception of the US among other countries
and people. </font>
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<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">“</font><font
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">No
single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear
weapons. That is why I strongly reaffirmed America’s commitment to
seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons.”</font></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">It
is, in this context, important that the US government recognizes that
a unilateral control of critical Internet resources exercised by the
US is not tenable, and greatly contributes to the 'hegemonistic'
image of the US, and its pursuance of what President Obama rightly
called as 'double standards'. The outcome documents of the World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), to whic</font><font
color="#000000" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">h
US government is a signatory, recognized this as the application of
'principle of universality' for Internet governance. The summit
asserted that that '</font><font color="#000000"
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><font size="3">all
governments should have an equal role and responsibility for
international Internet governance'. 'The international management of
the Internet should be multilateral, transparent and democratic,</font></font><font
color="#000000" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><font size="2">
w</font></font><font color="#000000"
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><font size="3">ith
the full involvement of governments, the private sector, civil
society and international organizations'.</font></font></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">The
WSIS also called for a process of 'enhanced cooperation' to be
initiated, inter alia, to deal with the issue of legitimate oversight
mechanisms for critical Interent resources. This process should have
been initiated by the UN Secretary General in early 2006. Apparently,
it is difficult to get on with this process without some clear
helpful signs from the US government which holds the oversight power
at present, including through the JPA. It will be most befitting the
new approach of Obama administration for it to signal its desire to
begin the process of 'enhanced cooperation' towards developing
legitimate oversight mechanisms as per WSIS principles, and in a
manner that address the legitimate interests of all countries and
people, including of the US. </font>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">As
for the possibility of allowing ICANN to subsist without any
oversight mechanism, we are strongly against any industry-led
regulatory system which, in our view, is an oxymoron. The limits of
self-regulation in areas of key public interest have been shown by
the recent banking fiasco which is bringing untold miseries all over
the world. We are therefore of the firm view that ICANN does require
external oversight. </font>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><font
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">The
best way forward therefore is to annul the current JPA, and enter
into a new trilateral agreement between ICANN, US and the UN system
to start a process towards </font><font
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><font size="1">'</font></font><font
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><font size="3">development
of globally-applicable principles on public policy issues associated
with the coordination and management of critical Internet resources'</font></font><font
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><font size="1">
(</font></font><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">as agreed
at the WSIS) and also developing appropriate institutional mechanisms
of oversight over ICANN, in its tasks of technical management of
CIRs. This process, as called for by the WSIS, should be, to repeat,
<font size="3">'</font></font><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><font
size="3">multilateral,
transparent and democratic, with the full involvement of governments,
the private sector, civil society and international organizations'.</font></font><font
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><font size="2">
</font></font></p>
<br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">(text ends)<br>
<br>
<br>
parminder <br>
</font>
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