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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).<br>
<br>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica;"><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">"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."<br>
<br>
<br>
</span></div>
<br>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica;">--- begins ---</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica;">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).</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica;">Despite a<span
style="text-decoration: line-through;">n intergovernmental</span>
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.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica;"><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">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.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica;">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.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica;">These points will be
explained in turn:</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica;">1. Although much of
the discussion of enhanced cooperation at WSIS turned around
the narrow issue of internationalising the oversight of <span
style="text-decoration: line-through;">Internet naming and
numbering functions</span><span style="text-decoration:
underline;"> critical Internet resource administration</span>,
the Tunis Agenda expresses this principle far more broadly to
include <span style="color: rgb(51, 50, 51);">other substantive
Internet related public policy issues that require attention and
resolution at the global level</span>. 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.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica;"><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">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.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica;">2. The IGF in its
present form is a very important part of the <span
style="text-decoration: underline;">broader</span> 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.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica;"><span
style="text-decoration: line-through;">If institutional changes
are to be made, t</span>There are various options for enhancing
multi-stakeholder cooperation within and amongst all relevant
organisations (which may be complementary). These include:</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica;"><span
style="text-decoration: underline;">* making no institutional
changes but encouraging organisations to enhance their own
cooperation with other stakeholders and to report to the CSTD on
their progress;</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica;">* establishing a
lightweight multi-stakeholder observatory process perhaps hosted
under the auspices of the IGF (pursuant to its mandate in
paragraph 72(i));</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica;">* utilising a
virtual and voluntary global social community or ecosystem,
linking together all Internet governance organisations, in which
all stakeholders would participate; or</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica;">* <span
style="text-decoration: line-through;">establishing a new
umbrella governance institution for Internet policy development</span>
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">establishing new
governance arrangements designed to address any pressing public
policy matters that cannot be managed through existing
institutions</span>, with space for the full participation of
each stakeholder group in its respective role.<span
style="text-decoration: line-through;"> This might also be
situated within the IGF, but pursuant to a new
and supplementary mandate.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica; min-height: 14px;"><br>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica;">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.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px; font: 12px Helvetica;"><br>
</div>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; font: 12px Helvetica;">--- ends ---</p>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Katitza Rodriguez
International Rights Director
Electronic Frontier Foundation
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:katitza@eff.org">katitza@eff.org</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:katitza@datos-personales.org">katitza@datos-personales.org</a> (personal email)
Please support EFF - Working to protect your digital rights and freedom of speech since 1990</pre>
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