[bestbits] Re: Call for comment: civil society letter to PCLOB re: human rights impacts of NSA surveillance of 'non-US persons'

[Jeremy Malcolm]

On 24/07/13 09:44, parminder wrote:
> However, this problem can easily be addressed if the statement
> includes an appeal for global legal frameworks for the same
> purpose..... Are the framers of the statement willing to consider this?

As you know, I am firmly in favour of this as an objective, and it's
part of what we're working through on the EC list (to be communicated
back to this main list once we have reached a stable point in the
discussion).  But it may be premature for us to call on the US to submit
to such a global legal framework before we ourselves have a firm
proposal in this regard.  So I would advocate keeping our ammunition
dry, ie. leaving it out of the letter for now, and coming out strongly
on this once we can make a good and broadly-agreed case for it.

> Another unconnected point, I often see statements that are signed by
> various actors using the BestBits as a facilitating platform, without
> them being developed and signed on the behalf of the BestBits group/
> coalition, then after being signed  propositioned as BestBits
> statements. Recently I saw such a reference in the press, about a
> statement that was never signed by the group as a whole being called
> as a BestBits statement. This proposed letter also refers to an
> earlier statement being of BestBits coalition whereas it was never
> signed by the group as a whole...

In Bali we did achieve unanimous endorsement of the group's outputs,
which honestly to me came as a (pleasant) surprise, as I had expected
that there would be some outlying views that could not be accommodated. 
Since then we have not aspired to achieve 100% sign-on before releasing
statements.  I feel that this will probably be the norm, and that there
is nothing wrong with that.

But I agree there should be particular form of words used to distinguish
between statements/letters that all Best Bits participants have accepted
unanimously, and those that have been endorsed only by a self-selected
group of participants.  How about calling the former a statement "of the
Best Bits coalition" and the latter a "statement of civil society
stakeholders disseminated through the Best Bits platform" - or is that
too wordy/inexact?

-- 

*Dr Jeremy Malcolm
Senior Policy Officer
Consumers International | the global campaigning voice for consumers*
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