[bestbits] FYI: A letter to IGF Secretariat re: the outcome of the MAG Nominations 2017

[Sheetal Kumar]

The letter referred to below is now also posted on the CSCG website in case
any body wants to share it:

http://internetgov-cs.org/

On 1 March 2017 at 16:21, Sheetal Kumar <sheetal at gp-digital.org> wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> I'm writing regarding the outcome of the MAG nomination process this year.
> As you know, the CSCG ran a nomination process to select candidates to the
> MAG 2017 nominations and submitted the three names selected (Norbert
> Bollow, Jeremy Malcolm, Arsene Tungali) by the deadline, 16 December.
>
> The CSCG was informed of the outcome on 27 February. We received the
> communication that "there will be no new Civil Society MAG member being
> added".
>
> The IGF 2017 MAG has now been been approved by the Secretary-General's
> office. The list of members can be found on the following url:
> https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/mag-2017-members.
> <https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/mag-2017-members>
>
> In response, we have sent the following letter to the IGF Secretariat,
> copied in full under the dotted line below. The first Open Consultations
> and MAG meeting of the IGF 2017 preparatory cycle are taking place now
> (01-03 March) in Geneva, so we expect for this to be brought up during the
> course of the discussions there, and to receive a response soon.
>
> Should you have any questions at all,
>
> Best
> Sheetal and Poncelet.
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> ----------------------------------------------------
>
>
> 1 March 2017
>
>
> Dear Chengetai,
>
>
>
> We are writing, as members of the Civil Society Coordination Group (CSCG),
> to respectfully express our concern at the notice received via the Internet
> Governance Forum’s (IGF) Secretariat, that there will be no new civil
> society member added to the Internet Governance Forum's Multistakeholder
> Advisory Group (MAG) this year (2017). The reason provided to the CSCG was
> that there is no civil society MAG member being rotated out.
>
>
>
> The Civil Society Coordination Group (CSCG) exists solely to ensure a
> coordinated civil society response and conduit when it comes to making
> civil society appointments to outside bodies. Please see the website for
> more information on the mechanism: <http://internetgov-cs.org/#about>
> http://internetgov-cs.org/#about.
>
>
>
> According to the FAQ provided
> <https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/mag-renewal-2016>,
> there is not a fixed number of civil society representatives. We understood
> that one of the current members (Ms. Amelia Andersdotter
> <https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/Ms-Amelia-Andersdotter>)
> has served three terms and would be be rotated out. On the IGF website
> <https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/mag-members-0>, her
> affiliation is listed as Civil Society, we therefore do not fully
> understand the explanation provided about her past and current affiliation
> in your email (dated 27 February) 2017 to us. We understand that, apart
> from Amelia Andersdotter's retirement,  another civil society vacancy has
> been created by John Dada stepping down over the last year. This vacancy we
> understand was never filled.
>
>
>
> Once again, it was our understanding from the beginning that at least one,
> perhaps two, vacant position(s) was available and to be filled by a Civil
> Society representative. The CSCG conducted an open, transparent and
> democratic selection process, following which three candidates were
> selected. These three names were submitted
> <http://www.internetgov-cs.org/2016-12-15> before the deadline to UNDESA
> for consideration.
>
>
>
> However, the decision to not elect a civil society representative to
> replace the outgoing member comes as both a surprise and disappointment to
> the CSCG. The selection process conducted via CSCG paid respect to the
> factors outlined by UNDESA, “notably: priorities for regional diversity,
> with an emphasis on representation from developing and least developed
> countries; gender balance; and diversity of institutions and organizations
> with which members are affiliated”.
>
>
>
> We strongly regret that, following an open, transparent and democratic
> selection process, we will not be able to provide a satisfactory
> explanation for this situation to the members of the various constituencies
> which we represent. Moreover we are concerned about the possibility that
> this situation may deter, or at least reduce willingness of, civil society
> members to engage in the process going forward considering the time lost
> and unaccounted for on this occasion.
>
>
>
> While we would like to thank the UNDESA for its leadership we hereby
> respectfully request that UNDEA reconsider its decision and agree to
> appoint at least one additional representative from civil society on the
> basis of our proposal, or, at a minimum, that UNDESA provide further
> explanation as to the decision not to nominate a replacement for the
> outgoing civil society MAG member.
>
>
>
> Thank you for your time and consideration of this matter.
>
>
>
> With best wishes,
>
>
>
> The CSCG.
>
>
>
> --
>
>
> *Sheetal Kumar*
> Programme Lead | GLOBAL PARTNERS DIGITAL
> Second Home, 68-80 Hanbury Street, London, E1 5JL
> T: +44 (0)20 3 818 3258 0337| M: +44 (0)7739569514 <+44%207739%20569514>
>   |
>



-- 


*Sheetal Kumar*
Programme Lead | GLOBAL PARTNERS DIGITAL
Second Home, 68-80 Hanbury Street, London, E1 5JL
T: +44 (0)20 3 818 3258 0337| M: +44 (0)7739569514  |
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