[governance] IG caucus statement from Nov 13

[Jeanette Hofmann]

Hi all,
the IG caucus made two interventions yesterday, Nov. 13.
The first one made by Bill Drake focused on the forum proposal. A copy 
(hopefully it is the latest one) is attached, another one below in this 
posting.

The second statement was made by Karen Banks. It addressed para 45c of 
chapter 3 of the draft statement. We asked the chair to reopen the 
aggreed language on the role of civil society with regard to Internet 
matters. In particular we suggested to remove the words "expecially on 
the communty level".
I don't have a copy of that statement but will ask Karen to post it to 
the list.

We have prepared another statement for the subcommmittee A meeting 
taking place this morning. The new statement reinterates our statement 
on the forum and will be read by Willie Currie. The sense after the late 
night meeting on Internet Governance chaired by Canada was that it is 
about time to stress the purpose of the forum.

Canada, the US and some other governments like the forum to only focus 
on capacity building and development issues. This is why we thought it 
makes sense to remind the subcommittee A of the WGIG report's much 
broader list of public policy issues.

We also plan for a statement on political oversight. We hope to be able 
to put together something meaningful - despite all the disagreements 
we've had on this issue in the past weeks.

best, jeanette






Statement of the Internet Governance Caucus

Thank you Mr. Chairman.  My name is William Drake, and I am President of 
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR).  On behalf of 
the civil society Internet Governance Caucus, I would like to offer the 
following thoughts on the Forum.  We would like to mention some 
principles that we believe should help guide the forum’s design and 
operation, and some related functions that we believe the forum could 
usefully perform.

Guiding Principles

First, stakeholders from all sectors should be able to participate on an 
fully equal basis in the Forum’s substantive work.  This is essential to 
the forum’s legitimacy, and to its ability to attract the participation 
of all relevant stakeholders.

In this connection, we would suggest that the frequently mentioned 
phrase, “in their respective roles and responsibilities,” should not in 
any way be used to limit the involvement of any stakeholder.

Further, we would insist that any group established to develop the 
forum’s organizational design must involve the full participation of all 
stakeholders.

Second, the forum should not be anchored in any existing specialized 
international organization, but rather should be constituted as a 
legally free standing entity in which such organizations would 
participate alongside others.

Third, we note the interest in the Canadian proposal, and agree that 
development and capacity building are essential objectives. However, we 
would insist the forum should also address the other functions proposed 
in the WGIG report, notably the monitoring and analysis of trends in 
Internet governance, and the promotion of inclusive dialogue, recalling 
the WGIG Report’s recommendation that the Forum should be a place where 
  ‘any stakeholder can raise any issue.’

Fourth, The forum should not have a mandate to negotiate hard 
instruments like treaties. In general, and only as needed, the forum 
should focus on the development of soft law instruments such as 
recommendations, guidelines, and declarations.  However, in very 
exceptional circumstances when all stakeholders agree that more formal 
arrangements are desirable, the forum could request that an appropriate 
international organization facilitate the negotiation of such instruments.

Five, we reiterate that the Oversight Function should not be undertaken 
in the Forum.  The Internet Governance Caucus concurs with the WGIG 
Report that no single Government should have a pre-eminent role, and 
that oversight should be multilateral, transparent and democratic, with 
the full involvement of Governments, the private sector, civil society 
and international organizations.  But it also believes that any reforms 
to these ends should be undertaken in other organizational environments, 
with which the forum would interface in the same manner as it does other 
bodies.

Six, and in addition to promoting purposeful dialogue, mutual 
adjustment, and the adoption of soft law instruments where necessary, 
the forum should have a mandate to undertake expert analysis and the 
monitoring of Internet governance trends.  These functions could be 
performed by meshing a very lightweight secretariat with open 
consultations and networks of external expertise, including partners in 
the research community; and by making full use of the Internet and 
related tools to foster virtual collaboration.

 From Principles to Functions

With regard to the Forum’s specific activities, and building on the 
suggestions of the WGIG report, we recommend that the forum perform the 
following functions:

a.	Foster inclusive dialogue based on the equal participation of all 
stakeholders;

b.	Undertake the comparative, cross-sectoral analysis of governance 
mechanisms with an eye toward "lessons learned" and best practices that 
could inform individual and collective institutional improvements;

c.	Assess and monitor horizontal issues applicable to all Internet 
governance arrangements, e.g. the promotion of transparency, 
accountability, inclusion, and other guidelines for "good governance," 
such as the WSIS principles;

d.	Identify weaknesses and gaps in existing governance mechanisms, 
especially multidimensional issues that do not fall neatly within the 
scope of any existing body;

e.	Promote enhanced coordination among existing governing bodies, as 
appropriate;

f.	Provide a clearing house for coordination and resource mobilization 
to support meaningful developing country participation and capacity 
building.


Thank you for your attention.

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