[governance] HR Caucus comments on the MAG

[Meryem Marzouki]

Hi again,

As I've said in a previous message, these comments on the MAG have  
been sent by the HR Caucus to the IGF secretariat, together with its  
3 candidates nominations to the MAG, on April 18.
Best,
Meryem
======
Internet Governance Forum
Nomination and comments in relation to the MAG
WSIS Civil Society Human Rights Caucus
April 18, 2006

  Introduction
The WSIS Civil Society Human Rights Caucus (HR Caucus) has been  
active in the WSIS framework since its creation in 2002, and  
currently consists of more than 65 national and international human  
rights organizations. As stressed in the HR Caucus contribution to  
the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) of 31 March 2006, the caucus has  
decided to remain involved in post-WSIS developments. This  
involvement includes both the IGF activities and the post-WSIS Action  
lines developments.

The baseline of HR Caucus’ work is to secure that any information  
society policy respect and protect human rights and the rule of law.  
This includes civil and political rights as well as economic, social  
and cultural rights, and the right to development.

Nomination of candidates for the IGF Advisory Group (MAG)
As stressed time and again during the WSIS process, and in the WSIS  
outcomes from both the Geneva and Tunis Summit, human rights are  
foundational to the development of the information society.
It is thus crucial that the WSIS follow up mechanisms address and  
include human rights expertise and experience. Any information  
society policy must comply with international human rights standards,  
and seek to advance the realization of these in order to make the  
political goals of WSIS a reality for all.

In order to secure human rights expertise within the MAG and support  
for HR Caucus concerns as expressed in its contribution to IGF  
substantive agenda setting, the HR Caucus would like to nominate the  
following three candidates, which are all active members of the HR  
Caucus (in alphabetic order).
-       Robin D. Gross
-       Rikke Frank Joergensen
-       Cedric Laurant
The full nomination information is attached to this document.

Comments on the mandate and process around the MAG
The HR Caucus wishes to point to some critical areas in relation to  
the mandate and process around the MAG, which should be addressed as  
soon as possible in order to secure well-defined and transparent  
modalities for the MAG including its interaction with the IGF.

The MAG mandate
The precise role and responsibility of the MAG is not clear at the  
moment. For instance is it unclear to which extent the group will  
primarily facilitate the convening of the first Internet Governance  
Forum in terms of process, or whether it will be decisive in  
selecting and prioritizing issues for the forum. The HR Caucus would  
like to stress that the existence of the MAG should not prevent the  
necessary openness of the IGF to potential discussions on all issues  
that need coordinated governance, through an ongoing process  
organized around thematic working groups and the holding of dedicated  
workshops. In other words, the HR Caucus believes that the MAG should  
by no mean become the central and major place of the IGF activities.
Also, the mandate of the members is somewhat unclear. On the one hand  
it is a group of experts selected in their personal capacity, thus  
not representing any constituency, on the other hand the members are  
explicitly said to represent various stakeholder groups, but with no  
specification on what this implies in terms of coordination and  
communication to and with this stakeholder group. If not addressed  
explicitly and up-front, these inaccuracies might lead to failures in  
transparency and accountability of the MAG and its members, with the  
risk of undermining their legitimacy.
The HR Caucus therefore recommends that a term of reference paper for  
the MAG and its members, addressing these issues, is conducted and  
distributed as soon as possible

Selection of MAG members
In order to secure an open and transparent process, the HR Caucus  
urges that the nominations received by the IGF and the criteria for  
selection of MAG members are made public. This is in line with  
current standards for good governance.

Language
Information on the IGF and MAG process has so far primarily been  
carried out in English (see www.intgovforum.gov), leaving aside non- 
English speakers. The HR Caucus recommends that, as a minimum,  
information should be provided in other UN languages.

Funding
There is currently no information available regarding funding to  
participate in the MAG (travel etc.).This poses a serious problem,  
especially for less developed countries and for small organizations  
from around the world.
The HR Caucus urge that information on funding is included in the MAG  
term of reference mentioned above, including some means for  
assistance for smaller organizations.

Information on the WSIS CS HR Caucus and Contact Points
Website: http://www.iris.sgdg.org/actions/smsi/hr-wsis
Mailing list public archives: http://www.iris.sgdg.org/actions/smsi/ 
hr-wsis/list/
Co-chairs:
-       Rikke Frank Joergensen
The Danish Institute for Human Rights, Denmark
rfj at humanrights.dk
-       Meryem Marzouki
Imaginons un Réseau Internet Solidaire, France
Meryem.Marzouki at iris.sgdg.org
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