[governance] Re: [IGP-ANNOUNCE] IGP Alert: Reforming ICANN Oversight: A Historic Opportunity

[Jeremy Malcolm]

Ha, brilliant!  Neither the IGF nor ICANN is going to like this, but  
it is a fantastic idea.

If you don't mind a cut-n-paste, here is some text from my thesis on  
this topic (footnotes omitted):

> One of the shortcomings of these open fora was that the subject  
> organisations were not required to design them so as to support the  
> fulfilment of the paragraphs of the IGF's mandate that had prompted  
> the creation of open fora in the first place. Specifically, the IGF  
> is called upon to "[i]nterface with appropriate inter-governmental  
> organizations and other institutions on matters under their  
> purview," and to "assess, on an ongoing basis, the embodiment of  
> WSIS principles in Internet governance processes." These form part  
> of the IGF's role of coordination, and in particular that of meta- 
> governance.
>
> The fulfilment of this mandate will require more than a one-way  
> channel of communication from the other organisation to the IGF, yet  
> because that organisation alone currently determines the content of  
> its open forum, and because there is no formal interface between its  
> session and those of the plenary body, there are no means by which  
> the IGF and the other organisation can engage in dialogue with the  
> object of fulfilling the above paragraphs of the Tunis Agenda.
>
> To address this, an open forum should be conducted not by a single  
> stakeholder seeking to defend its position in the Internet  
> governance regime, but by a multi-stakeholder panel similar to those  
> that organise workshops, and accredited in a similar manner. If no  
> such panel can be organised through the decentralised action of  
> stakeholders, it is appropriate that one be appointed, just as the  
> Advisory Group currently appoints panels of speakers for the plenary  
> sessions.
...
> the only additional consideration worthy of mention is the  
> importance of the forum not being moderated by the chief executive  
> of the organisation under consideration, but by an independent  
> facilitatator who would ensure that the forum addressed the role,  
> structure and processes of the organisation in question with  
> reference to the WSIS process criteria, along with the content of  
> any relevant draft or final recommendations that the IGF had  
> considered in plenary session.

On 06/02/2008, at 7:42 AM, IGP Info wrote:

> The Internet Governance Project today responded to a U.S. Department  
> of Commerce proceeding seeking comment on the future of its  
> political oversight over ICANN. The proceeding is part of a mid-term  
> review of ICANN's 3-year Joint Project Agreement (JPA) with the U.S.  
> Commerce Department NTIA.
>
> In a move that is likely to attract attention and debate we called  
> for ICANN and the U.N. Internet Governance Forum (IGF) to forge an  
> agreement to institute a bi-annual review and public consultation  
> concerning ICANN’s record and accountability.
>
>
> "We look forward to replacing the JPA with new forms of oversight  
> rooted in the global Internet community," the comments state. "The  
> IGF is an appropriately neutral, nongovernmental platform for  
> discussion and the development of non-binding reports and  
> recommendations."  "Biennial review by the multi-stakeholder IGF  
> would serve as a kind of "soft oversight," an experimental approach  
> with more international legitimacy than any of the available  
> alternatives."
>
>
> These ideas will be raised both at the U.S. Commerce Department  
> public meeting February 28 and at the public consultation of the IGF  
> in Geneva February 26.
>
>
> Read IGP's comments here:
>
>
> http://internetgovernance.org/pdf/IGP-JPA-08-comments.pdf
>
>
> View the NTIA proceeding information here:
>
>
> http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/jpamidtermreview.html
>
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-- 
Jeremy Malcolm LLB (Hons) B Com
Internet and Open Source lawyer, IT consultant, actor
host -t NAPTR 1.0.8.0.3.1.2.9.8.1.6.e164.org|awk -F! '{print $3}'


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