[governance] Consensus call on rights theme - yes or no response required.

Fri Sep 12 08:34:50 EDT 2008

I vote yes - thanks for setting this up - I have a deadline today so I
didn't follow the development process, but the final document looks
pretty good to me.

Best
Max

On 9/12/08, Nyangkwe Agien Aaron <nyangkweagien at gmail.com> wrote:
> I Vote Yes
>
> On 9/12/08, Nyangkwe Agien Aaron <nyangkweagien at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I Vote Yes
>>
>> On 9/12/08, Milton L Mueller <mueller at syr.edu> wrote:
>>> I would have to vote NO because the initial paragraph with the WSIS
>>> Tunis Agenda's re-affirmation of FoE and privacy rights was deleted. I
>>> can't understand why.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ________________________________
>>>
>>> From: Ian Peter [mailto:ian.peter at ianpeter.com]
>>> Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2008 5:52 PM
>>> To: governance at lists.cpsr.org
>>> Subject: [governance] Consensus call on rights theme - yes or no
>>> response required.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Please respond within 48 hours with a YESor NO to adoption of this
>>> statement so it can be sent to the Secretariat before the deadline.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Rights and the Internet as the over-arching theme for IGF-4 in Egypt
>>>
>>>
>>> The Internet Governance Caucus strongly recommends that 'Rights and the
>>> Internet' be made the overarching theme for IGF-4 in Egypt, and that the
>>> IGF-4's program be framed by the desire for developing a rights-based
>>> discourse in the area of Internet Governance. The Caucus has already
>>> expressed support for the letter on this subject which was sent to the
>>> MAG by the Dynamic Coalition on an Internet Bill of Rights.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The IGC offers the IGF assistance in helping to shape such a discourse
>>> at the IGF meetings, and specifically to help make 'Rights and the
>>> Internet' an overarching theme for IGF-4 in Egypt.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> A complex new emerging ecology of rights and the internet
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>  One important purpose of a discourse on rights should be to clarify and
>>> reach greater consensus on how rights with respect to the Internet are
>>> defined, how they relate to pre-existing definitions of human rights,
>>> and which ones need to be internationally recognized and strengthened.
>>> Within this context, we acknowledge that, even within the civil society
>>> caucus, differences of opinion exist as to the nature of various rights
>>> and conceptual rights and the degree to which they should be emphasized
>>> in internet governance discussions.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> While the internet opens unprecedented economic, social and political
>>> opportunities in many areas, many fear that it may at the same time be
>>> further widening economic, social and political divides. It is for this
>>> reason that development has been a central theme for the IGF meetings to
>>> date. In this new, more global and digital context it might be useful to
>>> explore what the term "right to development" means.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> With respect to privacy rights, corporations and governments are
>>> increasingly able to extend digital tentacles into people's homes and
>>> personal devices, in manners invisible to consumers and citizens.
>>> Consumers of digital products thus face new challenges including the
>>> right
>>> <http://docs.google.com/RawDocContents?docID=dcskr5r9_7n2dnxhs&justBody=
>>> false&revision=_latest&timestamp=1220550114112&editMode=true&strip=true#
>>> sdfootnote3sym>  to know and completely 'own' the products and services
>>> they pay for. Technological measures to monitor and control user
>>> behavior on the internet are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and
>>> often outrun public policies and traditional concepts of what rights
>>> users have.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> While property rights are of considerable importance, their
>>> applicability and mutations in the digital environment have led to
>>> widespread political contention over the proper scope of copyrights,
>>> trademarks and patents. In fact, intellectual property is emerging as a
>>> primary area of socio-economic conflict in the information society.  The
>>> IGF can explore issues surrounding the public interest principles which
>>> underpin intellectual property claims alongside the concept of a right
>>> to access knowledge in the digital space It can also explore how
>>> individuals' property right to own, build, test, and use consumer
>>> electronics, computers and other forms of equipment can be reconciled
>>> with the regulation of technical circumvention to protect copyrights.
>>>
>>> It may also be useful to explore if and how other concepts may be
>>> meaningful in relation to the Internet - for instance, a 'right to
>>> access the Internet unconditional of the use being made of it (similar
>>> to electricity and telephone). Similarly, a right of cultural
>>> expression, and a right to have an Internet in ones own language, could
>>> inform the important IGF thematic area of cultural diversity.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Other important internet policy areas, like network neutrality, are
>>> being framed in terms of rights, such as a right to access and share
>>> information, or as an extension of freedom of expression itself. The
>>> right of the public to access government-produced information presents
>>> itself in a wholly new manner in a digital environment, where
>>> information is often publicly sharable at little or no extra cost.
>>> Positive acts of withholding digital public information from citizens in
>>> fact can be looked upon as a form of censorship. All of these
>>> rights-based conceptions may be included in the IGF openness theme area
>>> along with open standards Other rights such as the right of association
>>> and the right to political participation may have important new
>>> implications in the internet age,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> We recognize that while it is relatively easy to articulate and claim
>>> "rights" it is much more difficult to agree on, implement and enforce
>>> them. We also recognize that rights claims can sometimes conflict or
>>> compete with each other. There can also be uncertainty about the proper
>>> application of a rights claim to a factual situation. The change in the
>>> technical methods of communication often undermines pre-existing
>>> understandings of how to apply legal categories.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> These complexities, however, only strengthen the case for using the IGF
>>> to explicitly discuss and debate these problems. There is no other
>>> global forum where such issues can be raised and explored in a
>>> non-binding context.
>>>
>>> Internet governance has up to this time largely been founded in
>>> technical principles and, increasingly, on the internet's functionality
>>> as a giant global marketplace. With the internet becoming  increasingly
>>> central to many social and political institutions, an alternative
>>> foundation and conceptual framework for IG can be explored. It is the
>>> view of the IG Caucus that a rights-based framework will be appropriate
>>> for this purpose.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> A rights-based IG shouldn't be seen as threatening, but rather rights
>>> provide a set of international standards and guiding principles that can
>>> help to inform complex policy decisions. It is pertinent to recollect
>>> that WSIS called for a people-centric information society, and a rights
>>> framework helps develop people-centric IG agenda and polices.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> It is the Caucus' view that the IGF is the forum best suited to take up
>>> this task. This process should start at the IGF Hyderabad, where
>>> workshops on rights issues are being planned.  These issues will also
>>> hopefully figure prominently in the main sessions. The IGC fully expects
>>> that these discussions will help the IGF work towards developing 'Rights
>>> and the Internet' as the over-arching theme of the IGF-4 in Egypt.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Ian Peter
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Aaron Agien Nyangkwe
>> Journalist/Outcome Mapper
>> Special Assistant To The President
>> Coach of ASAFE Camaroes Street Football Team.
>> ASAFE
>> P.O.Box 5213
>> Douala-Cameroon
>> Tel. 237 3337 55 31
>> Cell Phone: 237 79 34 21 32
>> Fax. 237 3342 29 70
>>
>
>
> --
> Aaron Agien Nyangkwe
> Journalist/Outcome Mapper
> Special Assistant To The President
> Coach of ASAFE Camaroes Street Football Team.
> ASAFE
> P.O.Box 5213
> Douala-Cameroon
> Tel. 237 3337 55 31
> Cell Phone: 237 79 34 21 32
> Fax. 237 3342 29 70
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(Paris Sorbonne,1910)

-------------------------------------------------
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Stanford Post-Doc Visiting Scholar
UOC Research Associate
Freelance Consultant

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