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

[Carlos Afonso]

I agree with BD and vote yes as well.

--c.a.

William Drake wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> Like others I have some reservations about the rights text, but the issues
> can be revisited and worked through down the line and shouldn¹t prevent the
> caucus from providing needed inputs.  I vote yes on both texts.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Bill
> 
> 
> On 9/11/08 11:51 PM, "Ian Peter" <ian.peter at ianpeter.com> wrote:
> 
>> 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 people¹s 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=fa
>> lse&revision=_latest&timestamp=1220550114112&editMode=true&str
>> ip=true#sdfootnote3sym> to know and completely Œown¹ 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 Œright 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 ³rights²
>> 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 internet¹s 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 shouldn¹t 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 Caucus¹ 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 ŒRights and the Internet¹ as the
>> over-arching theme of the IGF-4 in Egypt.
>>
>>  
>>
>>  
>>  
>>  
>> Ian Peter
>>
>>  
>>
>>
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> 
> 
> ***********************************************************
> William J. Drake  
> Director, Project on the Information
>   Revolution and Global Governance
> Center for International Governance
> Graduate Institute of International and
>   Development Studies
> Geneva, Switzerland
> william.drake at graduateinstitute.ch
> ***********************************************************
> 
> 
> 
> 

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