[governance] JPA - final draft for comments

[Ian Peter]

Folks, having read the various responses, I think our only path forward is a
much reduced response which concentrates on principles. So at this stage
what I would propose for a consensus call in 24 hours or so is what follows.
I would be happy however for someone else to suggest a wider ranging draft
covering additional points, but I have come to the conclusion that anything
we are likely to agree on at this stage would only take emphasis away from
the main points we want to make.

I have dropped all references to models and the varying arguments as to
whether the JPA should continue or not. I do suggest that people make
individual submissions to cover their concerns in this area. For IGC as a
whole, I think we have to aim for something much simpler.

My new suggested draft follows. Let me know what you think of this approach,
and of course any suggested improvements in wording.

Ian Peter



The Internet Governance Caucus is a global coalition of civil society and
non governmental organisations and individuals actively involved the UN¹s
Internet Governance Forum (IGF) process. Formed during the lead up to the
World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), our mission is to provide a
forum for discussion, advocacy, action, and for representation of civil
society contributions in  Internet governance processes. We have several
hundred members, with a wide spread of geographic representation; more about
our coalition can be found at www.igcaucus.org.
 
We are thankful for the opportunity to comment on the JPA with ICANN, and
respectfully submit as  follows.

In responding to your call for comments, we are mindful of the WSIS
principles, which " recognize that Internet governance, carried out
according to the Geneva principles, is an essential element for a
people-centred, inclusive, development-oriented and non-discriminatory
Information Society². We also recognise the need for high levels of global
co-operation from all stakeholder groups to ensure Internet stability and
security. 

Irrespective of whether the JPA continues or not, we believe that certain
principles outlined below need to be embedded in ICANN¹s operation. We
believe these should be covered by an undertaking by ICANN to perpetuate in
its constitution, by laws, or some similar accountability mechanism, various
principles which follow. The principles need to be embedded in such a way as
to ensure they cannot easily be changed to exclude any stakeholder group.
The principles which need to be permanently embedded are:
 
·      bottom up co-ordination

 
·      balanced multi stakeholder representation, including civil society
interests and Internet users

 
·      ensuring the stability of the Internet

 
·      transparency

 
·      appropriate accountability mechanisms

 
·      continuing evolution of an effective and appropriate governance model
which is multilateral, multistakeholder, democratic, and transparent

 
·      decision making driven by the public interest

We also propose to replace "private sector management" with
³multistakeholder management², in line with the multistakeholder principle
which has evolved from the World Summit on the Information Society and the
Internet Governance Forum process which the US Government has supported, and
which is  an important facet, we believe, of effective internet governance
arrangements.
 
We think the establishment of firm principles to guide the evolution of a
model is the appropriate way to proceed. This should explicitly recognize
that ICANN is a global governance institution with regulatory authority over
an industry (domain name registration) and over critical resources (IP
addresses, root servers and addresses). The standards of due process,
rights, and accountability that apply to ICANN must be developed with these
facts in mind.   





 

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