[governance] Pizza? Leaning tower of Pizza.

[Eric Dierker]

The biggest test that this shift creates is: Will unwilling stakeholders participate without immediate gratification?  
The biggest point of interest will be: Will China now take a seat at the GAC table?
 
Clearly this is an Obama administration challenge to the complainers.  Now if those on this list do not participate in a long sustained effort to gain stakeholder/individual rights, they will only have their pontificating selves to blame.

--- On Wed, 9/30/09, Willie Currie <wcurrie at apc.org> wrote:


From: Willie Currie <wcurrie at apc.org>
Subject: Re: [governance] so do i owe bill drake a pizza or not?
To: governance at lists.cpsr.org, "Avri Doria" <avri at psg.com>
Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2009, 3:49 PM


Ok, so the main shift is the establishment of four review processes which will assess ICANN's performance in four areas in three year cycles. The review teams will be jointly established by the ICANN Chair or CEO and the Chair of the GAC. These reviews will replace the role of the US DoC in reviewing ICANN's performance. One can see an increased role for the GAC in oversight of ICANN here, but it is a 'soft' form of oversight - the 'recommendations of the reviews will be provided to the Board and posted for public comment. The Board will take action within six months of receipt of the recommendations'. In other words, there is no enforcement mechanism for the recommendations - the ICANN Board is not obliged to implement the recommendations, i.e. the reviews will have the soft force of persuasion and moral or political pressure but not the instruments of 'hard' oversight. This is reinforced in the Affirmation by the clear statement that 'ICANN is a
 private organization and nothing in this Affirmation should be construed as control by any one entity.' So  the Board  remains the key body of power within ICANN  and the least accountable, as there is no democratic mechanism for the bottom-up ICANN community to dismiss the Board.

Nevertheless this is a step forward, with respect to diluting unilateral US oversight of ICANN. It remains to be seen to what extent civil society is represented on any of the review teams and whether the recommendations of the reviews are accepted and implemented by the ICANN Board. The EU has come out in support of the continuation of the IGF 'as it is the only place where all internet related topics can be addressed by a wide range of stakeholders from all over the world, including Parliamentarians.' It will be interesting to see what role the IGF may be able to play as a space where the reviews can be deliberated on in a multi-stakeholder fashion and boost the transparency of the review process and perhaps its soft power.

Willie

Avri Doria wrote:
> 
> On 30 Sep 2009, at 11:21, Bertrand de La Chapelle wrote:
> 
>> Hi Mc tim,
>> 
>> I must have misunderstood. I thought Milton bought pizza if nothing changed ?
>> 
>> B.
> 
> 
> And something did change.
> 
> Though I am not sure how much there is for Civil society to be cheer about.
> It is like the old days of WSIS, CS will be beholden to the gov't chair for right of participation.
> 
> Or, in the long run, other then outward appearance, how significant the change will turn out to be for ICANN processes.
> 
> a.
> 
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