[governance] Fwd: Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus (IGC) Letter to CSTD WG on IGF

Carolina Aguerre carolinaaguerre at gmail.com
Fri Dec 10 15:59:52 EST 2010


I do as well.

Carolina Aguerre
Centro de Tecnología y Sociedad
Universidad de San Andrés
Buenos Aires, Argentina
www.udesa.edu.ar



2010/12/10 CW Mail <mail at christopherwilkinson.eu>

>  Dear Izumi Aizu:
>
> I confirm my signature to the letter.
>
> Regards,
>
> Christopher Wilkinson
> Chair, Internet Society European Chapters Coordinating Council (ISOC-ECC)
>
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Izumi AIZU <iza at anr.org>
> Date: 2010/12/11
> Subject: Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus (IGC) Letter to CSTD WG
> on IGF
> To: frederic.riehl at bakom.admin.ch, Mongi Hamdi <Mongi.Hamdi at unctad.org>,
> Anne Miroux <Anne.Miroux at unctad.org>
> Cc: Jeremy Malcolm <jeremy at ciroap.org>
>
>
> Dear Sir/Madam,
>
> Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus (IGC) would like to submit the
> following
> letter to show our strong disagreement with the recent decision of the
> Working
> Group composition for the improvement of the IGF.
>
> Thank you for your kind attention,
>
> Izumi Aizu
> Jeremy Malcolm
> Coordinators of IGC
>
> -----------
>
>
> Honourable Mme. Sherry Ayittey
> Chairperson
> UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development
>
> His Excellency Mr. Frederic Riehl,
> Vice Chairperson,
> UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development
>
>
> Dear Ms. Ayittey and Mr. Riehl,
>
> Thank you for undertaking the IGF review process.
>
> We have learned that the membership of the CSTD Working Group on IGF will
> comprise Government representatives only and that no Civil Society, Private
> Sector, or Technical Community members will be included. Since there is no
> official announcement on this issue, we first of all seek a confirmation if
> the above mentioned is indeed true.
>
> In the unfortunate case that it has been so decided, we, the undersigned,
> would like to express our strong concern about that decision which is
> apparently in violation of the mandate given by the concerned ECOSOC
> resolution,  for setting up the Working Group in an ‘open and inclusive
> manner’. We understand that the same mandate is imminent to also be
> communicated through a UN General Assembly resolution. We feel that the
> process undertaken violates principles of “openness and inclusion” which
> form the background to the entire IGF process. The overall approach to this
> important issue related to Internet Governance is also in violation of the
> Tunis Agenda, paras 37, 72, 73, 76, 78, 80, 83, 97,105, and 108, both in
> letter and spirit.
>
> The process also clearly goes against the Chair’s Summary of Vilnius IGF
> consultation and the Chair’s tentative road map indicates that the Working
> Group will employ multi-stakeholder composition, modality and work method.
>
> As the Chair’s Summary says:
>
> *It was stressed by many participants that the multi-stakeholder character
> and inclusive spirit and principles of the IGF have been successful and
> should continue to guide the composition, modalities and working methods of
> the CSTD Working Group on the IGF.
>
> Thus, it was emphasised by a large number of interventions that it was
> essential that the working Group be composed of a balanced number of
> representatives from all stakeholders - governments, civil society and the
> private sector.
>
> A majority of stakeholders welcomed the Chair’s suggestion to use the model
> of the UN Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG), which was set up in
> the aftermath of the 2003 Geneva phase of WSIS “in an open and inclusive
> manner”
>
>
> *
> In this context, we are very much concerned that the WG composition is not
> in fact open and inclusive and that non-governmental stakeholders (civil
> society, business and Internet technical community) will be excluded from
> the WG membership altogether. Non-governmental stakeholders are critical to
> the continued development and success of building the people-centered
> Information Society. Their exclusion runs counter to WSIS principles
> including that "The international management of the Internet should be
> multilateral, transparent and democratic, with the full involvement of
> governments, the private sector, civil society and international
> organizations.”
>
> We do not understand why this regressive decision was suddenly made, but we
> do request that this decision be reversed, even if that will introduce a
> degree of delay in the overall process.
>
> We respectfully call for all government members with whom we have to date
> acted as partners in pursuit of IGF improvement, to examine the possible
> consequences of this perhaps hastily-considered proposal. It is our feeling
> that this action might negatively impact the current ecology and future of
> Internet Governance which has been evolving in a unique multistakeholder
> manner. We further ask that an approach be pursued that is satisfactory to
> all stakeholders.
>
> We hope that we may have misunderstood the significance of this decision
> and that our reaction is therefore misplaced. However if we are not
> mistaken, we fear that the CSTD’s decision will lead not to the improvement,
> but rather, to the regression and even destruction of the IGF and the trust
> that has been built among  the stakeholders since WSIS.  A lack of
> meaningful multistakeholder involvement will make IGF both ineffective and
> irrelevant, and thwart attempts to further develop effective internet
> governance at this crucial time.
>
> We look forward to receiving your response at the earliest.
>
> --
>
> Signed by:
>
> The Internet Governance Caucus
> More to join
>
>
>
>
> --
>                         >> Izumi Aizu <<
>
>           Institute for InfoSocionomics, Tama University, Tokyo
>
>            Institute for HyperNetwork Society, Oita,
>                                   Japan
>                                  * * * * *
>            << Writing the Future of the History >>
>                                 www.anr.org
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