[governance] VS: Next Steps

["Kleinwächter, Wolfgang"]

Hi everybody
 
back in Aarhus from the Future Internet Assembly (FIA) in Gent where a lot of snow blocked also a lot of travelling, I want to thank Izumi and the whole group for a great work which enabled people unable to be in Geneva to follow exactly what happened. Great work.
 
If I read the final conclusion correctly it looks like a balanced but unequal new WG with primary and secondary members. This is not the WGIG and MAG model. Insofar it is a step backwards. But it is better than the Dec. 6 decision. 
 
If we move forward with this, a lot will depend from the dynamics within this new WG and their working methodology. If the discussions are really open, the more formal differentiation between primary and secondary members of the group may play a minor role as long as the the right people put the right arguments at the right moment on the table and are questioning proposals to move backwards or to create something which is unworkable and counterproductive or would change the open and free Internet. This has to be tested out.
 
>From a legal point of view, it is indeed correct that Non-UN members can not vote for the adoption of an official UN document. We had this discussion before the Geneva Summit (2003) and the result was that we had our own Civil Society Declaration which was officially handed over to the president of the summit. Before that we had tumultous debates about "input" and "impact" and "governmental ignorance" with Sammassekou and the intergovernmental group. However, there was some impact which was reflected, inter alia, in the composition of the WGIG. 
 
Also in Tunis, the final negotiations were in the hand of the governments but the pressure from CS and others kept this negotiations open until the very last minute. There were no closed doors in Tunis and the room was fully packed with "silent onlookers" who also whispered into the ears of MS friendly governments. It was the substance and the strength of the arguments of the WGIG report - in particular with regard to the IG definition and the establishment of an IGF - which was beating politically motivated alternatives without a convincing rationale. 
 
With other words, a strong performance within the group can equalize the unequal status. However it remains to be seen what the working method of the new group will be. 
 
In Cartagena we discussed indeed a "Plan B" for the case that the Dec. 6 decision will be ratified without changes. This Plan B was to establish an alternative MS WG. The best would be if such an alternative WG would include also "MS friendly governments" which would give the whole process more legitimacy and credibility. However this is a delicate issue for a government. 
 
In any case such a group could work in parallel. Some will remember that we had in the year 2001 two parallel groups to ananlyze the ICANN 2000 elections: ICANNs "official" Bildt-Group and the alternative Markle Foundation group. Both reports were discussed at the end of the day equally in the ICANN meeting in Montevideo in September 2001 (but both finally were rejected in ther LA ICANN meeting November 2001 as a result of the new political environment after 0911). However, to have an alternative IGF improvement report could make sense. Such a report  could be even tabled as a draft resolution to the ECOSOC meeting in May 2011 by one of the "MS friendly governments" if the "official report" includes stupid conclusions and recommendations. This would certainly bring some turbulences to the ECOSOC.
 
But I think that for the moment working inside is the better option. Anyhow, this can be reconsidered in February 2011 when the next meeting takes place and we will know more about the final composition and the working method of the UNCSTD group.  
 
Anyhow, I agree that a lot of new work - both conceptual and practical - is ahead of us.          
 
Best wishes and once again thanks to Izumi
 
Wolfgang
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