[governance] Draft statement to UNSG on bypassing CSTD

Tue Feb 16 07:26:29 EST 2010

Thank you, Jeremy, for the first draft.
I think than in the 3rd para, we could refer to the relevant decisions by the ECOSOC that actually formalized the participation of other stakeholders in the work of the CSTD, e g.:
Responsibility for system-wide follow-up  of the WSIS outcomes, including the IGF, was granted  to ECOSOC, with the actual review and assessment work tasked to the CSTD, one of its functional commissions, which for this purpose was to be strengthened "taking into account the multistakeholder approach".   (Tunis Agenda, para 105).  The "opening" of the CSTD to other stakeholders was formalized in ECOSOC decisions 2007/215, 2007/216, 2008/217 and 2008/218. According to these decisions,  all WSIS-accredited NGOs, academic entities and private sector representatives were invited to  participate in the work of the CSTD. 
Best,
Yrjö

Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:52:02 +0000
To: jeremy at ciroap.org; governance at lists.cpsr.org
From: email at hakik.org
Subject: Re: [governance] Draft statement to UNSG on bypassing CSTD

Paragraph four may elaborated further including a few success cases that
have been initiated by civil societies in several countries aiming at
WSIS missions. They have elevated Internet governance platforms in those
countries. Further progress of them requires substantive support in terms
of policy issues and state level patronization. These will roll out the
process of inclusive society to achieve the target set at several IGF
sessions and will open the door to continue as such in future.

Best regards,

Hakikur Rahman

At 10:13 16-02-2010, Jeremy Malcolm wrote:

As agreed, please find below a
draft letter to the UNSG (United Nations Secretary-General) expressing
our strong concern about the usurpation of the role of the civil
society-friendly CSTD (Commission on Science and Technology for
Development) in reviewing the conclusions of the UNSG on the continuation
of the IGF.  This is based closely on Wolfgang's post to the list
that followed on from mine and Yrjö's.  This is just a first draft,
and I might have missed some recent discussions as I'm composing this in
the air between the US and Europe.

Dear Sir,

As a strong supporter of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and its
unique multi-stakeholder process, the Civil Society Internet Governance
Caucus writes to express a concern about what we see as a potential
weakening of that process, in the revelation at the last IGF open
consultation meeting on 10 February that your recommendations on the
continuation of the IGF will not be reviewed by the CSTD (Commission on
Science and Technology for Development).  In raising this concern,
we are joining our voice to those of several governments who spoke to
similar effect at that open consultation meeting.

This recognition of the principle of "multistakeholderism" in
the Tunis Agenda 2005 was the biggest conceptual achievement in WSIS and
was in particular accepted as a guiding principle for Internet Governance
in contrast to a "one stakeholder (intergovernmental)
approach". The acceptance of civil society as an "equal
parter" (in their specific role) was a big step for civil society.
This was paved by the constructive and substantial work the civil society
representatives did during WSIS I and II, documented in particular in the
WSIS Civil Society Declaration, adopted in Geneva in December 2003 and
handed over officially to the Heads of States (who accepted it) in the
Closing Ceremony of WSIS I, and in the contribution to the results of the
UN Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG).  The launch of the
IGF as a "multistakeholder discussion platform" was the result
of this. 

Responsibility for system-wide follow-up and review of the WSIS outcomes,
including the IGF, was granted to ECOSOC through its CSTD, and this role
was to be managed using a multi-stakeholder approach (Tunis Agenda, para
105).  The "opening" of the CSTD was a very complicated
procedure which was first (in 2006) established as a preliminary
exception, but was later taken for granted (though never
formalized).  It allows for all WSIS-accredited NGOs, and private
sector representatives, to participate as active observers.  In
fact, the ECOSOC decisions that opened CSTD up to other stakeholders
speak about "participating in the work" of it, rather than just
observing. 

With this structure in place, the CSTD drafted the annual ECOSOC
resolutions on the WSIS follow-up for 2007-2009, including assessments on
the performance of the IGF.  There is no reason for a sudden
departure from this process on the question of the continuation of the
IGF.

In contrast, ECOSOC itself is not a multi-stakeholder institution. 
Whilst ECOSOC has accredited NGOs, all they can do is to send written
statements which are published before the meeting. They have no right to
negotiate, no right to speak, and no right to access the meeting room to
brief (or lobby) delegates.  Moreover, the private sector has no
representation within ECOSOC at all.

In other words, to move the debate to ECOSOC means to silence an open and
transparent debate among governmental and non-governmental stakeholders.
It would mark a return to the pre-WSIS time when civil society (and the
private sector) were removed from the room after the ceremonial speeches
of the opening sessions ended and the real debate started in June 2002.
It took three years and ten PrepComs to change this.

We request you to take steps to redress this anomaly, by transmitting
your recommendations on the continuation of the IGF to the CSTD for
consideration at its May meeting, where they will be open for review by
non-governmental stakeholders, as befits the review of a unique
multi-stakeholder institution. We would also like to take this
opportunity to reiterate our support for the continuation of the IGF as a
multi-stakeholder forum for the discussion of Internet-related public
policy issues, located in Geneva, with an independent budget and a
Secretariat under contract with the United Nations Department of Economic
and Social Affairs (UNDESA).

Thank you for your consideration.

-- 

Jeremy Malcolm

Project Coordinator

Consumers International

Kuala Lumpur Office for Asia Pacific and the Middle East

Lot 5-1 Wisma WIM, 7 Jalan Abang Haji Openg, TTDI, 60000 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia

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