[governance] IGC statement REVISION 3.0: consensus call comes

Tue Feb 16 16:50:00 EST 2010

Hello all

I think our friend Sivasubramanian is simplifying the constituency and the role(s) of ITU too much, reducing them for the sake of his demonstration. 
Unfortunately I'm under time pressure so I'm not able to reply in detail. I think that "civil society" is much more broader-minded in terms of what the role of ITU in Internet governance should/could be. Especially NGOs in DCs or other grassroot organizations. Many of them prefer an international governance through a multilateral International organisation, rather than a group of Internet businessmen or gourous with just a couple of CS representatives, depending on one government's constituencies and laws. At least, CS in the IGC should recognize this fact which has been discussed in different CS plenaries during the WSIS process. 
I often criticize the ITU for having derived from its functions and roles assigned to it by its constitution and, as far as the WSIS follow-up process is concerned, I often asked strongly (as I did once more last week during the preparatory meeting for WSIS Forum in May) the ITU to open its membership to the CS at least in respect of the multistakeholder principle which is guiding this process whose organisator ITU is ! I don't see many signs of support coming from the "Internet community" inside the CS.
For concluding I'd just add that I prefer a World governed by democratic governments assembled in international organizations, than one governed by business, finance and banks. And the recent crisis and dramatic events -especially in DCs and in poor communities- is a strong signal for all CS members since they are all CITIZENS !

Best regards
Jean-Louis Fullsack 

> Message du 16/02/10 20:31
> De : "Sivasubramanian Muthusamy" 
> A : governance at lists.cpsr.org, "Katitza Rodriguez" 
> Copie à : 
> Objet : Re: [governance] IGC statement REVISION 3.0: consensus call comes
> 
> Hello Katiza
> 
> ITU is an anomaly that deviates from the ancient wisdom behind the dictum that "a nation's capital should be situated as farther away from the sea shore as possible": (merchants congregate near the sea; if the capital is close to the sea, merchants would have proximity to the members of the Government, so there is greater likelihood of the merchants corrupting the politicians). Telecom corporations have the rare advantage of being seated alongside Government at the ITU. This anomalous position makes it possible for the telecoms to exercise an undue influence on governments, unnoticed by the Governments.
> 
> The ITU was established because telegraphic communication needed to be standardized for interoperability across continents. ITU established standards for telegraphic and phone communication.
> 
> Governments chose to be part of the ITU when Governments owned telecom corporations. Over time, most Governments have withdrawn their stakes in their telecommunication corporations, but haven't ceased to be a part of this business cartel. The result is that we are now left with a business-government nexus, of which unwittingly Governments are a part.
> 
> This status is a unique status, not conferred upon the business unions of any other industry. ITU has been in a position to influence national and global policies related to all communication. ITU's core concern is that it should govern and control all business of communication. The ITU sets policies and rules in all communication: Telegraphs, telephones, mobile phones and it also manages the RF spectrum and satellite communications with the exception of the Internet.
> 
> ITU's idea of an Internet was a networking solution provided by telecom companies on a commercial business model. ITU tried to take charge of the Internet in the early days of Internet. This did not happen as the Internet took shape as a free and open medium. The Internet evolved to be way beyond the purview of the ITU and it shape as a world on its own.
> 
> In its recent attempts to impose itself in Internet Governance, it couldn't succeed because the mutli-stakeholder approach has rendered the Civil Society as a powerful force in any policy debate (if not decision) related to the Internet.
> 
> This must have made the ITU very uncomfortable and as an organization with its anachronistic status as a UN Agency, the ITU The Internet threatened the business models of telecom companies as technologies such as email, VOIP began to be adopted worldwide. The ITU also found a new breed of phone companies like Skype that didn't obey the ITU rules becoming phenomenally successful and an emerging threat to phone company revenues.
> 
> The freedom of the Internet is because of the open architecture of the Internet and due to such principles as the end to end principle, all of which could be easily redefined if the task of Internet architecture and Internet standards comes under the ITU umbrella. So the ITU tried to interject itself in the Internet Standards process. The Critical Internet Resources could be brought under the ITU umbrella by taking over a vulnerable corporation called ICANN. That could ensure a technical dominance of the Internet by the ITU. But for overall control, ITU needs to take over Internet Governance with the argument that easily fools at least a few policy makers: that the ITU is a well organized, 145 year old organization that has 191 national governments as its members. It attempts to derive a position in policy making (which is otherwise in the realm of Governments) by interjecting itself in the policy arena as a UN Agency, while it is in reality a business union.
> 
> The ITU organizes the World Telecommunication Policy Forum in an attempt to position itself / retain its position in the policy arena. The ITU asserts its position in policy making in subtle ways. For instance, at the IGF in Sharm el Sheikh, an ITU representative said " We have no intention whatsoever to do the business of the ICANN, what the ICANN is doing best...everybody doesn't want the ICANN to do what is the mandate of the ITU of policy-making, public-policy issues and so on”
> 
> That was subtle. The ITU representative had managed to assert that policy making is ITU's birthright and that the ITU has a legitimate and unequaled role in policy making. This inappropriate statement was somehow allowed to slip in without a challenge at the IGF.
> 
> At Egypt, ITU's representatives raised questions about IPv6 allocation system, in an attempt to bring the ITU into the function of allocation of IP addresses. This was mild compared to a blatant speech by the Secretary General at ICANN Cairo, which almost amounted to a bid to take over ICANN.
> 
> ITU's constant attempts to gain a "controlling interest" in Internet Governance is resisted by the Internet Community. This is what causes the 'tensions'.
> 
> Sivasubramanian Muthusamy
> 

> 

On Thu, Jan 21, 2010 at 10:21 PM, Katitza Rodriguez  wrote:
> 
Greetings:
> 
> Can someone explain me the ITU-IGF tension? I do not follow ITU.
> 
> Thanks. 

> 
> 
> On Jan 21, 2010, at 11:42 AM, Yehuda Katz wrote:
> 
> 
My constructive dissection:
> 
> 
None of these suggestions would fundamentally alter the IGF as an institution;
> 
for example, we are content that it remain formally convened by the UN
> Secretary General, with an independent budget and a Secretariat under contract
> with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). We
> do not see any benefit to the IGF in moving underneath a different UN body.
> 
> I take it that: "... We do not see any benefit to the IGF in moving underneath
> a different UN body. ..." addresses the ITU's position.
> Myself, I see no insult in addressing the ITU's position more directly. (Spit
> it out)
> 
> Add something like this: And it is genraly felt that if the IGF is to be
> subsumed by the ITU, then IGC members would prefer the IGF remain independent
> of the UN umbrella.
> 
> I am suggesting to leave open 'The-Thought' of an Independent IGF for serval
> reasons,
> 1. There may be Other UN Branches (Other than the ITU) that want to hose the
> IGF
> 2. It may be that the IGF can be Independent and 'First among Equals' (among
> all the UN Branches) in respect to Internet Policy, underwritten by the MDG and
> WSIS Declarations.
> 3. if the IGF is in fact slated to conclude, the statement establishes the
> IGC's commitment to the IGF's ongoing Independence.
> ...
> Don't be Shy, the Chair at the ITU certainly is not. Give them (Dese & Markus)
> the fuel to fight.
> I don't feel you'll insult anyone by being Frank & Direct, in fact now is the
> time to do just that, the delicate 'Modalities' as Bertrand de La Chapelle puts
> it can come later.
> 
> Else where in your statement, you should add something a-kin too "Piercing the
> corporate Veil", that is make reference to the 'Invisibility' of the UN
> Umbrella Insider negotiations (UN inside modalities) regarding the
> determination of the IGF's composition, that should be made real-time and
> transparent to All.
> 
> I use the 'Piercing the corporate Veil' analogy because I feel They (the
> UNSG/UNDESA/ITU/IGF Chairs) have broken their contract with US, in regards to
> Transparency of the final negotiations. Last Year's transactions/actions were
> evidence of the fact.
> ---
> 
> * Piercing the corporate Veil
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piercing_the_corporate_veil
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