[governance] REVISION 3 Draft statement to UNSG on bypassing

Thu Feb 18 06:17:09 EST 2010

Jeremy Malcolm wrote:
> On 18/02/2010, at 8:38 AM, Lee W McKnight wrote:
>
>   
>> Hi,
>>
>> Maybe I am biased but I prefer the blue version for readability, thanks Deirdre.
>>
>> I offer one more very specific but also tactical amendment -
>>
>> 2nd to last line, 1st para: change 'will' to 'may' (not be reviewed etc...)
>>     
>
> Here is the "blue version" of Deirdre's with Lee's amendment, and additional amendments of my own to the ECOSOC paragraphs to try to address Parminder's email, and I changed "open for review by (non-governmental) all stakeholders" which didn't seem grammatical to me.  I've also standardised on "multistakeholder" rather than "multi-stakeholder".  Please keep the comments rolling so that we can finalise this soon.
>
> AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE INTERNET GOVERNANCE CAUCUS TO THE UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL, BAN KI-MOON
>
> Dear Sir,
>
>   

I still prefer that we start with

IGC supports the views expressed by many government delegates at the 
recent open consultations on the IGF that the  UN Secretary  General's 
report and recommendations on  ' the desirability of the continuation of 
the Forum ' based on formal consultations  at  IGF Sharm be presented to 
the CSTD's annual session in May 2010 before it is considered by the 
ECOSOC and then by the UN Assembly. This will enable widest possible 
discussion and engagement  of concerned actors, including governments, 
with this very important issue.  CSTD  is formally mandated to engage 
with all issues of WSIS follow up, and its specialized  knowledge  and 
history of engagement with  WSIS issues, including  the IGF, will 
provide  the best basis  for  an informed consideration of the issue by 
the ECOSOC and the UN Assembly.

We further agree with the statements made by some government 
representatives in the mentioned consultations that there seems to be no 
logic to short circuit the normal process of consideration of issues 
concerned with WSIS, going against the practice of the past. It is also 
very relevant to note here that UN Secretary General's report on 
'enhanced cooperation' which was presented to the ECOSOC has been 
referred by the ECOSOC to the CSTD for its prior consideration, which 
does make it clear that ECOSOC would normally prefer CSTD's views on 
issues of WSIS follow up before it considers them. There is no reason 
why the same should not apply to the SG's report on IGF.

However, in the present case, if the report is not presented to the CSTD 
session this May, it will not be possible for ECOSOC to refer it to 
CSTD. This is for the reason that ECOSOC will be able to consider this 
issue only after May, and it is not possible for the matter to be put to 
CSTD next year since the final decision on continuation of the IGF will 
have to be made much earlier.

We therefore request that in the interest of an open and transparent 
process, UN Secretary General's report on continuation of the IGF be 
made available to the CSTD's annual session in May 2010, which will help 
the 'UN membership' make an informed and considered decision on this 
matter as per the requirements of the Tunis Agenda.

 After this we can add a short para from the present draft on the 
relatively greater multistakeholderism of CSTD  (but it will not be the 
key factor in the present context) .

Parminder

> The Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus is a strong supporter of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and its unique multi-stakeholder process. We express a concern about what we see as a potential weakening of that process. Our concern is shared by several governments who spoke to similar effect at the last IGF open consultation meeting on 10 February. At that open consultation meeting. it was announced that your recommendations on the continuation of the IGF may not be reviewed by the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) as has been done in the past.
>
> In the Tunis Agenda 2005 the principle of "multistakeholderism" (Para 35 ... the management of the Internet encompasses both technical and public policy issues and should involve all stakeholders) was recognised. This was the biggest conceptual achievement of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). Particularly multistakeholderism was accepted as a guiding principle for Internet Governance. By this, Civil Society was accepted as an equal partner in their specific role (Para 61). It came as a result of constructive and substantial work done by the civil society representatives during WSIS I and II. This was 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. It was also demonstrated in the contribution to the results of the UN Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG). The existence of the IGF as a locus for "multi-stakeholder policy dialogue" (Para 72) was the result of this.
>
> The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) was given responsibility for the general follow-up  of the WSIS outcomes, including the IGF. The actual review and assessment work were delegated to the CSTD, one of ECOSOC’s functional commissions. For this purpose it was to be strengthened "taking into account the multistakeholder approach"  (Tunis Agenda, para 105).  The inclusion in the CSTD of 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.
>
> 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.  By accommodating other stakeholders in fulfilment of the WSIS principles, the CSTD's process, like that of the IGF itself, has been widely lauded as innovative and successful.  There is therefore no reason for a sudden departure from this process on the question of the continuation of the IGF.
>
> The CSTD is not a multistakeholder institution, and hence we would welcome further enhancement of the participation of non-governmental stakeholders in the IGF review.  However even as it stands, the CSTD does provide relatively greater multistakeholder involvement than its parent body, ECOSOC.  Whilst ECOSOC has accredited NGOs, their influence is limited and much of their expertise is not taken into consideration by ECOSOC.  More importantly, there are many NGOs that were accredited at WSIS but which are not in consultative status with ECOSOC, and the private sector has no representation within ECOSOC at all.
>
> Consequently, 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. There, they will be open for review by all stakeholders, as befits the review of a unique multistakeholder institution. Should it not be possible to do this, civil society's confidence in the legitimacy of the resolution on the continuation of the IGF that is ultimately made by the General Assembly might well be reduced. 
>
> 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.
>
>   
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