[governance] REVISION 3 Draft statement to UNSG on bypassing

[Bertrand de La Chapelle]

Dear all,

Parminder wrote :

In fact the governments who spoke *were not thinking of
multistakeholderism*but underlying their objections was a different
politics. They suspect China
(along with some others) is up to some games here, and more open
consideration of UN SG's report give them a better chance to put their views
in more solidly, not that they wont be there at the ECOSOC and UN GA. Also,
some governments who are members of CSTD and not ECOSOC obviously are more
vocal to get matters to the CSTD and vice versa. So, since weakening MS
process was not what the government who spoke at the consultations really
spoke about, and all the concerned actors know this, our first assertion
looks really weak. These gov reps really spoke about the proper process of
WSIS follow up matters going through CSTD, that is all.


I must correct this : preserving the multi-stakeholder spirit of discussions
was clearly in the minds of most governments who spoke in Geneva to support
having the report presented to the CSTD.

The reasoning is as follows :
- the very idea of an Internet Governance forum came principally from the
discussions of the WGIG, which was a truly multi-stakeholder group
- even if the mandate of the IGF was included in a document ultimately
signed by governments only (the Tunis agenda), many other actors have played
an important role in its definition
- the functioning of the Forum itself has been organized since its inception
by a multi-stakeholder process (including through the MAG)
- para 76 of the Tunis Agenda mentions "the desirability of the
continuation"; ie : the recommendations of the UN SG should mainly revolve
around the question : continuation Yes or No ? and not get into any
renegotiation of the mandate or the administrative and operational
organization of the Forum.

In this context, it would be inappropriate for the UN General assembly or
ECOSOS (which are governments-only bodies) to discuss more than the Yes or
No question. The capacity to self-organize, which has made the IGF what it
is today, must be preserved. The CSTD, because of its mandate to handle the
follow-up of WSIS, is not only the legitimate entry point to prepare the
draft resolutions for ECOSOC and the GA; it is also the sole UN structure
that has the possibility to allow a discussion among a diversity of actors
on how to make the IGF even better without changing its fundamental
multi-stakehoder nature.

The governments who have spoken have indeed done so in order to preserve the
multi-stakeholder nature of the IGF.

Best

Bertrand

-- 
____________________
Bertrand de La Chapelle
Délégué Spécial pour la Société de l'Information / Special Envoy for the
Information Society
Ministère des Affaires Etrangères et Européennes/ French Ministry of Foreign
and European Affairs
Tel : +33 (0)6 11 88 33 32

"Le plus beau métier des hommes, c'est d'unir les hommes" Antoine de Saint
Exupéry
("there is no greater mission for humans than uniting humans")
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