[governance] IGC statement REVISION 3.0: consensus call comes soon

[Jeremy Malcolm]

This statement is shrinking as the contentious parts are being removed, but even so it will still be a worthwhile statement, and I think we are getting close to being able to finalise it.  Please provide any final comments within the next few days, in the expectation that a 48 hour consensus call may be made next week.

Submission of the IGC in taking stock of the Sharm el Sheikh meeting of the IGF

The Internet Governance Caucus (IGC) strongly supports the continuation of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) as a multi-stakeholder forum for the discussion of Internet-related public policy issues.  However if, as we hope, the forum's mandate is to be extended for a further term, there are a number of adjustments that we believe should be taken into account, continuing the IGF's pattern of incremental improvement since its inauguration in 2006.

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. 

One question on which the IGC is in clear agreement is that the composition of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) itself should be more evenly divided between the stakeholder groups, rather than being slanted towards governmental stakeholders as it is at present.  Many also believe that the stakeholders should have a more direct role in the selection of MAG members, and that MAG discussions should be more transparent.

One particular aspect of the IGF's operations in which the participation of stakeholders could be improved is in setting the substantive agenda of IGF meetings.  Although at present this responsibility falls to the MAG, the IGC was surprised that for instance the very strongly and widely expressed views of stakeholders from civil society as to the importance of a human rights agenda for the IGF was not reflected in the agenda set by the MAG for the Sharm el Sheikh meeting.

It is perceived that this was partly due to the cancellation of the September MAG meeting, in favour of an open planning session, ahead of the IGF meeting in Sharm el Sheikh.  In this context, we have an observation to make about the proposal that there should be only one MAG meeting in 2010.  The fact that a formal decision is yet to be taken on whether the IGF is to be renewed and in what form is not seen by the IGC as a decisive factor against the rotation.  However if a rotation does not take place, care must be taken that this does not result in the programme for the Vilnius meeting being prematurely set in stone.

Another widely-held view within the IGC is that the IGF ought to improve its orientation towards the development of tangible outputs, even if these do not amount to recommendations, declarations or statements (though many of our members would support outputs of such kinds).  Whatever form its outputs take, efforts should be taken to ensure that they are transmitted to relevant external institutions through appropriate mechanisms.

Similarly, there is a strong view within the IGC that in order to maximise its effectiveness, the IGF should have an intersessional work program, rather than being limited to a single annual meeting.  Many of our members believe that this should include the development of an ongoing work program for the IGF as a whole, to be carried on through online tools and intersessional and regional meetings.

Others believe that the main responsibility for intersessional work can be left to dynamic coalitions (and perhaps other issue-specific working groups).  In that case, it is widely accepted that there should be a better mechanism than at present for these groups to present their outputs to the IGF as a whole.  This would require the IGF to begin to set more stringent standards for such groups, including open membership, democratic processes, and perhaps multi-stakeholder composition.

We thank you for the opportunity to present you with these thoughts, which reflect a "rough consensus" of our several hundred members from civil society, with a wide spread of geographic and gender representation.  We look forward to continuing to constructively engage with and participate in the IGF over the course of its renewed term.

About the IGC

The IGC is an association of individuals in civil society who are actively engaged in internet governance and the IGF. Formed during the lead up to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), our mission is to promote global public interest objectives in Internet governance policy making. It now comprises more than 400 individual subscribers to its mailing list, who have subscribed to its Charter.  More about our coalition can be found at http://www.igcaucus.org.

-- 
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
Tel: +60 3 7726 1599

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