[governance] Suggested statement on MAG's future

Tue May 4 20:32:58 EDT 2010

Hi All,

Thanks Jeremy and Ginger for this interesting draft !

I fully agree with Jeannette's remarks.

Best,

~Pascal

2010/5/4 Jeanette Hofmann <jeanette at wzb.eu>

> Hi Jeremy,
>
> thank you for the draft statement.
>
> I have issues with the following sentences:
>
>
> Whilst the United Nations Secretary-General is the titular leader of the
> IGF process, this is a formal appointment only.  Rightful control of the IGF
> as a process or institution of Internet governance belongs ultimately to the
> stakeholders themselves.
>
> What does that mean, it is a formal appointment only. Have you, for
> example, asked the secretariat if they also regard this appointment as
> merely formal? I think you would be surprised. Also, I don't understand the
> meaning of "rightful" in this context. Is it supposed to mean what you or we
> find just or adequate? Then this should be made more clear.
>
> Many of these issues we have discussed before and I can only repeat my
> positions:
>
> I don't think it is feasible and desirable for the stakeholders to choose
> their members for the MAG. We need somebody sorting out issues of regional
> and gender representation. Expertise is also an issue in this context.
>
> I am also not convinced that the MAG should get more authority. This would
> raise problems of legitimacy and most likely bring the equality between
> governments and other stakeholders in the MAG and the IGF in general to an
> end.
>
> Finally, the issue of transparency: The secretariat publishes a summary of
> the MAG's discussions as a response to the request for more transparency. If
> the caucus thinks this is not enough or doesn't do what we need, perhaps we
> should be more specific than just repeating what we have said for years?
>
>
> jeanette
>
> Jeremy Malcolm wrote:
>
>> Ginger and I have been silent on the drafting of a statement on the future
>> of the MAG for its meeting on the 12th, in the hope that such a statement
>> would emerge from the bottom up, but in order not to let the opportunity
>> slip, allow me now to propose some text for discussion.  There are six
>> paragraphs.  If you have an issue, please state which paragraph is of
>> concern, and please make your suggestions as focussed as possible.
>>
>> --- begins ---
>>
>> The Internet Governance Caucus (IGC) supports the maintenance of the
>> Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) of the Internet Governance Forum
>> (IGF), as the body that links the UN Secretariat to the stakeholder groups
>> that are the joint sovereigns of Internet governance.  We would like to see
>> the democratic legitimacy and effectiveness of the MAG strengthened as it
>> continues into a renewed term for the IGF.
>>
>> To this end, in our statement for the February open consultation and MAG
>> meetings, the IGC suggested that the composition of the MAG itself should be
>> more evenly divided between the stakeholder groups.  We also reported that
>> many believe that the stakeholders should have a more direct role in the
>> selection of MAG members, and that MAG discussions should continue to be
>> made more transparent.
>>
>> We also consider that care must be taken in balancing the respective roles
>> of the Secretariat and the MAG.  Whilst the United Nations Secretary-General
>> is the titular leader of the IGF process, this is a formal appointment only.
>>  Rightful control of the IGF as a process or institution of Internet
>> governance belongs ultimately to the stakeholders themselves.  Therefore,
>> the Secretariat's role ought to remain a purely facilitative and technical
>> one.
>>
>> In underlining this, the appropriate role of the MAG, as the only
>> representative body of the stakeholders within the IGF process, becomes
>> clear.  Namely, it should be responsible for every decision that effects the
>> substantive work of the IGF.  This includes agenda setting, overseeing the
>> preparation of briefing and synthesis documents, and reshaping the IGF's
>> structure and working methods (such as the establishment of thematic working
>> groups).
>>
>> In the future, its role may go further still.  Until now, the IGF has been
>> largely just a forum for discussion.  Looking to the future, the
>> Secretary-General's report on the continuation of the IGF envisages that it
>> may come to produce some form of recommendations.  If so, the MAG will have
>> a role in supporting that process too, likely in shaping the content of any
>> statements that are to be issued in conformity with the consensus of the
>> plenary forum.
>>
>> Whatever the future may hold for the IGF, the MAG will be integral to it.
>>  This is why it is so important that the composition of the MAG is balanced,
>> that the process of selection of its members satisfies the stakeholder
>> groups from which they are drawn, that its operations are conducted with a
>> high degree of transparency in order to ensure its accountability to the
>> stakeholders at large, and that its legitimate role is not usurped.
>>
>> --- ends ---
>>
>> Perhaps time is too short for us to agree on this statement (extending the
>> delay, I'm writing while away without Internet access), but let's try and
>> see how far we get.
>>
>> --
>>
>> *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
>>
>> *CI is 50*
>> Consumers International marks 50 years of the global consumer movement in
>> 2010.
>> Celebrate with us as we continue to support, promote and protect consumer
>> rights around the world. _http://www.consumersinternational.org/50_
>>
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