[governance] SECOND DRAFT suggested statement on MAG's future

[McTim]

Jeremy,

On Thu, May 6, 2010 at 5:29 AM, Jeremy Malcolm <jeremy at ciroap.org> wrote:
> This incorporates Yrjö's changes in place of the original paragraph 3, and
> moves some contested passages into [square brackets].  Additions will appear
> underlined in rich text email clients.
> --- 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 recognised by the Tunis Agenda as the joint sovereigns of Internet
> governance.


I still find this objectionable.  While the stakeholder groups may be
considered joint sovereigns of the IGF, I do not see them as sovereign
over IG in general.  Remember, the IGF talks about public policy
issues in IG, it doesn't actually "do" IG.

-- 
Cheers,

McTim
"A name indicates what we seek. An address indicates where it is. A
route indicates how we get there."  Jon Postel


The MAG has shown the feasibility and positive effects of
> non-bureau like structures.  We would therefore 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 2010 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.]
> The roles of the UNSG and MAG in controlling the IGF process should be
> re-examined in the light of he relevant articles of the Tunis agenda and of
> the IGF experience so far. While the UNSG has the overall authority over the
> IGF in terms of convening it (§72, §74), reporting on its operation (§75)
> and examining the desirability of its continuation (§76), the IGF in its
> working and function, will be multilateral,multi-stakeholder, democratic
> and transparent (§73). In post-Tunis practice, the MAG has evolved into the
> main actor managing the actual "working and function" of the IGF, ensuring
> "the complementarity between all stakeholders involved in this process
> - governments, business entities, civil society and
> intergovernmental organizations" (§73a)
> 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 ---
> --
>
> Jeremy Malcolm
> Project Coordinator
> Consumers International
> Kuala Lumpur Office for Asia Pacific and the Middle East
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