[governance] Consensus call on letter from IGC, ICC and ISOC

[Jeremy Malcolm]

Here is the same text as just posted, but with the changes merged and with "civil society" now placed first in the list of stakeholders; an amendment which Izumi proposed and which ISOC has agreed to (I doubt ICC will object either).

On the point about the number of representatives of non-governmental stakeholders, it seems that we needlessly assumed the worst.  Re-reading the invitation letter (at http://mini.me.my/h) the interpretation that there will be three representatives does seem the most sensible one ("the views of civil society and private sector organisations, as well as the Internet technical community, will be summarized for presentation by a designated representative, who will base the group's presentation on submissions received").

Since many of you have already expressed your support for the letter, I suggest that during the next 72 hours:

* Those who previously agreed with the letter, but who do not agree with the minor changes from ISOC and the ICC, reply to state your objection.

* Those who do not agree with either form of the letter, please reply to state your objection.

* Those who agree and have not already said so, may reply to say so.

Then 72 hours from now (the Charter requires 48 hours) Izumi and I will determine whether we have reached a rough consensus.  Here, then, is the final text:


His Excellency Sha Zukang
Under Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs
United Nations
3 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017

Dear Undersecretary General Sha Zukang,

Thank you for your open letter of 7 October 2010, addressed to civil society and private sector stakeholders, in which you invite them to participate in consultations in New York on 14th December.

Quoting resolution 2010/2 of the Economic and Social Council, the letter explains that these are meant as "open and inclusive consultations involving all Member States and other stakeholders with a view to assisting the process of enhanced cooperation ... in respect of international public policy issues pertaining to the Internet ... through a balanced participation of all stakeholders in their respective roles and responsibilities."

In this context we are concerned that the consultations scheduled for 14 December in New York is not in fact as open and inclusive as the ECOSOC resolution requires.  Specifically, we were surprised that non-governmental stakeholders were invited only to give written contributions, and to nominate a single representative of each stakeholder group (civil society, Internet technical community and business) to speak during the consultations to summarize the contributions of that non-governmental stakeholder group.

In our respectful view this does not amount to the open and inclusive consultation called for by ECOSOC, but rather is effectively an intergovernmental consultation with constrained participation by the other stakeholders who are critical to the continued development of the Information Society. This runs counter to the principle established at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) including that "The international management of the Internet should be multilateral, transparent and democratic, with the full involvement of governments, the private sector, civil society and international organizations.” In addition, paragraph 71 recognizes enhanced cooperation involves all stakeholders in their respective roles and responsibilities.

We understand that limits that have been placed upon the participation of civil society, 
business and the Internet technical community stakeholders in this consultation are said to be as a result of space constraints at the United Nations complex in New York.

Might we suggest, then, that due to the importance of securing wide and inclusive participation of all stakeholders in this consultation, the date and venue be changed to the Palais des Nations in Geneva, perhaps following the open consultations of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) that are already scheduled for 22 November 2010 or that a larger venue be found at the UN in New York.

Thank you for your ongoing support of the multi-stakeholder process of Internet governance, and for considering the important concerns we have raised above. We look forward to receiving your response in due course.
-- 

Signed by
The Internet Governance Caucus, the Internet Society (ISOC) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)

-- 
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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