[governance] IBSA - Tshwane Declaration

William Drake william.drake at uzh.ch
Fri Oct 21 04:29:40 EDT 2011 

Hi Carlos

On Oct 20, 2011, at 2:25 PM, Carlos A. Afonso wrote:

> OK, my tokens on this:
> 
> - It is obvious there was a shift and I am sure Brazil took into account
> our (BR ngos') insistent dialogue on the issues with them.

I'm glad to hear this.  Since you talk with the government a lot you have a better vantage point from which to read what's behind the words.  Others have to go on what the words say, and they are not crystal clear on the main point. If the notion of a new UN body that would integrate and centralize and oversee and thereby solve all problems has been abandoned, it'd be nice to hear that said in plain language that doesn't require readers to engage in hermeneutics, semiotics, deconstructionism, or related.  Then all the folks who've been concerned about this can de-clench and we can start to have a probing and useful dialogue about better ways forward.

BTW, do you know if we can assume then that there will not be a proposal going to the UNGA?
> 
> - The Tshwane Declaration shows the IBSA efforts are far broader than
> Internet-related issues, and at least BR ngos are interested in the
> whole set of themes they are dealing with, not just whether Icann's butt
> will be kicked or not.

And non-BR ngos often share those interests, so let's have a broader discussion.
> 
> - The "thrust" (whatever the meaning in this context) of the declaration
> of an intergovernmental meeting, Bill, is intergovernmental, what else
> would you expect?

As you know, there have been quite a lot of intergovernmental meetings of late that have issued declarations endorsing MS approaches to IG.  If the GAC, COE, OECD, et al can say it loud and clear, why can't IBSA?  Yes we know the Brazilian govt is friendly to MS, but we don't know if IBSA now in fact sees open global MS processes as the way to proceed on the issues with which it is concerned.  If yes, fabulous, they should say it and we will all tip our hats accordingly.  
> 
> I would insist our compas north of the Equator, and especially west of
> Greenwich :) be a bit more neutral when analyzing joint
> intergovernmental efforts from the South,

Why should anyone be neutral?  Your compas are opposed to bad ideas irrespective of where they come from, what's wrong with that?  Are bad ideas less problematic if they're from the South?

> and always remember to take a
> look at their own govs' tails first.

It's not obvious how this is relevant, but bad ideas from Northern governments, including those that may have issued their passports, have been routinely criticized by said compas since we launched this list in 2003.  In fact, these get probably 85% of the air time!

Cheers,

Bill

> 
> 
> On 10/19/2011 04:05 PM, William Drake wrote:
>> Hi Anriette
>> 
>> We just had this conversation bilaterally, but sure let's open it up...
>> 
>> On Oct 19, 2011, at 7:25 PM, Anriette Esterhuysen wrote:
>> 
>>> Hi Bill
>>> 
>>> I think your response is a bit hasty. There are serious gaps.. e.g. the
>>> lack of emphasis on multi-stakeholder participation pointed out by
>>> Sivasubramanian, but overall I think the section on IG shows very
>>> clearly that the IBSA government representatives took reactions at the
>>> IGF to their proposal very seriously.
>> 
>> As with many diplomatic texts, one can read it a number of ways.  I guess you read the absence of specific reference to a new UN organization to "integrate and oversee the bodies responsible" etc. as reflecting a shift.  I read the larger thrust of the text and its references to prior pronouncements etc and don't come away confident there's an agreed shift, at least not yet.  But either way, if you're right they took reactions at the IGF to their proposal very seriously, why not say that?  Why not help strengthen the IGF's position by underscoring its value and the importance of global multistakeholder dialogue on this and related matters?  That's what I referred to, the no comment on the IGF dialogue, …
>>> 
>>> This is a very different text to what had been proposed,
>> 
>> Do you mean the by the Rio recs, or something else?
>> 
>>> and clearly
>>> indicates that there will be further discussion on the September
>>> meeting's recommendations, which is what civil society organisations
>>> from the three countries requested.
>>> 
>>> Multi-stakeholder participation in the observatory is not mentioned, but
>>> it is also not excluded. My assumption is that this was an oversight,
>>> rather than a deliberate attempt to make it 'intergovernmental'.
>> 
>> We are always being told, or telling ourselves, that the lack of mention of multistakeholder participation in these things is an oversight.  Given all the heated discussions on the matter, I find that increasingly difficult to swallow.  The lack of specific reference to a UN body is revealing, but the lack of specific reference to multistakeholderism is just a case of whoops, sorry, we forgot…?
>> 
>> The thrust still feels pretty intergovernmental, as in "The Leaders...emphasized its potential to enhance IBSA’s profile as a key global player."  
>> 
>>> However, I think that the absence of multi-stakeholder participation as
>>> a principle is very disappointing. It should have been mentioned upfront
>>> in the section on global governance reform. There are other references
>>> to participation from stakeholders.. but that is not enough.
>>> 
>>> Human rights text is fairly good, as is the IP text.
>> 
>> Yes
>>> 
>>> Need to still read the whole document carefully.
>> 
>> Yes
>> 
>> http://www.pravasitoday.com/read-tshwane-declaration-at-5th-ibsa-summit
>> 
>> Cheers,
>> 
>> Bill
>>> 
>>> On 19/10/11 18:24, William Drake wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Oct 19, 2011, at 4:55 AM, Pranesh Prakash wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> The leaders took note of the recommendations of the IBSA Workshop on
>>>>> Global Internet Governance convened in Rio de Janeiro on 1-2 September
>>>>> 2011 and resolved to jointly undertake necessary follow-up action. 
>>>> 
>>>> The leaders took no note of the global community's reactions to those
>>>> recommendations during the Internet Governance Forum convened in Nairobi
>>>> on 27-30 September 2011 and resolved to pretend it didn't happen.
>>>> 
>>>>> 55. The Leaders emphasized Internet Governance as a key strategic area
>>>>> that requires close collaboration and concrete action. In this
>>>>> context, it recommended the establishment of an IBSA Internet
>>>>> Governance and Development Observatory that should be tasked to
>>>>> monitor developments on global Internet Governance and provide regular
>>>>> updates and analyses from the perspective of developing countries.
>>>> 
>>>> The leaders agreed that their initiative is really about IBSA rather
>>>> than about the Internet, so global multistakeholder participation in the
>>>> Observatory is not needed.
>>> 
>>> -- 
>>> ------------------------------------------------------
>>> anriette esterhuysen anriette at apc.org
>>> executive director, association for progressive communications
>>> www.apc.org
>>> po box 29755, melville 2109
>>> south africa
>>> tel/fax +27 11 726 1692
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>> 
>> 
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