[governance] WCIT - German Government Statement - not signing!

Fri Dec 14 16:54:35 EST 2012

Germany has made a public press release explaining the reasons for not signing the ITRs.

Please see the statement (in German):

http://www.bmwi.de/DE/Presse/pressemitteilungen,did=542914.html

Google Translation (with some edits by myself to fix grammar etc):

PRESS RELEASE

14.12.2012

Germany will not sign the new International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs)

Government aims first at broad social dialogue on the decisions taken at the ITU conference

Laptop and globe; Source: colourbox.com

© colourbox.com

At the conference of the  <http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&twu=1&u=http://www.bmwi.de/DE/Themen/Digitale-Welt/internationale-dimension,did%3D360648.html&usg=ALkJrhiJ2PxoubPSMJCjQ8YyWNHFNNh56Q> International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Dubai, negotiations ended today on a redesign of the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs).

The federal government entered into the international negotiations with the clear position to preserve the freedom of the global Internet and to prevent an expansion of the scope of the ITRs to the Internet. In cooperation with the EU Member States, the federal government has consistently pursued its central aim of the negotiations on the ITU conference, and together with the United States and many other countries - with the involvement of participants from civil society - kept Internet issues out of the draft ITRs.

Yet in the final ITR text, submitted for approval, there remain blurred passages, as in the texts on security and combating spam, and those covering risks of government intervention in the Internet. Therefore, Germany has not signed the ITRs, just as the EU countries, the U.S. and others.

Several, especially African, Arab and Asian countries have also pushed through a resolution on "Internet" in the negotiations in Dubai, giving the ITU a mandate for further work in the area of management of the Internet. The resolution is not legally binding, and was not put to the substantive discussion by the chairman of the conference, so that the non-signatory states had no influence reflecting their interests.

The Federal Government will explain and discuss the text of the new ITRs in a broad social dialogue. For this purpose there will be discussions with companies, representatives of civil society and other stakeholders in Germany in the near future. The aim of the Federal Government is to allow all stakeholders sufficient time for a comprehensive analysis to avoid quick fixes in this sensitive area.

The new ITRs will apply provisionally only to those countries that sign them. For all other countries the existing ITRs from 1988 will continue to apply. The ultimate fate of the new ITRs depends on how many countries actually ratify or accede.

-------------

Thanks to all those in Germany who helped to assure this clear line.

Peter H. Hellmonds

Public & International Affairs

peter.hellmonds at hellmonds.eu

+49 (160) 360-2852

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