[governance] UN GA resolution and enhanced cooperation

[Marilia Maciel]

Hi Norbert,

I agree with your your suggestions and I think that nuanced proposals are
already being ventilated. What I have noticed in previous meetings is that
States tend to quote some parts from the Tunis Agenda that maximize their
power of negotiation. Some developing countries make sure that "to allow
governments on an equal footing" is included, while some other countries
make sure that "involve all stakeholders" is included. But this does not
mean that the former group is against multistakeholderism and neither that
the second group is against more governmental participation.
These paragraphs are language that does not capture the advancements on
negotiations anymore. And, being repeated over and over, they are making
communication more difficult. Civil society could certainly act as a broker
in this conversation, as I believe it did before in crucial moments, such
as in the WGIG.

Marília

On Mon, Jan 2, 2012 at 11:07 AM, Norbert Bollow <nb at bollow.ch> wrote:

> Parminder <parminder at itforchange.net> wrote:
>
> > Enclosed is the 2011 UN GA resolution on ICTs for development. Its most
> > hotly contested part was of course about 'enhanced cooperation', a
> > term/issue that so many hope should somehow simply disappear and die.
> > The relevant part of the resolution reads as follows;
> >
> >     .... invites the Chair of the Commission on Science and Technology
> >     for Development to convene, in conjunction with the fifteenth
> >     session of the Commission, a one-day open, inclusive and interactive
> >     meeting, involving all Member States and other stakeholders,
> >     particularly those from developing countries, including the private
> >     sector, civil society and international organizations, with a view
> >     to identifying a shared understanding about enhanced cooperation on
> >     public policy issues pertaining to the Internet, in accordance with
> >     paragraphs 34 and 35 of the Tunis Agenda.....
>
> Parminder, many thanks for posting this!
>
> I'd suggest that regardless of whatever negative thoughts we may have
> had on bad developments that can potentially happen under a heading
> of "enhanced cooperation", let's make sure to have a strong civil
> society participation in that consultation meeting.
>
> It seems that the UN GA's understanding of "enhanced cooperation" is
> still primarily a heavy handed viewpoint that governments should have
> power over all Internet related matters over which they want to have
> power, excepting only "the day-to-day technical and operational
> matters that do not impact upon those issues", as written among the
> introductory recallings:
>
>  /Reiterating/ the significance and urgency of the process towards
>  enhanced cooperation in full consistency with the mandate provided
>  in the Tunis Agenda and the need for enhanced cooperation to enable
>  Governments, on an equal footing, to carry out their roles and
>  responsibilities in respect of international public policy issues
>  pertaining to the Internet but not in respect of the day-to-day
>  technical and operational matters that do not impact upon those
>  issues,
>
> While I view this as unduly heavy-handed, the underlying desire is
> IMO legitimate to some extent.
>
> I would suggest that we should use the time until those consultations
> in May to figure out appropriate, nuanced positions and proposals on how
> the legitimate needs of governments can be met without increasing the
> risks for human rights violations by giving undue power to governments,
> individual government officials and third-parties that could gain
> authorized access e.g. to government-mandated "data retention"
> infrastructures.
>
> Greetings,
> Norbert
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-- 
Centro de Tecnologia e Sociedade
FGV Direito Rio

Center for Technology and Society
Getulio Vargas Foundation
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