[governance] Follow-up on principles, pre-event, ECTF, WG: need for focus by IGC

[Jeremy Malcolm]

Following on from the post about the Declaration of Internet Freedom,
this had me thinking that at least they have issued a declaration of
principles (even if a sub-standard one), which is what the IGC has not
done despite talking about doing it since last IGF.  So, I should give
credit where credit is due.

But we need to make sure that we don't continue to allow the current
Internet governance debates to be monopolised by such popular movements,
which are well-intentioned but often rather uninformed and
demographically narrow.  With all our criticisms about the IGF failing
to deliver outputs, the IGC should practice what it preaches, and
produce more concrete results of its own.  (This is no criticism of
Izumi or Sala, who would emphasise that the IGC is member-led rather
than coordinator-led.)

So it seems to me that there are at least two main areas in which we
have long been talking about making a contribution, but are yet to
actually get around to doing so.  These are:

 1. the development of a civil society statement of principles on IG and
    a broader civil society network to subscribe to this; and
 2. the development of one or two (for CIRs and non-CIR public policy
    issues) tangible models for enhanced cooperation or at least a
    working group to develop such.

In respect of the first of these, no progress that I know of has been
made since last IGF, and meanwhile the ground is moving under the IGC's
feet.  At least three other groups (Access, and two others I'm not sure
if I can mention publicly) are trying to take leadership to link NGOs
together for purposes of agreeing on principles (I know at least of an
Asia-Pacific document) and/or mobilising against bad laws.  This is
something that the IGC itself should be doing, and indeed had committed
to do last year.

In respect of the second, we have at least four different approaches:
Norbert's Enhanced Cooperation Task Force that would develop "Request
for Action" documents, Wolfgang's multistakeholder expert group to look
into enhanced cooperation mechanisms (much like what the CSTD could have
formed but didn't) that he says "could" (but would it?) emerge from the
IGF this year, Parminder's suggestion that civil society propose our own
concrete models first, and the widely-supported suggestion that we hold
a pre-event in Baku to discuss all this (or at least do so in the "Quo
Vadis" workshop).

Can those with ownership of these suggestions please give us an update
as to whether there is any progress to report?  If not, what is lacking
(funding, support, time?), and how could others help?  Would the
formation of small working groups with mailing lists on the IGC server
assist to convert these ideas into action?  Let's not let another IGF go
by without something to show for both of these important areas for action.

-- 

*Dr Jeremy Malcolm
Senior Policy Officer*
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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