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

Tue Jul 3 02:21:29 EDT 2012

I wonder whether it makes sense to elaborate a new declaration of principles after the good work which has been done in the DC IRP on Internet and Human Rights and the Council of Europe with the help of Wolfgang and others on Internet Governance principles, see http://www.irpcharter.org/images/IRPflyer.pdf and https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1835773
Rather this material should be more actively used.

Wolfgang Benedek

Von: Jeremy Malcolm <jeremy at ciroap.org<mailto:jeremy at ciroap.org>>
Antworten an: "governance at lists.igcaucus.org<mailto:governance at lists.igcaucus.org>" <governance at lists.igcaucus.org<mailto:governance at lists.igcaucus.org>>, Jeremy Malcolm <jeremy at ciroap.org<mailto:jeremy at ciroap.org>>
An: "governance at lists.igcaucus.org<mailto:governance at lists.igcaucus.org>" <governance at lists.igcaucus.org<mailto:governance at lists.igcaucus.org>>
Betreff: [governance] Follow-up on principles, pre-event, ECTF, WG: need for focus by IGC

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
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