[governance] Proposal for an IGF working group on EC

Wed May 16 10:54:20 EDT 2012

Hi all

Attached (and below) is a statement and proposal on EC that we hope to
discuss further, online, and then also in the CSTD consultation on
enhanced cooperation on Friday 18 May here in Geneva. Note that this is
not yet an official APC position. Members are still discussing it.

Looking forward to your feedback.

Anriette

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

APC Policy Programme calls for the establishment of a multi-stakeholder
working group of the Internet Governance Forum aimed at enhanced cooperation

GENEVA, MAY 14 2012 - Cooperation in internet governance implies that
all partners should, in their respective roles, work together on an
equal footing and with a shared mission. The Association for Progressive
Communications' Communication and Information Policy Programme (APC
CIPP) thereby supports strengthening 'enhanced cooperation' to address
global public policy issues pertaining to the internet, which will
realise its potential only when forces are balanced.

Structural differences exist between governments, the technical
community the private sector and civil society - four stakeholder groups
that make up the current internet governance ecosystem. APC is a civil
society network that has not shied away from actively participating in
the global policy dialogue and seven years after release of the Tunis
Agenda still believes that internet governance should be ,participative,
inclusive, transparent and democratic, with the full involvement of
governments, the private sector, civil society, the technical community
and international organisations. This implies recognizing and curbing
imbalances not only between stakeholders, but also within stakeholder
entities.

APC stresses the principle of democratic global governance of the
internet. Building legitimacy of global internet-related policy spaces
and mechanisms is a complex process that requires the acknowledgment of
power dynamics, diverse interests and the political climate. Future
internet governance mechanisms must engage stakeholders on an equal
footing and ensure they are effectively represented.

APC further requests that as a forum for multi-stakeholder dialogue on
internet policy, established as an outcome of the World Summit on
Information Society, the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) establish a
multi-stakeholder working group on unresolved issues related to
'enhancing cooperation' in internet governance. The Tunis Agenda states
very clearly that taking enhanced cooperation forward is central to the
mandate given to the IGF.

“71. The process towards enhanced cooperation, to be started by the UN
Secretary-General, involving all relevant organizations by the end of
the first quarter of 2006, will involve all stakeholders in their
respective roles, will proceed as quickly as possible consistent with
legal process, and will be responsive to innovation. Relevant
organizations should commence a process towards enhanced cooperation
involving all stakeholders, proceeding as quickly as possible and
responsive to innovation. The same relevant organizations shall be
requested to provide annual performance reports.

“72. We ask the UN Secretary-General, in an open and inclusive process,
to convene, by the second quarter of 2006, a meeting of the new forum
for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue—called the Internet Governance
Forum (IGF).”

The text of the Tunis Agenda then continues to describe in greater
detail what this open and inclusive process should achieve in order to
forward enhanced cooperation, and, in paragraph 73 it proposes how this
should be done:
“73. The Internet Governance Forum, in its working and function, will be
multilateral, multi-stakeholder, democratic and transparent. To that
end, the proposed IGF could:
a. Build on the existing structures of Internet governance, with special
emphasis on the complementarity between all stakeholders involved in
this process – governments, business entities, civil society and
intergovernmental organizations.
b. Have a lightweight and decentralized structure that would be subject
to periodic review.
c. Meet periodically, as required. IGF meetings, in principle, may be
held in parallel with major relevant UN conferences, inter alia, to use
logistical support1.“
Participation and cooperation in internet governance has increased
dramatically since 2005. It is important that these gains are not lost.
As pointed out by Joy Liddicoat, coordinator of APC's Internet Rights
are Human Rights project, there is particular value in “... the system
of [internet governance] remaining dependent on the collection of
individuals and organisations and the system of mutual recognition and
cooperation which have ,so far, enabled the internet to function without
significant problems. Such a system provides a compelling framework
within which contests for control have sufficient counterweights to
ensure no single person or organisation has total autonomy.”

At the same time, many imbalances and constraints remain and new
challenges are posed by the rapid development of the internet and its
increased relevance as more people, particularly people who are excluded
from social, economic and political power, gain access.

Unresolved issues include real constraints for effective participation
in internet governance decision-shaping and decision-making such as, but
not exclusive to, financial resources, capacity, knowledge and
understanding of issues and implications. These constraints do not apply
only to civil society, but also to governments, the technical community
and the private sector. They apply primarily, but not exclusively to
stakeholders from developing countries.

For cooperation between stakeholders in internet governance to be
further enhanced, these imbalances need to be acknowledged, and
addressed. They exist between countries: governments from North America
and Europe are generally more engaged in IG, and have more influence;
between companies, with large, globalised companies often being
disproportionately influential as they are powerful in open processes in
their own right, and through the influence they have on governments.

Imbalances also exist in the participation of civil society in internet
governance: within civil society (with only a small sub-section of civil
society participating regularly), and, between civil society and
governments as well as other non-governmental stakeholders such as
business and the technical community.

The Association for Progressive Communications sees 'enhanced
cooperation' as a responsibility of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).
The advances towards a potential consensus among stakeholders that have
been made since 2005 can and must evolve into concrete and sustainable
mechanisms that facilitate not just multi-stakeholder participation, but
also multi-stakeholder decision-making in internet governance.

Based on our experience with global public policy issues pertaining to
the internet, we are today in a position to say that we are not in
favour of a new UN body to govern the Internet. This does not imply that
we do not place great value on the UN system and the important role it
plays in facilitating international cooperation. Nor do we subscribe to
the manner in which governance of internet resources is currently being
done. We are also unhappy with the degree to which current arrangements
only partially implement a multi-stakeholder model. We believe that
civil society and the citizens of the world will be best served by an
internet governance setting that relies on 'enhanced cooperation' among
equals. For these reasons we call on all stakeholders to renew and
reinvigorate efforts to ensure existing mechanisms demonstrate enhanced
cooperation and improved internet governance, and to explore the
establishment of new mechanisms that can effectively deepen cooperation
between all stakeholders.

In our collective efforts to ensure that global governance of the
internet relies on enhanced cooperation among equals, developing a set
of principles and procedures to guide the way in which multi-stakeholder
collaboration can practically translate into EC is necessary.
Accordingly, APC proposes that an IGF working group on enhanced
cooperation be established, drawing on the modalities used to constitute
the Working Group on Internet Governance in the build-up to the second
phase of the WSIS in Tunis. It should be multi-stakeholder with all
stakeholders able to participate on an equal footing.

We propose that the goal of this working group should be to develop a
'Multi-stakeholder Declaration on Enhanced Cooperation in Internet
Governance' that, in line with the Tunis Agenda, captures consensus
positions on basic principles, modalities for enhanced cooperation. It
should also consider proceedings of the United Nations Human Right
Council  in relation to the internet and human rights. This group can
consider proposals for enhancing cooperation made in the last few years,
such as, for example, the IBSA (India Brazil South Africa) and CIRP
(Committee for Internet Related Policies) proposals as well as the
proceedings of the General Assembly sessions that dealt with enhanced
cooperation.

APC recognises the importance of specifically underscoring one of the
largest examples of existing imbalance in internet governance, as
mentioned above: the geopolitical influence of the United States and
Europe. However, the power of other forces and drivers (governmental and
non-governmental) should not be underestimated. APC executive director
Anriette Esterhuysen adds, “it would be a mistake to assume that
shifting the current balance of geopolitical influence away from the US
and Europe would guarantee that the public interest, as opposed to
narrower business and government interests, will become the main driver
for IG. It is also no guarantee for a stronger voice for civil society.”

APC will continue working with a rights-based and public interest
principles approach towards its vision of an internet that is governed
by a clear set of guiding principles and procedures grounded in human
rights declarations. This should be the concrete goal of 'enhanced
cooperation' and this is certainly what APC will be actively pursuing.

16 May 2012
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This statement has been developed by the Association for Progressive
Communications (APC) Communications and Information Policy Programme.
The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an network and
non-profit organisation founded in 1990 that wants everyone to have
access to a free and open Internet to improve lives and create a more
just world. www.apc.org

END

Context
Tunis Agenda (WSIS, 2005) http://www.itu.int/wsis/docs2/tunis/off/6rev1.html
Report of the Secretary-General : Enhanced cooperation on public policy
issues pertaining to the Internet (UN Economic and Social Council, 2009)
http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/UN-DPADM/UNPAN039046.pdf
CSTD meeting on enhanced cooperation on public policy issues pertaining
to the Internet (May 18 2012)
http://www.unctad.org/en/Pages/MeetingDetails.aspx?meetingid=61
APC Contribution to the UN CSTD five year review of progress concerning
WSIS outcomes
http://www.apc.org/en/system/files/APC_CSTDquestionnaire_WSISFollowUp.pdf
------------------------------------------------------
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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