[bestbits] [governance] Multistakeholder Roles and Responsibilities

[Suresh Ramasubramanian]

Katim S. Touray [23/01/13 02:29 +0000]:
>As promised a few days ago, here's the link to my CircleID article on
>WCIT-12 and multi-stakeholderism:
>http://www.circleid.com/posts/20130122_much_ado_about_wcit_12_and_multi_stakeholderism/

Thanks. There are a few issues here I would differ with.

Some of the problem here doesn't involve the fact that governments have a
role in internet governance - it involves an objection to the ITU allowing
scope creep into its mandate, to cover issues that more countries than just
the USA (so hardly "exceptionalism" or "unilateralism") have differed with.

As for Africa and its lack of participation in internet governance
structures, part of it has to do with capacity building for government,
industry and civil society stakeholders, while monopoly and competition
policy issues some due to geography, given africa's landlocked nature and
difficult terrain that makes slow and expensive satellite connectivity a
necessity, some due to government monopolies on the Internet and telecom,
while others can be laid to the door of various other factors, such as a
lack of stable government, cutting off the Internet to prevent opponents
from organizing themselves using it (as in Syria, and before that in
Qaddafi's Libya ..). 

I am afraid this can't all be blamed on US exceptionalism, and while there
is a substantial amount of aid in material, capacity building etc that can
be (and is) provided by local and international NGOs who set up ISP
exchange points, hold training workshops etc, a substantial local effort is
also needed before you will see the situation improve.

On the DoC / NTIA oversight of ICANN / IANA, it has been mostly hands off,
only stepping in where there have been cases where DoC appears to feel that
there are governance issues involved. Or have you seen them try to revoke
.cu, .sy, .kp just because Cuba, Syria and North Korea are in the state
department's OFAC blacklist of entities American firms are forbidden to
trade with?

I'll post the same thing on circleid to kickstart the discussion there.

thanks
suresh


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