[governance] Re: CSTD Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation

Mon Mar 18 06:41:43 EDT 2013

Dear Constance

(copying Ayesha Hassan - business focal point - and the IGC list)

Thank you for your message and for your openness to discussing the
concerns raised in the IGC list. I am responding in my capacity as focal
point for the selection of CS participants in the CSTD WG on Enhanced
Cooperation. As you have been following the discussion on the IGC list
you would have a sense of the range of concerns and issues (and views on
these) that this process has generated.

As the political implications of the work done in these
multi-stakeholder processes increase in potential impact - which is a
positive sign - it is understandable that the processes used to identify
participants in them will be under more intense scrutiny. This is
certainly the case when it comes to 'enhanced cooperation'. I don't
think that this scrutiny is being applied only to the TA constituency. I
think it applies to all three non-governmental groups and possibly also
to governments. In my role as focal point I tried to, on the one hand,
respect the CS groupings already active in the IGF space, as well as
create opportunities for civil society organisations/individuals that
are not necessarily active in the IGF, but that have valuable experience
in other governance processes. I was not as successful in this attempt
as I would have liked to be.

With regard to Michael Gurstein's nomination I can confirm that he did
not put his name forward for CS selection. When I approached him to
confirm his interest – I knew he was interested in participating in the
WG - he informed me that he had put his name forward to the TA community
and he was therefore not included in the CS selection process at all.

My view is that the most constructive approach at this point would be:

1) For the chairperson of the CSTD to finalise the selection of the WG
based on the inputs received from stakeholder groups and for the CSTD WG
to start its work;

2) For the non-governmental stakeholder groups to pick up on the issues
and concerns that the selection has raised at a workshop at the 2013 IGF.

Such a workshop could be jointly convened by the three groups and used
to share experiences, raise concerns, and try and identify good practice
approaches. We could also discuss the composition of these constituency
groups, including ambiguity around the definitions of the TA community
and the challenges that arise at times in CS from having a mix of
organisational members and individual CS activists and analysts.

The outcomes of discussion at the workshop could become an input to the
CSTD WG on EC.

The objectives of the workshop could be defined as follows (building on
the remarks of Nnenna Nwakanma on the IGC list):

1. Highlight lessons learned from our involvement in multi-stakeholder
processes

2. Explore what has worked or not worked in terms of how stakeholder
groups are defined and represented

3. Build a common understanding on what would constitute sufficient
transparency, openness and inclusion in such processes and discuss
possible principles to work from

4. Propose working methods for going forward

4. Deepen the Enhanced Cooperation discussion and contribute a working
document to the CSTD WG on EC.

Discussion between the three groups could potentially begin in the build
up to the IGF. There is certainly interest on the IGC list to initiate
such discussion. We could also use the opportunity of the next IGF open
consultation to have a face to face discussion.

Best regards

Anriette

On 17/03/2013 11:18, Constance Bommelaer wrote:
> Dear Anriette,
>
> I am writing to you in your capacity of focal point for the Civil
> Society for the nomination process of the CSTD working group on
> Enhanced Cooperation. At the outset, I would like to reaffirm the
> importance we attach to the relationships we have been able to build
> across various stakeholders groups throughout the years. For this
> reason I am also sending a copy to Ayesha and to the Civil Society group.
>
> The process of setting up the CSTD working Group on Enhanced
> Cooperation has taken an unfortunate twist. We noticed that there is a
> move underway to question the representation of the technical and
> academic community in the Working Group and we presume that this was
> triggered by the discussions surrounding the non-selection of Michael
> Gurstein.
>
> I was asked to coordinate the selection of the representatives of our
> stakeholder group and I did so in a thorough process within our
> community. The names put forward were subject to considerable
> discussion as well as oral dialogue with many individuals from Civil
> Society and the Business community (including their focal points). The
> criteria used were shared with all interested individuals as well as
> with the UN.
>
> Mr Gurstein’s application was assessed in light of the same criteria
> and his name was not retained. We fail to understand why he appeals to
> the Chairman of the CSTD and tries to question our procedures. Up
> until February 2013, he considered himself being part of Civil Society
> and spoke as one of its leaders and representatives at the recent
> WSIS+10 meeting. I also understand that he initially expressed an
> interest to be endorsed by the Civil Society to participate to the
> CSTD Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation, which also leads to
> confusion. For purpose of transparency, I mentioned his interest to
> the Chair of the CSTD who nominates the representatives of the various
> stakeholder groups. I do believe, however, that unsuccessful
> applicants in one process should not engage in “constituency shopping”
> and question the entire process.
>
> The Tunis Agenda identified the technical and academic community as a
> separate sub-group. De UN de facto recognized it as a separate group
> and always asked ISOC to coordinate the selection process. It is
> understood that the definition contained in the Tunis Agenda can be
> discussed; new groups could even appear tomorrow. However, the context
> was clear and it referred to the community of organizations and
> individuals who are involved in the day-to-day operational management
> of the Internet and who work within this community.  This category
> manifested itself in the WGIG process. Other academics had been
> involved in WSIS right from the start but identified themselves with
> Civil Society. This distinction has been used by the UN since 2005.
>
> Meanwhile, it is unclear how attacks between different stakeholder
> groups can support multistakeholderism. In my view, advocating for the
> technical and academic community to be merged with Civil Society or
> even for its representatives to be appointed by governments
> contradicts the multistakeholder principle that we are all attached
> to. Furthermore, I believe no group should attempt to impose control
> upon another, nor should any group be beholden to another.  This would
> be the end of multistakeholderism.
>
> Multistakeholder cooperation is still in its beginning. It is a
> delicate plant but each stakeholder group can contribute to nurturing
> it with its own culture, and processes. The technical community’s work
> is based on open and inclusive development processes. In this spirit,
> the Internet Society has always demonstrated its commitment to open
> and inclusive policy dialogues. We systematically advocate for the
> inclusion of Civil Society in arenas where critical discussions are
> being held (e.g. ITU, OECD, etc). We also support the participation of
> individuals from all stakeholder groups in Internet governance
> discussions (IGF, IETF, etc.).
>
> Cooperation and reciprocal encouragements among all stakeholder groups
> are key to advance the cause of multistakeholderism. I look forward to
> working with all of you in this spirit.
>
> Thank you and best regards,
>
>

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