Tuesday 20 September
Internet Governance Debate Kicks Off
Sub-Committee A
The first meeting of Sub-Committee A on Internet governance started with opening remarks by Chairman Ambassador Masood Khan of Pakistan and was followed by statements from the various regional groups.
Pakistan, speaking on behalf of the Asian group, urged delegates to work towards a balanced outcome that helps build an inclusive, people-centred Information Society. Nicaragua, speaking for the Latin American group (GRULAC), stressed the need to create an Internet that helps people fulfil their potential, emphasizing the importance of the principles of transparency, democracy, legitimacy and multilaterism agreed at earlier PrepComs.
The UK, speaking on behalf of the EU, advocated building frameworks for international cooperation and dialogue based on existing structures. It would be important, said the speaker, to avoid creating a single point of failure. Technical neutrality and flexible frameworks should be emphasized, and there should be no government involvement in day-to-day operational issues, she said.
Honduras was next to take the floor as speaker for the Group of 77, stressing the need to give developing countries a say in the future of the Internet. Brazil contributed a forthright statement that focused on the Internet’s current “lack of legitimacy”, rejecting the “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it” rationale in favour of a maxim by economist Herbert Stein: “Things that can’t go on forever, don’t.” The Internet in its current form, it said, was unsustainable, citing areas of concern including root zone management, uneven distribution of costs, lack of international mechanisms for dispute resolution, lack of mechanisms to ensure stability and to counter cybercrime, no globally coordinated approach to spam, the urgent need for better IP addressing systems and domain name allocation, concerns about consumer rights and freedom of expression, and an absence of transparency and multi-stakeholder involvement.
Speaking on behalf of the African group, Ghana said its group’s concerns included the need for lower interconnection and equipment costs, internationalization of root server management, national administration of top-level domains, and greater attention to multilingual issues. The speaker also expressed support for international assistance in setting up regional root servers and IP backbones, the empowerment of African institutions to participate in technical management bodies, and the strengthening of AFRINIC.
The final speaker representing regional groups was Saudi Arabia, speaking on behalf of the Arab group. The speaker affirmed the group’s support for general principles of democratic, multilateral and transparent management of Internet resources, emphasizing the importance of multilingualism.
Strong support for governance forum
Following these contributions from the regional groups, the floor was thrown open to interventions from national delegations.
There was very broad support on the floor for the creation of the new global multi-stakeholder forum for Internet governance issues. Some delegations, such as Norway, Iran, Russia and Switzerland, felt such a forum should be linked to the UN to confer legitimacy. Many delegations stressed the need for a lightweight, efficient and inclusive structure, and many also agreed that while government should have a key management role, it should not be involved in the day-to-day operation of the Net. The creation of national and regional Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) to help cut costs and improve access for developing countries also received widespread support.
China took the floor during the course of the debate to make an impassioned statement critical of the intervention of an unnamed delegation during Monday’s plenary. The speaker said the consensus reached during the first phase of the Summit should not be reopened, and that the WGIG report provided a strong basis for ongoing discussions. The US responded by stating its commitment to freedom of expression, noting that the Internet is already highly decentralized, with over 100 mirror servers and more than 9,000 ISPs. Many delegations emphasized the importance of ccTLDs as vital national resource.
Interventions from national delegations were followed by comments from international organizations and civil society. Mr Houlin Zhao spoke on behalf of ITU, stressing the Union’s work in areas like IPv6, ccTLDs, IDN, spam and cybersecurity. The Coordinating Committee of Business Interlocutors (CCBI) emphasized the lead role played by business in the technical and economic development of the Internet, and urged that business be allowed to continue in this role.
Speakers from civil society included Adam Peake of the Centre for Global Communications (GLOCOM), who proposed three separate working groups on the issues of the forum, the oversight mechanism, and resource allocation; Magaly Pazello from Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), who complained of barriers to civil society participation in the Internet governance debate; William Drake from Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR), who supported a multi-stakeholder governance forum of peers; Milton Mueller of the CS IG Caucus, who proposed that the US make a commitment never to unilaterally remove or alter a country’s root zone entry; and Jeanette Hoffman of the Heinrich Boell Foundation, who urged delegates not to lose sight of human rights issues.
Chairman Khan closed the morning session by noting that the morning had revealed many diverse, and sometimes divergent, views, and urging delegates to get together, to chat, and to try to “redraw some of their red lines”.
WSIS Book Launch
The UN ICT Task Force launched a book entitled WSIS: From the Past into the Future. Edited by Ambassador Daniel Stauffacher and Prof. Wolfgang Kleinwachter, the book contains a foreword by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and a preface by ITU Secretary-General Yoshio Utsumi.
Sub-Committee B
Chairman Lyndall Shope-Mafole (South Africa) opened the first session of Sub-Committee B, which deals with issues other than Internet Governance, inviting observers from civil society, the private sector and international organizations to make their interventions.
ITU made the case for coordination of the implementation of the WSIS action lines and follow-up mechanisms after Tunis. UNICEF stressed the possibilities that ICTs offered in protecting children, even though ICTs were also sometimes used to abuse and exploit them.
The International Chamber of Commerce emphasized the importance of the private sector in promoting economic growth and development.
The African Civil Society spokeswoman called for an effective and flexible framework for implementation to ensure a successful WSIS follow-up. She criticized the current draft as being too weak, and reaffirmed civil society’s demand for a true multi-stakeholder approach.
Pakistan, on behalf of the Asian group, welcomed the consensus on the Digital Solidarity Fund inaugurated in March 2005, and called for a similar consensus on the chapter on financial mechanisms.
The African States, represented by Ghana, stated that all agreements made during the WSIS process should be fully implemented, and stressed the importance of regional inputs in this implementation process. Ghana proposed the creation of a follow-up committee to monitor progress and a regional biennial conference to showcase all measures undertaken.
Saudi Arabia, speaking for the Arab League, wanted countries to contribute financially, morally and politically to social development through ICTs.
Delegations unanimously adopted a suggestion from the World Blind Union to strengthen e-strategies for the benefit of the disabled to build a truly inclusive Information Society.
Operational business on the Document WSIS-II/PC-3/DT6 concluded with discussion on four paragraphs out of 29.
Wednesday 21 September
Internet Governance Discussions Move Ahead
Debate resumed this morning with endorsement of the final report of WGIG, which was praised by many delegations as a solid foundation for PrepCom-3 discussions.
Again, delegations from around the world expressed almost unanimous support for the creation of an international multi-stakeholder forum to deal with Internet governance. Many countries also continued to stress the importance of the Geneva Principles - transparency, democracy, multilateralism and legitimacy - in any new approach to Internet management.
Accessibility and affordability were also key words - Malaysia, Cameroon, Senegal and Uganda all spoke of the need to ensure that developing nations have better access to the Net, through the creation of new regional backbones, capacity building and attention to interconnection issues. Senegal also reiterated the plea that African nations be empowered to participate more fully in Internet governance policy making through assistance to local and regional institutions.
Discussion on the governance models put forward in the report elicited support from Bangladesh, Cameroon, Tanzania and Uruguay for Model 1. Bangladesh and Tanzania also lent support to Model 4, and Uruguay to Model 3. Discussion then moved towards developing a text that could eventually serve as an outcome for WSIS. Chairman Masood Khan noted that 58 speakers had made interventions, 48 of which represented governments. He proposed that the Sub-Committee moved to consider a first cluster of points from the report: the introduction, the Geneva Principles, the WGIG mandate, and the working definition of Internet governance.
A number of delegations, including Brazil, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Iran, and South Africa, expressed concern that the proposed order of discussion would repeat issues already covered by WGIG. Brazil - supported by others, including China and Saudi Arabia - urged the meeting to tackle the two principal issues: whether or not to create a forum, and oversight mechanisms.
Russia and the USA both raised the issue of the working definition on Internet governance prepared by WGIG, noting that the definition in the report is not the only possible definition. Chairman Khan expressed his desire that the issue of definition not be reopened at this stage.
The session wound up just as discussion moved to document DT7, the compilation of comments received on the WGIG report.
Sub-Committee B
As negotiations evolve in PrepCom-3, delegations are concentrating on some of the most crucial issues pertaining to the Tunis document. While Internet Governance is debated in Sub-Committee A, Sub-Committee B, chaired by Ms Lyndall Shope-Mafole is taking a close look at the other issues. How shall WSIS results be implemented and evaluated to ensure the creation of an inclusive and open Information Society? What will be the follow-up mechanisms after Tunis? What will be the financial arrangements to bridge the digital divide?
An emotional plea for clear and efficient follow-up mechanisms was delivered by the Swiss delegation. The UN Secretary-General, relying on the expertise of specialized UN agencies, should be mandated to define necessary modalities. A timeline to do so should be decided, otherwise nothing would happen. While some delegations expressed their objection, many acclaimed this idea, reiterating their belief that ITU, UNESCO and UNDP should be entrusted with these important undertakings.
Countries agreed to base their deliberations on the document that had evolved in the Group of Friends of the Chair (GFC) during the intersessional period.
Earlier in the session, the Asian group had announced a “package proposal” concerning new mechanisms for global disaster management systems and early warning systems relying on ICTs. The idea was welcomed, not only by the Asian region, but also by Arab states.
The Sub-Committee appreciated inputs from the Civil Society Youth Caucus’ and embraced a number of their comments on the chapter on Implementation Mechanism. Civil Society also articulated some frustration about missing opportunities to comment directly on the work of the Sub-Committee.
Promising to take into account comments from all stakeholders, Chairman Shope-Mafole closed the session. She urged delegations to finish the first reading of chapters One, Four and the Political Chapeau by Friday, so as to present a first consolidated text by Monday at the latest.
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