Discussions move into top gear

With time now short, the drafting process begins in earnest

Internet governance discussions kicked off this morning with delegations getting down to the business of drafting text that will eventually become part of the outcome documents of November’s World Summit.

After a weekend devoted to informal consultations, delegations launched into the week with the first round of detailed proposals on non-status document DT/10. While Chairman Khan urged delegates not to reopen text already agreed in previous documents, he assured them that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.”

With double sessions of both Sub-Committees now planned for the coming three days, the meeting quickly knuckled down to examining the language of the document, prompting an early intervention from the Internet Society warning delegates not to politicize the governance issue or “change for change’s sake”.

As focus turned to the first paragraph of the document (paragraph 39) El Salvador called for a more direct link between Internet governance and development. Saudi Arabia pointed to the difference between an “equitable” and an “equal” distribution of resources, noting that while the former, as contained in the draft text, might be considered a value judgment, the latter would represent a real goal to aim for.

The room also saw plenty of discussion on the importance of the various Geneva Principles, particularly network security and stability. However, while some considered this paramount, others, including Brazil, Iran (Islamic Rep. of) and South Africa, insisted that no one principle should be allowed to dominate.

Building consensus step by step

Discussions progressed to one of the most delicate parts of the document - section 3a on management of critical Internet resources. Many Asian, African and Latin American delegations called for internationalization of root server management; others emphasized the importance of national sovereignty regarding top-level domains, and the need for action to reinforce regional Internet registries (RIRs).

Chairman Khan concluded the morning session by setting up two drafting groups - one led by Uruguay on stakeholder roles, and another by Saudi Arabia on DT/10 section 3a.

The focus during much of Monday evening was on issues such as spam, cybercrime, interconnection costs, Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), and the need for an enabling environment to promote investment and drive equipment costs down.

Promoting sound management, enabling access

Resisting general support for a more international approach, the US, Australia and others emphasized the need for national action on issues like cybercrime, spam and development of local infrastructure.

For its part, the UK asked that the concept of Internet access be extended beyond computers to include other access devices, and observed that today’s largely privatized environment also meant it was not enough to simply urge governments to invest: “We need to create business opportunities that will allow investment to happen,” the delegate said.

Delegations stressed the need to keep sight of development issues such as spam, which while an annoyance in the developed world, represents a major impediment to access for developing countries, whose low-bandwidth links quickly become clogged. Debate over interconnection costs prompted Chairman Khan to call on expert input to establish facts about price differentials between different countries.

The session’s final interventions were from civil society groups, with the African Caucus proposing a compulsory global fund to promote open source software, and the Gender Caucus reminding delegates of the need to recognize gender issues as part of ICT access, and incorporate appropriate language reflecting this in final texts.

Meetings continue at gruelling pace

While most delegations speaking early in the process, including Brazil, India and Iran, favoured what they called an evolutionary approach, there was little consensus on the issue of the establishment of a new advisory body or forum. Some, such as the EU, spoke out in support of using existing management frameworks. Iran (Islamic Rep. of), for its part, submitted a detailed proposal based on the following principles: rejection of a pre-eminent role for any single government; establishment of a multilateral, transparent and democratic multi-stakeholder forum; and the setting up of a global council to provide oversight, negotiate treaties and guidelines, and develop rules and procedures for dispute resolution.

There was broad support for this proposal, with a great many delegations signalling their approval, particularly those from the developing world. Delegations from the developed world, including Australia, the EU, Japan and the US, were more cautious, preferring to recognize the important role played by existing institutions. Singapore perhaps best characterized the compromise position, supporting the ideas expressed by Iran (Islamic Rep. of) but also the notion of “proportional governance” and more extensive consultation before creating any new body. Barbados expressed many delegations’ sentiments well when it noted that while improvement to the current situation is badly needed, Internet governance needs to be a “work in progress”.

A short break saw the EU come back with a clear proposal for a forum with multi-stakeholder involvement. Canada added its support, and there was general backing for the idea of a forum linked to the UN.

Chairman Khan decided to create another new drafting group, led by Egypt, on multilingualism and enabling environment, and heard quite positive results from the three drafting groups led by Norway, Canada and Senegal/Ghana. Canada and Norway were asked to continue to refine their outputs, while Saudi Arabia will continue to lead work on finalizing paragraph 3a.

Implementation issues - negotiations begin in earnest

Chairman Lyndall Shope-Mafole opened the second week of negotiations in Sub-committee B with comments from observers.

The United Nations University noted that an inclusive and open information and knowledge society could only prosper with the open sharing of educational content.

Reiterating commitment to the WSIS process, an ITU delegate said the Union would be ready to provide advice to member states to ensure “that adequate measures aimed at disaster mitigation are taken on board when ICT projects are being implemented, be it for early warning, response, relief, and for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of networks.”

A pledge that matched the proposal was made by Pakistan on behalf of the Asian group, providing a new paragraph on the importance of ICT for disaster prevention and management, early warning, and emergency communication. The input, the delegate said, was based on the experiences during last year’s horrific tsunami. Such disasters should be seen as “major impediments to poverty reduction and development”.

Full steam ahead

Moving on from the point where work had stopped last week, delegations quickly ticked off one paragraph after another. Steering the body with dash of good humour, Chairman Shope-Mafole brokered compromises when disagreement threatened to stall the process. In order to ensure the rights of minorities and foreigners, Canada insisted in changing “citizen” into “people” so as not to exclude anyone from the benefits of ICTs. Cameroon suggested to not only commit to helping an anonymous set of “people”, but also highlighting exactly the ones in need of help.

With Sub-Committee B now also following a doubled schedule of daily meetings, pressure on negotiators is steadily rising. Smaller delegations in particular were beginning to find themselves stretched in terms of following proceedings in the main committee meeting and the various different drafting groups.

The second reading of the chapter on Implementation Mechanisms led to a lengthy debate, with one camp opting for more general terms on implementation without a specific timeline, with the intention of providing flexibility in devising national e-strategies, and another arguing for clear implementation mechanisms and proper deadlines as a pre-requisite for the establishment of development plans and poverty reduction strategies. “We have to develop a sense of urgency”, explained a delegate from Egypt.

Tunisia, host of the forthcoming Summit, proposed a compromise: The roadmap for implementation should contain a valid timeline while leaving individual states room to manoeuvre. The Chair urged governments to propose concrete dates as a means of meeting the commitments made at the Summit.

Venezuela’s plea for the reduction of technological dependency was supported by several countries, but was opposed by the US delegation, arguing that it was contradictory that those interested in ICT development would want to decrease their dependence on technology. The US made its position clear - technology transfer should take place only by mutual agreement. With no imminent solution in sight, Ms Shope-Mafole advanced the idea of an informal meeting between interested countries such as the US and Brazil to discuss the matter further.

Countries called for more succinct language, but progress stalled over paragraph 7, one of the most complex sections of the document that comprises of 23 bullet points on the implementation action lines.

Returning to the late evening session, Sub-Committee B went back to tackle the chapter on Implementation Mechanisms. Given the many sources that had contributed to the text, delegations had to face considerable redundancy. Attempting to expedite the process, the Chair set up an informal working group to streamline the text and merge subparagraphs. The United Kingdom, joined by the USA, New Zealand, South Africa, Nigeria, and Canada, agreed to lead the meeting that would work with subparagraphs on ICT for capacity building, training and education.

A long debate on the question of access to information was polarized, with the US insisting on the wording “free and equitable access” to information while Iran and Egypt advocated “open access” to public information. The forming of another working group ensued, led by Iraq with Chad, New Zealand, Malawi, USA and Egypt.

Iceland created a brief stir asking for a reference to Intellectual Property Rights, but work continued thereafter, with delegates deleting paragraphs that were either redundant or already covered by the Geneva declaration.

Finally, in their interventions at the end of the session, Civil Society urged delegates not to broaden the scope of the political document and to abide by the principle of full participation of all stakeholders.

Parallel events

Freedom of Expression and the Information Society

The Media Institute of Southern Africa presented the findings of a report by the Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG) on freedom of expression in Tunisia, the host country of the second phase of WSIS. The findings and recommendations of the report generated heated debate among the participants, some of whom expressed concerns about the methodology of the study.

Financing the Information Society

The Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF) 

“Action speaks louder than words”. So said the President of the Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF), Guy-Olivier Segond, who provided PrepCom-3 participants with an overview of the origins and purpose of the Digital Solidarity Fund. The fund seeks to fight poverty through an innovative approach to financing development, targeting principally smaller community-based projects that respect cultural diversity and local content, and help create new activities, new jobs, and new markets.

At the Tunis Summit, the DSF will showcase 111 projects from the African, Asian and Caribbean region. These projects demonstrate how money generated by the fund is helping extend the benefits of ICTs through applications like tele-education and tele-health.