Internet Governance Forum
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The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a global venue under the auspices of the United Nations, established to accommodate multi–stakeholder policy dialogue in the field of internet governance. It purports to bring together all stakeholders in the internet governance debate, whether they represent states, the private sector or civil society, on an equal basis and through an open and inclusive process.
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[edit] The Mandate
The mission of the IGF is delineated in its mandate, set out in paragraph 72 of the WSIS Tunis Agenda :
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 mandate of the Forum is to:
a. Discuss public policy issues related to key elements of Internet governance in order to foster the sustainability, robustness, security, stability and development of the Internet;
b. Facilitate discourse between bodies dealing with different cross-cutting international public policies regarding the Internet and discuss issues that do not fall within the scope of any existing body;
c. Interface with appropriate inter-governmental organizations and other institutions on matters under their purview;
d. Facilitate the exchange of information and best practices, and in this regard make full use of the expertise of the academic, scientific and technical communities;
e. Advise all stakeholders in proposing ways and means to accelerate the availability and affordability of the Internet in the developing world;
f. Strengthen and enhance the engagement of stakeholders in existing and/or future Internet governance mechanisms, particularly those from developing countries;
g. Identify emerging issues, bring them to the attention of the relevant bodies and the general public, and, where appropriate, make recommendations;
h. Contribute to capacity building for Internet governance in developing countries, drawing fully on local sources of knowledge and expertise;
i. Promote and assess, on an ongoing basis, the embodiment of WSIS principles in Internet governance processes;
j. Discuss, inter alia, issues relating to critical Internet resources;
k. Help to find solutions to the issues arising from the use and misuse of the Internet, of particular concern to everyday users;
l. Publish its proceedings
Paragraphs 73 – 78 of the Agenda further clarify the IGF’s nature and role in the international level. In particular, it is stated that the IGF will be a "multilateral, multi-stakeholder, democratic and transparent" entity (para. 73). It will therefore conduct its working and functions as open and as inclusive as possible, in order to involve representatives from all stakeholder groups and from all geographical areas of the globe.
Furthermore, the mandate clarifies the relationship of the IGF with existing institutions involved in internet governance by stating that "(t)he IGF would have no oversight function and would not replace existing arrangements, mechanisms, institutions or organizations, but would involve them and take advantage of their expertise. It would be constituted as a neutral, non-duplicative and non-binding process. It would have no involvement in day-to-day or technical operations of the Internet" (para. 77).
The mandate may not be reviewed before 2011,five years after the convening of the IGF (para 76).
[edit] Structure and Function
After reaching a common understanding through open consultations that were held prior to its convening, the UN Secretary - General has established an Advisory Group and a Secretariat as the main institutional bodies of the IGF.
The Advisory Group is a multi - stakeholder entity, which comprises 47 members from governments, the private sector and civil society, including the academic and technical communities. Its chairman Nitin Desai is the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for WSIS, who has also chaired the UN Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG). The task of the Group is to prepare the substantive Agenda and program of the Athens inaugural Meeting and to have an overall supervision over its activities.
The secretariat, based in the United Nations Office in Geneva, assists and coordinates the work of the Advisory Group. It is headed by Markus Kummer, also previously the Executive Coordinator of the Secretariat of the WGIG.
The aforementioned organizational structure of the IGF, which has been established in order to guarantee the successful organization of the annual meetings of the Forum and facilitate its working and functions, is not considered as static. Conversely, its nature and function is bound to change according to the experiences gained during the preparatory process for the Athens meeting.
[edit] History
The necessity of an international multi – stakeholder forum of dialogue in internet governance was first pointed out in the WGIG Report. After reaching a clear consensus among its members the WGIG proposed in paragraph 40 of the Report that :
"(t)he WGIG identified a vacuum within the context of existing structures, since there is no global multi-stakeholder forum to address Internet-related public policy issues. It came to the conclusion that there would be merit in creating such a space for dialogue among all stakeholders. This space could address these issues, as well as emerging issues, that are cross-cutting and multidimensional and that either affect more than one institution, are not dealt with by any institution or are not addressed in a coordinated manner”.
The establishment of an international Internet Governance Forum was only the first of the four different proposals that were made in the Report. The other three variedly involved the creation of a central intergovernmental entity, which would significantly change the status quo of the current internet governance regime. During the negotiations in the second phase of WSIS in Tunis, all four proposals were discussed and a compromised decision was reached for the convening of the IGF by the second quarter of 2006. It was further decided that the inaugural Meeting of the newly established Forum will take place in Athens, Greece.
Following the mandate of the WSIS Tunis Agenda, the UN Secretary – General established a small secretariat in Geneva and a multi – stakeholder Advisory Group to assist him in convening the IGF and coordinating the organization of the inaugural Meeting in Athens. Through an open and transparent process, which included two rounds of public consultations, the convening of the IGF was finally announced on 18 July 2006.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 16 - 18 November 2005 | Second Phase of the WSIS in Tunis |
| 16 – 17 February 2006 | First Round of Consultations |
| 2 March 2006 | Establishment of the IGF Secretariat |
| 19 May 2006 | Second Round of Consultations |
| 22 – 23 May 2006 | Establishment and First Meeting of the IGF Advisory Group |
| 18 July 2006 | Convening of the IGF |
| 7 – 8 September 2006 | Second Meeting of the IGF Advisory Group |
| 30 October – 2 November 2006 | Inaugural Meeting of the IGF in Athens |
[edit] Analysis
The establishment of the IGF is a direct outcome of the WSIS process, as it evolved from Geneva to Tunis, and in this sense it constitutes an important step towards the internationalization of internet governance. The IGF is a venue of dialogue which functions on a global level with the aim to co-ordinate international cooperation of all relevant stakeholders on an equal footing and through open, participatory and transparent procedures. The new entity may also be deemed as an attempt to bring to the forefront the public policy issues that arise in the internet governance debate.
The WSIS mandate is clear as to what the IGF is not. According to it, the Forum will not change the current status quo in the governance of the internet. This means that it will not alter existing governance mechanisms or interfere with day – to – day operations of the internet. What is not made clear in the mandate is the exact role of the IGF in the current regime and the outcome that should be expected from it. To some the IGF might prove to be the process, which through loose consensus of all involved players will elaborate on the definition and the scope of internet governance, further delineate its key issues and determine its principles, by issuing agendas, plans of action or even recommendations. In this respect, the IGF could be considered to continue the task of the WGIG, though by following a more enhanced model of participation and function. To others the Forum is simply a meeting point for stakeholders in the internet governance debate, which will improve coordination and understanding in day – to - day internet operations but which will not produce any tangible outcome.
Regardless of the above, IGF may prove to be a key institution in deepening the dialogue between the two colliding traditions in the shaping of the global internet policy; the decentralized and bottom – up policy – making tradition, which characterizes the internet community and its non – governmental organizations and which arose from the decentralized and participatory nature of the internet; and the more formal decision – making tradition of state governments and inter – governmental organizations.
[edit] Inaugural Meeting
The Inaugural Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum was held in Athens, Greece, from 30 October – 2 November 2006. Under the overall theme “Internet Governance for Development” the programme of the Meeting focussed on four sub–themes :
- Openness - Freedom of expression, free flow of information, ideas and knowledge
- Security - Creating trust and confidence through collaboration
- Diversity - Promoting multilingualism and local content
- Access - Internet Connectivity: Policy and Cost
while Capacity Building was a cross–cutting priority.
The Meeting also accommodated a wide variety of workshops, which ran in parallel to the main sessions and were organized by various stakeholders.
