[npoc-voice] Recommendation to the UN for an Open Ended Mandate of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF)

[Sam Lanfranco <lanfran@xxxxxxxx>]

*RE: Recommendation to the UN for an Open Ended Mandate of the Internet 
Governance Forum (IGF)*
As most of NPOC’s membership is aware, the 9th meeting of the Internet 
Governance Forum (IGF) is taking place in Istanbul, Turkey, at the 
moment. The issue of continued support for the Internet Governance Forum 
is being discussed and this NPOC-Voice posting is to inform members of 
where things stand now.
ICANN’s Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG) to which NPOC belongs is 
intending to support a recommendation to the UN for an Open Ended 
Mandate of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) (text reproduced below). 
Individuals can express their views here (npoc-voice) or via the 
contacts noted below.
   As a matter of further interest, NPOC has a presence at the 9th IGF
   in the person of NPOC member Cintra Sooknanan (Trinidad) who is
   involved in the following sessions:

     WS114: *Developing Countries Participation in Global IG*
   Thursday, September 4 • 4:30pm - 6:00pm (+5UTC)
   http://igf2014.sched.org/event/a187b6ef1a88c028f718559353a3758f#.U-2pCFZaZy8

   and the Internet Society Trinidad and Tobago Chapter on-
   WS 171 *Connecting Small Island States Though Access to Data*
   Friday, September 5 11.00am - 12.30pm (+5UTC)
   http://igf2014.sched.org/event/203bcd51d97a0bb5b171ef0aca34f29e


With regard to the IGF, at this IGF various stakeholders have discussed 
their common desire to request an immediate extension of the IGF 
mandate, in order to create stability for the organization and 
predictability for those engaged in seeking funding for projects.  They 
have drafted a statement to send to the UN, to request not just an 
immediate renewal of the IGF mandate, but rather an open-ended 
re-authorization of the IGF as a voluntary, multistakeholder forum.  The 
effort is being headed by Jeanette Hofmann of the Berlin Social Science 
Center, and Stephanie Perrin, a member of ICANN’s Non-commercial 
Stakeholders Group (NCSG). It is requesting that others in the IGF also 
support this effort on or before November 1st.
Jeanette and Stephanie have written: We will be creating a neutral 
website for this project at www.IGFcontinuity.org very shortly, to 
accept sign-ons of organizations, countries, and individuals.  In the 
meantime, the undersigned will collect your signatures and description 
of your organization if you are able to endorse this letter by the time 
of the closing ceremony at IGF 2014.  The deadline to be included in the 
letter presented via the Chair will be 11am UTC, Friday September 5.
Examples of how you will be listed appear below:
1.  Jane Smith                                 Individual
2.  Acme Industry Association;    Association representing 150 
manuacturers of widgets
3.  State of [x]                                Country

 Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions.

Jeanette Hofmann, Berlin Social Science Center, jeanette@xxxxxx
Stephanie Perrin, Non-commercial Stakeholders Group, ICANN, 
stephanie.perrin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
TEXT OF THE RECOMMENDATION:
*Recommendation to the UN General Assembly for an Open Ended Mandate of 
the Internet Governance Forum (IGF)*
The Internet is here to stay.  The Internet Governance Forum 2014, with 
over 3300 people gathered in Istanbul and many more participating 
remotely, demonstrated the eagerness there is to connect across 
continents and discuss the Internet's many governance challenges and 
opportunities for economic growth and societal benefits. In response to 
broad multi-stakeholder support for continuing and strengthening the 
IGF, many participants have agreed on the need for a more stable 
mandate.  We believe an open-ended mandate would facilitate the 
strengthening of IGF procedures, enable participants to secure long-term 
funding for projects, and support the IGF Trust Fund.
In 2005, the World Summit for the Information Society asked the UN 
Secretary-General in the Tunis Agenda, to convene a meeting for 
multi-stakeholder policy dialogue—called the Internet Governance Forum 
(IGF).
The mandate of the Forum was to discuss public policy issues relating to 
key elements of Internet governance, such as those enumerated in the 
Tunis Agenda, in order to foster the sustainability, robustness, 
security, stability and development of the Internet for all. The Forum 
was not to replace existing arrangements, mechanisms, institutions or 
organizations. It was intended to constitute a neutral, non-duplicative 
and non-binding process, and have no involvement in day-to-day or 
technical operations of the Internet.
The Tunis Agenda also asked the UN Secretary-General “to examine the 
desirability of the continuation of the Forum, in formal consultation 
with Forum participants, within five years of its creation, and to make 
recommendations to the UN Membership in this regard”. At its sixty-fifth 
session, the General Assembly decided to extend the mandate of the IGF, 
underlining the need to improve the IGF “with a view to linking it to 
the broader dialogue on global Internet governance”[1].
In his note on the continuation of the Forum in 2010, the UN Secretary 
General confirmed that many participants considered it to be “unique and 
valuable” and should be preserved. It is a place where governments, 
civil society, the private sector, the UN and international 
organizations build a common understanding of the Internet’s great 
potential.
The Secretary-General recommended
(a) That the mandate of the Internet Governance Forum be extended for a 
further five years;
(b) That the desirability of continuation be considered again by Member
States within the context of a 10-year review of implementation of the 
outcome of the World Summit on the Information Society in 2015[2];
The Forum is indeed a valuable part of the international dialogue on 
Internet issues and is worth preserving.  However, the revolving 
five-year mandate is a barrier to long range planning and investment.  
Many voices have called for the strengthening of the IGF, but a longer 
planning horizon is necessary to meet the needs of the multi-stakeholder 
community.  While more work needs to be done, some initiatives to 
strengthen the IGF are already taking place:
• To address the need for sustainable funding, the Internet Governance 
Forum Support Association (http://www.igfsa.org/) was formed at IGF 
2014.  The goal of this non-profit is to promote sustainable funding for 
the IGF.
•       A comprehensive report on the successes of this Forum will be 
published following the 2014 conference in Istanbul.
•       More than 30 regional and national IGF initiatives have 
developed in all continents, enabling new forms of open and inclusive 
participation in Internet governance.
•       Dynamic coalitions have emerged and produced substantive work on 
complex issues.  These inter-sessional initiatives need to be taken to 
the next level of maturity.
Many of these collaborative community-designed initiatives are in danger 
of sunsetting, because of uncertainty in funding. This is why we are 
asking that the mandate be extended immediately, so that we do not lose 
momentum.
In order to allow the IGF to reach its full potential as a forum for all 
stakeholders in Internet Governance, we, the undersigned participants in 
the 2014 IGF, recommend an open-ended extension of the IGF’s mandate as 
soon as possible.
This letter will remain open for signature until November 1, 2014.

Footnotes:
[1] http://www.itu.int/wsis/docs2/tunis/off/6rev1.html
[2] General Assembly, Sixty-fifth session, Item 17 of the preliminary 
list*, Information and communications technologies for development, 
Economic and Social Council, Substantive session of 2010 New York, 28 
June-23 July 2010, Agenda item 13 (b)**
Posting by:
Sam Lanfranco, Chair
NPOC Policy Committee