The complex and contentious issue of Internet governance was the focus of a Global Forum held March 25-26 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, as part of the sixth meeting of the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force (UN ICT TF).
The Forum was inaugurated at the Chamber of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), with remarks raised by the Chairman of the Task Force, Jos Maria Figueres-Olsen; a welcome statement by Secretary-General Kofi Annan; remarks by ECOSOC President Marjatta Rasi; and a statement by Vinton Cerf, Senior Vice-President of MCI and chairman of the board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
The Global Forum brought together officials from developed and developing countries, as well as private-sector personalities such as Paul Twomey, President and CEO of (ICANN), Robert Kahn of the Corporation for National Research Initiatives, and Richard D. McCormick, Honorary Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
Mr. Annan said at the opening session of the Forum, "The issues are numerous and complex. Even the definition of what we mean by Internet Governance is a subject of debate. But the world has a common interest in ensuring the security and dependability of this new medium.
Mr. Annan added, "We need to develop inclusive and participatory models of governance. The medium must be made accessible and responsive to the needs of all the world's people. At present, its reach is highly uneven, and the vast majority of people have yet to benefit from it, or even to be touched by it at all."
On the other hand, Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman and CEO of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAGO) said, in his capacity as the Vice Chair of UN Information and Communication Technologies Task Force (UN ICT TF), "The Forum aims at establishing a follow-up system for all decisions adopted in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)."
Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh considered Internet Governance a controversial issue for international organizations, governments and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
"The Forum focused on the current system of Internet Governance and how to better coordinate the work of specialized bodies and ensure the involvement of all stakeholders," he added.
The Forum produced five working groups which examined Internet infrastructure, including domain names and IP addresses, network security, and root server and zone file operations; issues of transaction and content, including e-commerce, e-signatures, e-contracting, consumer protection, intellectual property, privacy, and information security; and insufficiently covered issues that could require collective governance, such as Internet interconnection and backbone deployment, spam, cultural and linguistic diversity, taxation, jurisdiction and choice of law, universal access, and ICT and development.
Participants stressed the need to facilitate dialogue, build capacity in developing countries and overcome technical aspects that prevent universal access such as, language barriers in the mostly English-speaking Internet societies. However, representatives from the private sector expressed the view that "If it works, don't fix it" and that "the best governance is the least governance."
In contrast, developing countries felt that the current system did not involve them enough and reflected a crisis of legitimacy, not just in Internet Governance but also in global governance.
Finally, the Forum contributed to worldwide consultations in preparing the ground for a future working group on Internet Governance, to be established by Mr. Annan, which is to report to the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), which will be held in Tunis, 2005.
-Ends-
© Press Release 2006
