WGIG WSIS UNMSP WSIS Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships

UNITED NATIONS
MULTI-STAKEHOLDER PARTNERSHIPS

UNMSP.ORG
PROPOSAL

²
WSIS WGIG CONTEXT
COMMENTS on the WGIG PAPERS
APRIL SESSION ( Deadline May 15, 2005 )

Selected excerpts of some Comments related to MSPs

SI-WG Scientific Information Civil Society Working Group : Concise Comments
2/ The current governance of the Digital Objects Identifiers (DOI) should be assessed against the WSIS criteria. The DOI is an autonomous system to locate and retrieve documents on the Internet and it has escaped so far to the notice of the WGIG ( see http://www.wsis-si.org/DOI/index.html ).
3/ In the WGIG papers, it has been rightly underlined in many occasions the lack of a proper legal framework for current governance agreements and for Multi-stakeholder Internet Governance. We would like to bring to the attention of the WGIG, the UNMSP proposal ( see http://www.unmsp.org ), under the high patronage of H.E Adama Samassékou, that would allow the flexible creation of Multi-Stakeholder partnerships that would be equitable, transparent, inclusive and accountable before the United Nations. In particular, considering the governance of the DOI, and its relevance to Scientific Information, the funding institutions, the learned societies and the Open Access advocacy groups should be included as stakeholders. It is also of interest to notice that a UNMSP Multi-Stakeholder partnership might provide the flexible and inclusive framework for ICANN or the ICANN/GAC combination where it is hoped that Scientific Institutions could have a voice. It is worth to recall that the Scientific Community has been the main creator of the Internet, but has kept little influence on its governance. Therefore we ask the WGIG to assess the possibilities offered by the UNMSP proposal to provide a way to create suitable legal frameworks for Internet governance.
PCT-WG Patents & Copyrigths & Trademarks Civil Society Working Group : Concise Comments
1/ Interoperability should be included as one factor of appreciation and criteria within Internet Governance considerations and assessments. We suggest that the WGIG should adopt the following recommendations
A/ Recommend that all internet-related software, whether proprietary, open source or free software, shall allow a full, free, and potential interoperability with every other internet-related software and hardware, without the burden of any financial or legal obligations, in order to permit the free flow of information within the Internet, as well as equitable and sustainable development.
B/ Recommand all apparatuses, devices, media build for internet-related use shall allow a full, free, and potential interoperability with every other internet-related hardware and software, without the burden of any financial or legal obligations, in order to permit the free flow of information within the Internet, as well as equitable and sustainable development.
C/ Interoperability certificates shall be delivered delivered to such potentially interoperable hardware and software by an international body. The PCT group has not determined yet which would be the best international body to deliver such certificates and the fees that would be collected for such a purpose, and might bring further information to the WGIG on this matter latter on.
2/ In the WGIG papers, in many occasions the lack of a proper legal basis is highlighted for current governance agreements. We would like to bring to the attention of the WGIG, the UNMSP proposal ( see http://www.unmsp.org ), under the high patronage of H.E Adama Samassékou, that would allow the relatively easy creation of international Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships that would be equitable, transparent, inclusive and accountable before the United Nations. A UNMSP Multi-Stakeholder partnership might provide the efficient and inclusive framework that is needed for ICANN or for the ICANN/GAC combination where it is hoped that Free Software advocacy and developers groups can be considered as contributing partners. It is worth to mention that the Free Software Community is the creator of nearly all the software that allows the Internet networking infrastructure to be able to function so effectively. However, while being such a crucial contributor, the Free Software Community has been little consulted so far on Internet governance issues. Therefore we ask the WGIG to assess the possibilities offered by the UNMSP proposal to provide a way to create suitable legal frameworks for Internet governance that would be inclusive of all stake-holders, such as the Free Software community.