[IRP] IRP meeting - Geneva May 9th

[Lisa Horner]

Dear all
Thank you to everyone who joined the meeting in Geneva on Sunday, either remotely or in person.  As well as those who made it to the venue in Geneva we had about 15 people participating remotely which is fantastic, and a large number stayed for the full 4.5 hours!  I think it was a really productive meeting, and it was great to have everyone together.  It feels like we?re making real progress, both with the Charter and with coordinating and cooperating on wider initiatives.  We?ll try and send through a transcript or recording of the event, but in the meantime please see the meeting minutes below for an overview of what was discussed.  As always, please send comments and additions through to the list.  I?m looking forward to continued collaboration and energy in the run up to the IGF.
All the best,
Lisa
Meeting minutes: IRP Coalition meeting ? 9th May 2010, Geneva.

1)      The Charter of Human Rights and Principles for the Internet

?         Meryem, Wolfgang and Andrew from the expert group n met in the morning.  They agreed on the drafting approach and structure of the Charter, as well as ironing out some issues about content. Notes on agreed points and approach being taken can be found here:



http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AbEcBWyGO2nQZGQ4YmM3Z2ZfMTBkYnNodzljZA&hl=en



?         In the afternoon the experts updated the coalition on progress made so far.  Coalition members were broadly positive about the work that?s been done so far, and have agreed to send and substantive comments through to the experts for them to consider as they are finalising the first draft.

?         The experts have promised to complete a draft by the end of June. Meryem, Wolfgang, Andrew, Wang and Roberto will be working together to do this.

?         The coalition will then have another opportunity to comment on the draft.  Coalition members should still feel that the Charter is owned by them!  We?ll then have another conversation to decide on next steps e.g. outreach, strategy, launch, further work.
Some comments made by coalition members in the meeting:

?         As the Charter is quite complex and heavy, we should try to produce a user-friendly version of the Charter once we have a solid first draft.

?         We should ensure that as many stakeholders as possible are consulted on the Charter, including civil society, governments and businesses. We can start this process at the IGF.

?         We need to produce a strategy of what we want to achieve with the charter, and agree on whether we want endorsements/how this should be done.

?         Specific issues e.g. we should avoid presenting copyright as a right, and refer instead to the rights of creators; including accessibility both as part of right to development and as part of non-discrimination principle.

?         We can try to keep levels 1 and 2 of the Charter technology neutral, and then continually update the level 3 principles as technologies change.



2)      Towards IGF 2010

?         Coalition members shared information about the workshops they have proposed for the IGF.  We agreed to put together a list of rights-related workshops once they have been confirmed so that we can coordinate with each other.  We will consider producing a joint report on findings and outcomes on human rights after the IGF.

?         Many participants supported the idea of having rights rapporteurs at the regional IGFs to report back to the coalition on what is discussed regarding human rights and rights-related issues.  Dixie is producing a report from the Eurodig, and Marilia offered to report on the Latin America and Caribbean event.  We need rapporteurs for the other regional IGFs, and even national IGFs if possible.  We will compile our findings into a report to present at the IGF in September.

?         We discussed the need to be strategic and coordinated at the IGF.  It was suggested that we go to workshops to listen, and incorporate findings/issues into the Charter.  It was also suggested that we should not only go to sessions that are explicitly about human rights, but also to other sessions in order to ensure that human rights dimensions are considered.  We could regroup at the end of each day to update and learn from each other.

?         The idea of authoring a statement in support of a free and open internet to be read out at the IGF was also floated.



3)      Other initiatives and business

?         We discussed possible complementarities between the IRP Charter and the European Council?s commitment to producing a charter of user?s rights in the Granada Declaration.  Miguel provided an analysis of progress so far, stating that economic dimensions are being prioritised over rights dimensions.  Johan and Lee said that they would try to put the coalition in touch with relevant people in the Spanish government (current EU presidency), and maybe Miguel could also help?

?         We discussed possibilities for engaging with ICANN.  Olivier agreed to draft a one-pager, outlining the main human rights issues and how the coalition could participate or contribute.

?         Some coalition members stressed that the coalition needs to continue to work on raising its profile and defining its identity.  Other stakeholders have commented that it?s still not clear what we mean by ?rights and principles?.  LH comment - the Charter will hopefully help to address that, as well as continued interaction with IGF secretariat/MAG and work on website.

?         Marilia provided an update on the collaborative process of defining rights and principles for the internet in Brazil.  She has sent more information through to the IRP list, and a best practice session has been proposed for the IGF.

?         Johan provided an update on the expert meeting on freedom on the internet that is being co-hosted by the Swedish government and the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression in June.  It is a closed meeting, but Johan will keep the coalition informed of any outcomes.
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