[IRPCoalition] IRP in 2014

Tue Jan 7 18:53:06 EET 2014

Dear Marianne,

I fully support your "own thoughts" and reflections on the issue and I hope that - besides Brazil - the IRP coalition will use the Berlin EuroDIG 2014 as a discourse and outreach platform again. Thanks for the proposals you, Matthias and others have submitted!

Best, Wolf

Marianne Franklin wrote Tue, 07 Jan 2014 11:02:
>Dear Shawna and Deborah, and all
>
>+1 to Deborah's forwarding of the very useful and informative overview 
>that Carolina Rossini and colleagues have done on work achieved so far.
>
>Shawna, my proposing that the IRP Charter can be used as a fuller 
>template was not to suggest one initiative over another precisely 
>because the IRP Charter is the result of just this sort of 
>collaboration. The outcome of a cross-sector achievement in which CSO's 
>played no small part. I was proposing this in the spirit of 
>collaboration and historical context as we all agree that going over 
>well-ploughed ground would uproot all the seeds already sown, and taking 
>root.
>
>A full charter of rights and principles such as the IRP Charter based on 
>the UDHR and other international law is quite distinct from the exercise 
>of distilling a range of principles into one list. This is a more 
>high-level, abstract exercise that arguably takes the pressure off 
>actors (govn's and private sector) from having to commit to more 
>specific and comprehensive obligations by law, or by mutual consent. So 
>here Wolfgang's point about political possibility (i.e. the more 
>abstract said principles the better) is well taken. However, this is the 
>moment to support the pioneering work of not only the IRP Coalition as a 
>whole but the constituent organizations and looser networks of groups 
>and individuals that contributed to the Charter in substantive terms.
>
>For the Brazil meeting then and moving forward from the recognition of 
>human rights at the IGF in Bali as integral to internet governance, what 
>criteria will all parties need to agree to before coming up with a 
>combined set of principles? And where do such principles take us all 
>from there? The answer to these questions lies precisely in the fact 
>that there is an 80% overlap of *principles* already on record. So, this 
>is the place to start, not the endgame for the work has been done 
>already, several times over in fact given the precursor initiatives 
>(e.g. the CRIS campaign, APC internet rights campaign, womens internet 
>rights campaign, 13 Principles, and so on) and also with the Brazilian 
>Marco Civil (and its 10 principles) being a core initiative from the 
>host country.
>
>Nonetheless, principles are abstract and the IRP Charter although still 
>quite high level goes further by incorporating the full spectrum of 
>human rights law with respect to the internet. Also, to note, as opposed 
>to other documents with the title of "principles", the IRP 10 Principles 
>are distilled from the fuller Charter, not the other way around. The 
>Charter in this sense is an encapsulation of prescient work from a 
>landmark collaboration, not a separate initiative claiming turf over 
>others.  As an outcome "avant la lettre" so to speak and in the current 
>international mood since Snowden, it is also the framework document for 
>past, present, and future global compacts around principles as intended.
>
>These thoughts are my own after some years observing and taking part in 
>these crosscutting discussions, and seeing how collaboration can and 
>does work. In short, if the outcome of the Brazil meeting is to 
>recognize that 80% of like-minded principles can be gathered into one 
>meta-set, that in turn can be linked to existing and burgeoning 
>international human rights law for the online environment then I would 
>argue that this outcome for Brazil has more or less been achieved. And 
>for this we should all take some credit.
>
>I hope that clarifies the intent of my original message.
>
>best
>MF
>
>
>On 07/01/2014 01:03, Deborah Brown wrote:
>> Happy new year to all and welcome to IRP's new leadership.
>>
>> Just a quick note to follow on Shawna's message.
>>
>>     <snip>
>>
>>     While the IRP Charter is a robust starting point for a global
>>     multi-stakeholder principles on IG, it would be great to map the 80%
>>     overlap in recent principles (if Wolfgang has not already done so),
>>     and work with our networks and communities to articulate shared
>>     language based on that framework.
>>
>> Great idea. In the interest of not reinventing the wheel, I wanted to 
>> share a very useful and relevant resource that Carolina Rossini and 
>> Jeonghyun Baak worked on (attached), which compares a number of 
>> existing principles and statements from different stakeholders based 
>> on issue areas. I'm not sure how their research relates to the 80% of 
>> overlap that Wolfgang cites, but I thought to share it here in case 
>> it's of interest.
>>
>> Kind regards,
>> Deborah
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Jan 6, 2014 at 5:17 PM, Shawna Finnegan <shawna at apc.org 
>> <mailto:shawna at apc.org>> wrote:
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Happy new year, and welcome to the new co-Chair and Steering committee
>> members!
>>
>> Marianne, thanks for this email. Wolfgang's post is a fantastic
>> orientation for the upcoming year.
>>
>> I completely agree that there is no need to reinvent the wheel. The
>> fact that 80% of principles in recent declarations on IG are the same,
>> according to Wolfgang, suggests that we are very much on the right
>> track. Continuing down that track, I think prioritizing one charter or
>> declaration over others in developing a global set of principles might
>> undermine the collaborative process.
>>
>> While the IRP Charter is a robust starting point for a global
>> multi-stakeholder principles on IG, it would be great to map the 80%
>> overlap in recent principles (if Wolfgang has not already done so),
>> and work with our networks and communities to articulate shared
>> language based on that framework.
>>
>> Looking forward to others' thoughts,
>>
>> Shawna
>>
>> On 14-01-02 05:25 AM, Marianne Franklin wrote:
>> > Apologies for a double-mailing but should have sent the message
>> > below under a new message heading. On 02/01/2014 12:21, Marianne
>> > Franklin wrote:
>> >> Dear all
>> >>
>> >> Happy 2014. Thank you Olivier for the positive vibes this early
>> >> in the year too.
>> >>
>> >> As preparations for the Brazil Meeting in April gather steam, a
>> >> main agenda item and output is now clear; to produce a "global"
>> >> set of Internet Governance principles.
>> >>
>> >> Wolfgang Kleinwaechter, who has been undertaking a survey of all
>> >> existing statements around IG Principles including those that
>> >> include human rights and principles, has provided one
>> >> comprehensive review of the year past and the year ahead in this
>> >> respect (
>> >>
>> >> 
>> http://www.circleid.com/posts/20131231_internet_governance_outlook_2014_good_news_bad_news_no_news/
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> At the end of this analysis, Wolfgang makes the following comment
>> >> about the leading role the UDHR played historically in setting
>> >> the frame for subsequent international human rights law: that it
>> >> "would be good to have a similar document for the Internet,
>> >> supported not only by the governments of the 193 UN member states
>> >> but also by all the non-governmental stakeholders from the
>> >> private sector as Google and Facebook, the technical community as
>> >> ICANN and the IETF and civil society as APC and Human Rights
>> >> Watch."
>> >>
>> >> Point taken but for the fact that the IRP Charter already exists
>> >> in this capacity. Its 21 clauses are explicitly - and elegantly
>> >> - embedded in the UDHR and these subsequent treaties. It was the
>> >> product of collaborative work, within the IGF setting to be sure,
>> >> of individuals and organizations all mentioned in this comment.
>> >> Government reps and IGO reps have been active as well in the
>> >> Charter work. Endorsements by a range of actors are currently
>> >> being gathered as the 2nd Edition of the Charter Booklet is ready
>> >> to go public. We also have several translations in process so
>> >> here there is a grassroots support level for the work.
>> >>
>> >> But, Brazil is a so-called high level meeting and its outcomes
>> >> will be symbolic and perhaps groundbreaking from an
>> >> inter-governmental point of view (perhaps not but that remains to
>> >> be seen). With more and more support for a human-rights based
>> >> approach to IG in the wake of the Snowden revelations, it appears
>> >> that we could be facing the embedding of a disconnect between
>> >> this shift in mood, one that underscores the IRP Charter project
>> >> after-the-fact, and the fact that these calls since Snowden are
>> >> already encapsulated by the IRP Charter in its entirety.
>> >>
>> >> Given this recognition that human rights online do matter
>> >> (underscored too by initiatives such as the 13 Principles by PI,
>> >> EFF, Access et al) do need protecting, what remains to be seen is
>> >> whether all those concerned with making Brazil a success and
>> >> based on the good parts of the IGF working model, the IRP Charter
>> >> can be taken on board in a more explicit capacity. By this I mean
>> >> that it is the document that is adopted and recognized in the
>> >> fullest sense of the term ("legally non-binding high level
>> >> principles"). This is because the IRP Charter remains the one
>> >> document that already complies with these calls; from within the
>> >> IGF community and further abroad in the UN, and technical
>> >> community where high profile figures such as Tim Berners-Lee are
>> >> calling for a global Bill of Digital Rights.
>> >>
>> >> It would be a shame, and a mistake to my mind, for us to not to
>> >> make use of the same sort of collaborative and creative energy
>> >> within this list alone, and links to wider networks to promote
>> >> the Charter for this role whilst supporting the Brazil Meeting
>> >> aim to generate a broad sort of global consensus. We do not need
>> >> to re-reinvent the wheel here.
>> >>
>> >> What do people think? best MF
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> On 01/01/2014 18:39, Olivier MJ Crepin-Leblond wrote:
>> >>> Thanks for these excellent news!
>> >>>
>> >>> I am thrilled to see such talent leading the IRP. May it go
>> >>> from strength to strength! Best wishes to you all for 2014.
>> >>>
>> >>> Olivier
>> >>>
>> >>> On 24/12/2013 17:54, IRPCoalition wrote:
>> >>>> Dear all
>> >>>>
>> >>>> The election/endorsement process for the IRP Coalition's
>> >>>> Steering Committee is over (37 people took part with 86.5%
>> >>>> support, 5.4% against, and 8.1% abstaining). Thank you for
>> >>>> the positive comments about all we have achieved this year
>> >>>> and also for the constructive suggestions for the year to
>> >>>> come. The new SC met last week so this email is to formally
>> >>>> re-introduce everyone to you all.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> First up, our incoming co-Chair who will be serving with
>> >>>> Marianne this year. Robert has worked with the IRP since
>> >>>> 2008, seeing the first charter through, setting up and then
>> >>>> assisting with the website and social media efforts, and also
>> >>>> supporting IRP events at the IGF meetings. After being on the
>> >>>> steering committee for the last few years, championing the
>> >>>> IRP in all capacities, he is happy to provide continuity and
>> >>>> support as co-chair of the IRP. Robert is excited about
>> >>>> growing participation in the coalition, ramping up
>> >>>> dissemination of the Charter in different engaging formats
>> >>>> (socio-technical, educational), and exploring new ways of
>> >>>> integrating Human Rights in Internet Governance at all
>> >>>> levels. This work complements his teaching and research as an
>> >>>> engaged academic.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Next here are the SC members for 2014 (bio notes will be up
>> >>>> on the website shortly):
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Co-Chairs Marianne Franklin (New Zealand/UK) Robert Bodle
>> >>>> (USA)
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Steering Committee Rafik Dammak (Tunisia/Japan) Catherine
>> >>>> Easton (UK) Dixie Hawtin (UK) Matthias Kettemann (Austria)
>> >>>> Parminder Jeet Singh (India) Carlos Affonso Pereira de Souza
>> >>>> (Brazil) Vik Szabados (Hungary) Tapani Tarvainen (Finland)
>> >>>>
>> >>>> We are all looking forward to a productive year for the
>> >>>> protection and enjoyment of human rights online - for
>> >>>> everyone, everywhere.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Warm regards MF/RB and the whole SC
>> >>>>
>> >>>> www.internetrightsandprinciples.org 
>> <http://www.internetrightsandprinciples.org>
>> >>>> http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/dynamiccoalitions/72-ibr
>> >>>> @netrights
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>> _______________________________________________ IRP mailing
>> >>>> list IRP at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org 
>> <mailto:IRP at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org>
>> >>>> 
>> http://lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/irp
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>
>> >>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> >>> IRP mailing listIRP at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org 
>> <mailto:IRP at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org>
>> >>> 
>> http://lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/irp
>> >>>
>> >>
>>
>>     _______________________________________________
>>     IRP mailing list
>> IRP at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org 
>> <mailto:IRP at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org>
>> http://lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/irp
>>
>> -- 
>> Deborah Brown
>> Senior Policy Analyst
>> Access | accessnow.org <http://accessnow.org>
>> rightscon.org <http://rightscon.org>
>>
>> @deblebrown
>> PGP 0x5EB4727D
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> IRP mailing list
>> IRP at lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org
>> http://lists.internetrightsandprinciples.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/irp
>
>-- 
>Dr Marianne Franklin
>Professor of Global Media and Politics
>Convener: Global Media & Transnational Communications Program
>Goldsmiths (University of London)
>Department of Media & Communications
>New Cross, London SE14 6NW
>Tel: +44 20 7919 7072
><m.i.franklin at gold.ac.uk>
>@GloComm
>https://twitter.com/GloComm
>http://www.gold.ac.uk/media-communications/staff/franklin/
>https://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-global-media-transnational-communications/
>Co-Chair Internet Rights & Principles Coalition (UN IGF)
>www.internetrightsandprinciples.org
>@netrights
>
>

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