HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESS CONFERENCE ON INTERNET GOVERNANCE FORUM

With government, United Nations and civil society representatives gathered at the Palais des Nations in Geneva for a two-day meeting to develop a common understanding on the nature and character of this year's Internet Governance Forum, participants expressed the unique role of this multi-stakeholder assembly as being the sole platform for discussing Internet issues such as its regulation, cybercrime, multilingualism and enhancing the role of the Internet as a tool for development.

Speaking at a press conference on the second day of consultations to discuss the scope of work and structure of the Forum, Nitin Desai, the Chairman of the Working Group on Internet Governance and Special Adviser to Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), said there was a general agreement that the management of the Forum would be done jointly by all stakeholders which included governments, civil society, business organizations and the Internet community. Born out of the Tunis phase of WSIS, the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) would be convened by the Secretary-General based upon the views and proposals expressed at the consultations convened by the Working Group.

The Forum was designed as an "open door" meeting which could include anybody who had competence, relevance and had something to contribute to the debate on Internet Governance issues, Mr. Desai added. It was expected that the inaugural meeting of the Forum, which will convene in Athens in October or November this year, would attract well over 500 participants.

Among the different views expressed as to how the Forum will proceed in its work, Mr. Desai said one proposal was to have the IGF address specific management issues such as SPAM and cybercrime. The other point of view expressed was to have the Forum focus on issues of transparency and capacity building.

There was a strong desire on part of developing countries to make the Forum something relevant for development, Mr. Desai asserted. The development dimension of Internet governance included the issues of interconnection costs, Internet access, and the terms by which software could be acquired by Internet users in developing countries.

At the end of the Geneva discussions, Mr. Desai said he would present a report to the Secretary-General presenting the range of views and proposals laid out at the two days of consultations from which he would make his own recommendations on the Forum.

Mr. Desai also drew attention to the creation of a secretariat to address all issues pertaining to the Forum and to which contributions have been made. Additionally, resources were needed to guarantee full country participation so as to ensure that the Forum had a well-balanced representation incorporating representatives of government, civil society organizations, businesses and Internet providers in developing countries.

Responding to a question, while noting that many of the current Internet standards were set by the manufacturers and in certain cases government bodies, Mr. Desai said it was envisaged that a new Internet regulatory body would most likely incorporate government, civil society and business entities. The purpose of the IGF was to open the system up to greater transparency although it had no decision-making power.

In response to another question, Mr. Desai said it was foreseen that there would be a second round of dialogue to determine the specific agenda for the Athens meeting.

Asked to define cybercrime, Mr. Desai said the term applied to any illegal act as per national laws or a malicious act which took place over cyberspace. There were instances where an act may be deemed a crime in one country and not in another; pornography was one such example. The IGF was an opportunity to handle these pressing issues, he added.

Asked to comment on the importance of the Forum despite its ability to make decisions, Mr. Desai said at present there was no single space where different actors could openly discuss the technical, political, social and economic dimensions of the Internet. The Forum would provide a space where this could be done.