The quote below (emphasis added) is from an
article headlined "Trapped in the Web" appearing in the November
15th issue of the
Indian express and written by Arun Mohan Sukumar, senior fellow,
Centre for
Communication Governance, National Law University, Delhi. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/trapped-in-the-web/
The article is about India’s "Document 98"
proposal at the ITU
meetings earlier this month. Given the unfortunately almost
automatic reaction
against India’s proposals around Internet governance, it is worth
paying closer
attention to India’s proposals around the governance discussion
process itself.
Sukumar writes:
It is
imperative that
the three nodal entities responsible for the articulation of
internet policies
- the ministry of external affairs, the Department of Telecom
and the
Department of Electronics and Information Technology - evolve a
policy
framework for discussions. It should outline at least four
important concerns: the
selection criteria for civil society
interlocutors; the terms of reference of consultation; the role of non-governmental representatives in
official Indian
delegations abroad, if any; and finally, the publication
of minutes of
consultations. The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, which
has been
meeting for two decades, could offer a good parallel, at least
in terms of
structure.
The issues of selection criteria and roles are
a
non-commercial stakeholder civil society concerns that will
manifest themselves
across governments. This might be an opportunity to open up and
reflect on how,
and according to what core values, civil society is now, and
should be
represented in the processes of the articulation of internet
policies. At the
level of civil society/government relations probably the least
good strategy is
to simply assert that the Internet needs to stay "free and open"
without a
dialogue around the practical meaning of those terms, a dialogue
that includes governments
as significant stakeholders. The need for a policy framework for
these specific discussions goes far beyond India.
Sam L. (NPOC Policy Committee Chair)