[WSIS CS-Plenary] governmental negotiations closer to agreement

[Veni Markovski]

>The only major conflicts still open are internet governance and finance.

not governance:

The below texts are agreed.

44. The Internet has evolved into a global facility available to the public 
and its governance should constitute a core issue of the Information 
Society agenda. The international management of the Internet should be 
multilateral, transparent and democratic, with the full involvement of 
governments, the private sector, civil society and international 
organizations. It should ensure an equitable distribution of resources, 
facilitate access for all and ensure a stable and secure functioning of the 
Internet, taking into account multilingualism.

45.The management of the Internet encompasses both technical and public 
policy issues and should involve all stakeholders and relevant 
intergovernmental and international organizations. In this respect it is 
recognized that:

a) policy authority for Internet-related public policy issues is the 
sovereign right of States. They have rights and responsibilities for 
international Internet-related public policy issues; b) the private sector 
has had and should continue to have an important role in the development of 
the Internet, both in the technical and economic fields; c) civil society 
has also played an important role on Internet matters especially at 
community level and should continue to play such a role; d) 
intergovernmental organizations have had and should continue to have a 
facilitating role in the coordination of the Internet related public policy 
issues; e) international organizations have also had and should continue to 
have a important role in the development of Internet-related technical 
standards and relevant policies.
46. International Internet governance issues should be addressed in a 
coordination manner. We ask the Secretary General of the United Nations to 
set up a working group on Internet governance, in an open and inclusive 
process that ensures a mechanism for the full and active participation of 
governments, the private sector and civil society from both developing and 
developed countries, involving relevant intergovernmental and international 
organizations and forums, to investigate and make proposals for action, as 
appropriate, on the governance of Internet by 2005.


And this is also agreed by the states in the Action Plan:

4

e) We ask the Secretary General of the United Nations to set up a working 
group on Internet governance, in an open and inclusive process that ensures 
a mechanism for the full and active participation of governments, the 
private sector and civil society from both developing and developed 
countries, involving relevant intergovernmental and international 
organizations and forums, to investigate and make proposals for action, as 
appropriate, on the governance of Internet by 2005. The group should, inter 
alia:

i)develop a working definition of Internet governance;

ii)identify the public policy issues that are relevant to Internet governance;

iii)develop a common understanding of the respective roles and 
responsibilities of governments, existing intergovernmental and 
international organisations and other forums as well as the private sector 
and civil society from both developing and developed countries;

iv)prepare a report on the results of this activity to be presented for 
consideration and appropriate action for the second phase of WSIS in Tunis 
in 2005.

f) Governments are invited to:

i)facilitate the establishment of national and regional Internet Exchange 
Centres;

ii)manage or supervise, as appropriate, their respective country code 
top-level domain name (ccTLD);

iii)promote awareness of the Internet.