[Mmwg] Fwd: [governance] HR Caucus comments on the MAG

[Avri Doria]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Meryem Marzouki <marzouki at ras.eu.org>
>
>
> Sure.
...
> Cheers,
> Meryem
>
> Le 25 avr. 06 à 14:08, Avri Doria a écrit :
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> This would be a good topic for the Multistakeholder Modalities WG  
>> (MMWG).  Since you are not a participant in that group, I want to  
>> ask you before I forwarded this on to them.
>>
>> May I?
>>
>> a.
>>
>> On 25 apr 2006, at 04.40, Meryem Marzouki wrote:
>>
>>> The MAG mandate
>>> The precise role and responsibility of the MAG is not clear at the
>>> moment. For instance is it unclear to which extent the group will
>>> primarily facilitate the convening of the first Internet Governance
>>> Forum in terms of process, or whether it will be decisive in
>>> selecting and prioritizing issues for the forum. The HR Caucus would
>>> like to stress that the existence of the MAG should not prevent the
>>> necessary openness of the IGF to potential discussions on all issues
>>> that need coordinated governance, through an ongoing process
>>> organized around thematic working groups and the holding of  
>>> dedicated
>>> workshops. In other words, the HR Caucus believes that the MAG  
>>> should
>>> by no mean become the central and major place of the IGF activities.
>>> Also, the mandate of the members is somewhat unclear. On the one  
>>> hand
>>> it is a group of experts selected in their personal capacity, thus
>>> not representing any constituency, on the other hand the members are
>>> explicitly said to represent various stakeholder groups, but with no
>>> specification on what this implies in terms of coordination and
>>> communication to and with this stakeholder group. If not addressed
>>> explicitly and up-front, these inaccuracies might lead to  
>>> failures in
>>> transparency and accountability of the MAG and its members, with the
>>> risk of undermining their legitimacy.
>>> The HR Caucus therefore recommends that a term of reference paper  
>>> for
>>> the MAG and its members, addressing these issues, is conducted and
>>> distributed as soon as possible
>
>