Launch of the report of the Working Group on Internet Governance, Geneva, 18 July 2005
22/07/2005 :: WSIS. WGIG.
Launch of the report of the Working Group on Internet Governance
Geneva, 18 July 2005
Statement by Norway
Mr Chairman,
First of all I would like to join other delegations in thanking the Working Group for the report, and congratulating you, Mr Desai, and Mr Kummer as well as the individual members of the Working Group for their outstanding efforts during the nine months of intensive work.
We welcome that the Working Group has fulfilled its mandate and that the Group has produced a state-of-the-art report: It is short, concise and it includes operational recommendations.. We note with pleasure that the WGIG has made a user-friendly product. The group has not fallen into the trap of overloading the report with technical terminology, and thus invites the inclusion of the non-experts.
We therefore believe that the report from the Working Group can serve as a solid basis for further discussions and negotiations in the process ahead, both for Prep.Com 3 in September, and as a means to finding solutions at the summit in Tunis in November.
Mr. Chairman,
Norway believes that Internet governance should be regarded within the broader vision of the Information Society, which includes democracy, sustainable development, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as well as good governance. We believe that Internet governance and democratic governance are interrelated issues.
Mr Chairman,
Let me now turn to some of the elements in the report. First, we note with satisfaction that the Working Group has reached consensus on a definition on Internet governance. In our opinion, this definition is operational, inclusive and useful for the purpose of the World Summit.
We appreciate that the Group has reached consensus in identifying a range of public policy issues that are relevant to Internet governance, and welcome the fact that this list includes not only the critical question of root zone administration, but also a number of other vital issues, including security, cybercrime, spam, capacity building and freedom of expression.
Furthermore, we note that the Group puts forward proposals for action, both related to Internet governance mechanisms and recommendations to address Internet related issues. We will study with great interest the different organisational models which the Working Group has proposed.
Mr Chairman,
We believe that the Working Group has provided the WSIS-process with a substantial report, which deserves careful consideration. In the process ahead, we would like to underscore that all stakeholders should be given an equal opportunity to express their views and comment the report. This should indeed be an inclusive process.
We therefore look forward to a constructive discussion with a view to ensure a successful outcome of the Tunis summit.
Thank you