09 June 2016 (Waterloo, Ontario) – Members of the Global Commission on Internet Governance (GCIG) released the following statement today calling on the U.S. government and the U.S. Congress to meet the September 2016 target date for the transition of the stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions to the global multi-stakeholder community:
“The U.S. government’s 2014 call for a plan to transition the stewardship of the IANA functions to the global multi-stakeholder community was an important step toward ensuring that no one entity can exert undue influence or control over the Internet. We commend the international Internet community for coming together in response to that call to develop a workable plan. The dedication and energy committed by all stakeholders shows that the multi-stakeholder model is robust enough to ensure the stability of the Internet’s key functions far into the future."
“We now call upon the U.S. government to adopt that plan and to meet the September 2016 target date for the transition of the IANA functions. Failure to do so will send the wrong message to the international community, increase distrust, and will likely encourage some governments to pursue their own national or even regional Internets."
“Completing the transition will bolster the power of the Internet and will help facilitate access to the world’s most powerful engine of social and economic growth for millions of people.”
- Carl Bildt (Sweden), Gordon Smith (Canada), Fen Osler Hampson (Canada), Patricia Lewis (UK), Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi (UAE), Dominic Barton (Canada), Pablo Bello (Chile), Moez Chakchouk (Tunisia), Michael Chertoff (USA), Anriette Esterhuysen (South Africa), Hartmut Glaser (Brazil), Dorothy Gordon (Ghana), Dame Wendy Hall (UK), Joseph S. Nye (USA), Sir David Omand (UK), Latha Reddy (India), Marietje Schaake (The Netherlands), Paul Twomey (Australia), Pindar Wong (Hong Kong)
This statement was released in response to the report and recommendations of the United States National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), made public earlier today.
The Commission is a two-year initiative of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and Chatham House, two independent think tanks that together convened 29 commissioners and 39 research advisers to articulate and advance a strategic vision for Internet governance.
The Commission will release One Internet, its final report and recommendations, on June 21, 2016, at the OECD Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy in Cancun, Mexico.
For more information, please visit www.ourinternet.org and follow the Commission on Twitter @OurInternetGCIG.
Media Contact:
Sean Zohar, Communications Advisor, CIGI
Tel: +1 519 497 9112, Email: [email protected]
The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) is an independent, non-partisan think tank focused on international governance. Led by experienced practitioners and distinguished academics, CIGI supports research, forms networks, advances policy debate and generates ideas for multilateral governance improvements. Conducting an active agenda of research, events and publications, CIGI’s interdisciplinary work includes collaboration with policy, business and academic communities around the world.
Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is based in London. Chatham House’s mission is to be a world-leading source of independent analysis, informed debate and influential ideas on how to build a prosperous and secure world for all. The institute: engages governments, the private sector, civil society and its members in open debates and confidential discussions about significant developments in international affairs; produces independent and rigorous analysis of critical global, regional and country-specific challenges and opportunities; and offers new ideas to decision-makers and -shapers on how these could best be tackled from the near- to the long-term. For more information, please visit www.chathamhouse.org.
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