IGF 2018 Pre-Session Synthesis & Short Report Template
Pre-Session Synthesis Due: 2 November 2018
Short Report Due: Within 12 hours of when session is held
[sample report here]
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Title: IGF 2018 WS #193 Submarine cables governance & sustainable development goals
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Date & Time: November 12 from 10:40 to 12:10
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Organizer(s): Internet Without Borders / Access Now
- Chair/Moderator: Florence Poznanski
- Rapporteur/Notetaker: Félix Blanc
Robert Pepper, Global connectivity and Technology Policy , Facebook (U.S.)
Camille Morel, PhD Student - Centre Lyonnais d'études de sécurité internationale et de défense (CLESID)
Qemal Affagnon, Head of the West Africa Desk, Internet Sans Frontières (Bénin)
Dwayne Winseck, Professor, Carleton University (Canada)
Barbara Simao, Researcher, telecommunications and digital rights, IDEC (Brazil)
Doug Madory, Senior Analyst, Internet Intelligence (U.S.)
Discussant and concluding remarks: Peter Micek (Access Now)
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Theme (as listed here): Development, Innovation & Economic Issues
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Subtheme (as listed here): INTERNET FOR DEVELOPMENT & SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
- Please state no more than three (3) key messages of the discussion. [150 words or less]
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Submarine cables governance help at achieving sustainable development goals
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International or national regulation could make the governance of submarine cables more transparent, inclusive & participatory
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Submarine cables are key infrastructures to monitor network interferences, reduce the digital divide and enhance scientific research on global warming & geohazards
- Please elaborate on the discussion held, specifically on areas of agreement and divergence.
Large consensus to say that international norms appear insufficient to protect human rights and SDG related to submarine cables (the 1884 Law convention does not cover many issues we discuss).
There was broad support for the view that submarine cables are extremely important to keep traffic within regions, lower cost and improve performance and latency, but also that they are a matter of strategic interests for states and critical for human rights. Moreover, some indicated that the submarine cables are sometimes used under their capacity, especially in African.
Some supported that vertical integration from our devices and desktops from the apps and services down into the cables provide further evidence of the extent to which GAFAM attempt to rule the world while others noted that such vertical integration can be explained by the fact that CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg are personally involved in the fact that the last billion has to be connected.
There was no agreement on the real impact of additional submarine cables on increasing regional connectivity and reducing digital divide in landlocked countries (Chad, Afghanistan) or small countries (Ecuado, Benin).
- Please describe any policy recommendations or suggestions regarding the way forward/potential next steps. [100 words]
The legal regime of submarine cables has to be updated to include protection of human rights and promote SDG and the IGF would be the perfect vehicule to support such initiative.
We need public networks to build additional capacity and public-private coinvestment to reduce the cost for everybody.
We need to prepare cable infrastructure for the next crisis (surveillance scandal, cyber security or terrorists) and promote substantive measures, standards and good practises such as the ELLALINK cable or the Ghana IXP.
Guiding principles on business and human rights could be used to put human rights and the users at the center of submarine cable instrastrures (cf. Article 19 report on Infrastuctures and human rights)
We need a global authority to adress these issues that are partly coming under ITU's competencies, partly coming under the UN SDG chapter. The International Cable Committee is not competent today to adress such SDG issues.
- What ideas surfaced in the discussion with respect to how the IGF ecosystem might make progress on this issue? [75 words]
The main issues the IGF should make progress on is the question of how the IGF could promote outputs and good practices at the UN level, so that each local and global actors could use these good practises to implement new policies more efficiently.
- Please estimate the total number of participants.
60 people
- Please estimate the total number of women and gender-variant individuals present.
50%/50%
- To what extent did the session discuss gender issues, and if to any extent, what was the discussion? [100 words]
none