Background to the conference

In the 2009 Resolution on Internet governance and critical Internet resources, the Council of Europe Ministers responsible for media and new communication services called on all state and non-state actors to explore ways, building upon current arrangements, to ensure that critical Internet resources are managed in the public interest and as a public asset ensuring the delivery of public service value, in full respect of international law, including human rights law. The ministers also invited the Council of Europe to explore the feasibility of elaborating an instrument designed to preserve or reinforce the protection of the cross-border flow of Internet traffic.
Consequently, the Council of Europe Steering Committee on the Media and New Communication Services, assisted by a multi-stakeholder group of experts, has decided to work on a set of Internet governance principles to be included in a political statement by the organisation.

These bodies are also examining possible international law responses to the need to ensure Internet freedom and universality and the proper functioning and stability of the Internet, taking into account its fundamental cross-border nature and multi-stakeholder governance model. In this context, the Council of Europe is working on a draft recommendation of the Committee of Ministers on principles of international and multi-stakeholder cooperation.

The goal of the conference is to discuss the content of these principles and to explore possible further action in international law.  In particular, the conference aims to explore viable options for creating an architecture for multi-stakeholder participation in international Internet-related public policy-making.

In order to debate these issues, the conference will bring together speakers from a broad range of backgrounds, including governments, private sector representatives, civil society and the technical community. The conference will be held in English and French.