IGF MAG Renewal 2022 General guidance

IGF MAG Renewal 2022 
General guidance and notes to take into consideration regarding nominations for a position on the MAG

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) was established by the ‎United Nations Secretary-General in 2006 to assist the Secretary-General in convening the annual IGF ‎meeting by advising on the programme and schedule. MAG members serve in their personal capacity, but ‎are expected to have established linkages within stakeholder communities. More information is available in ‎the MAG Terms of Reference. ‎

The United Nations Secretary-General appoints members, with careful consideration of the ‎recommendations made by stakeholder groups and nominations from the broader community. The overall ‎composition of the MAG should have a regional, stakeholder and gender balance and in this light ‎nominators are requested to review past and returning MAG member affiliations. Further, the Secretary-‎General launched the gender parity strategy in September 2017 as part of a system-wide campaign to ‎advance this priority at the United Nations.‎

Members coming from the Government stakeholder group may hold up to 40% of the total number of ‎seats on the MAG, with the remaining percentage shared equally across the three other stakeholder ‎groups, i.e. civil society, private sector and the technical community. Individual appointments are for a one ‎‎(1)-year term, with a maximum of three (3) consecutive terms. Former IGF Host Countries hold one seat ‎each on the MAG. Treaty-based intergovernmental organizations can also hold observer seats on the ‎MAG.  

Countries that were not represented or were under-represented in previous MAG compositions will have ‎an advantage over those that have had continuous or frequent representation on the MAG.‎
At the end of the 2021 IGF cycle, twenty (20) MAG members are due to be rotated out. ‎

‎2022 Membership balance
The 2022 composition will aim at having approximately 40% government’s representation, with other ‎stakeholder groups having equal number of members. The overall 2022 MAG membership composition will ‎balance the number of stakeholder groups across regions by region’s population and number of member ‎states.‎

In addition to gender parity, the MAG 2022 selection will give due consideration to representation of ‎stakeholders with experience in youth engagement, including through the National, Regional and Youth IGF ‎Initiatives (NRIs), as well as stakeholders with high level profiles and rich experience in Internet governance ‎policies, across all stakeholder and regional groups. This is in line with ongoing efforts to strengthen the IGF.‎

Countries that were not represented or were underrepresented in previous MAG compositions, will have ‎an advantage over those that have had continuous or frequent representation on the MAG. Below is the ‎historical overview of countries’ representation per the UN regional groups, with indication in parentheses ‎in case of multiyear¹ ‎representation:‎

AFRICA

Countries that have been represented on the MAG: Algeria, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Republic ‎of Congo, DR Congo, Egypt (5), Gambia, Ghana (3), Ivory Coast, Kenya (5), Mauritius (2), Madagascar, ‎Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria ‎‎(9), Niger, Senegal (4), Somalia, South Africa (3), Sudan (2), Togo, Tunisia (2), ‎Uganda (3), Zambia, Zimbabwe (2).‎

Countries that have not been represented on the MAG: Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, ‎Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, ‎Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra ‎Leone, South Sudan, Swaziland, UR Tanzania.‎

ASIA PACIFIC

Countries that have been represented on the MAG: Afghanistan, Bangladesh (3), China (15), Fiji (2), India ‎‎(8), Indonesia (3), Iran (2), ‎Japan (5), Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan (4), ‎Philippines (2), Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, ‎Singapore (2), Sri Lanka (2), Thailand, United Arab Emirates ‎‎(2), Vanuatu, Vietnam (2). ‎
Countries that have not been represented on the MAG: Bahrain, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam,  Cyprus, ‎Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran (Islamic Republic of),  Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Republic, ‎Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated, States of), Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Oman, Palau, ‎Papua New Guinea,  Qatar, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Timor-‎Leste, Tonga, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Yemen.

EASTERN EUROPE

Countries that have been represented on the MAG: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina ‎‎(3), Bulgaria (2), Croatia (2), Czech Republic (2), Estonia, Georgia, Hungary (2), ‎Latvia, Lithuania (2), ‎Macedonia, Moldova, Poland (3), Romania (2), Russia (7), Serbia (3), Slovakia, Ukraine.‎
Countries that have not been represented on the MAG: Albania, Montenegro, Slovenia.‎

GRULAC

Countries that have been represented on the MAG: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina (6), Bahamas, ‎Barbados (2), Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil (8), Chile (3), Colombia (3), Costa Rica (2), Cuba, ‎Ecuador ‎‎(2), El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico (3), Paraguay, Peru (2), Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago (2), ‎Uruguay (3), ‎Venezuela.‎
Countries that have not been represented on the MAG: Belize, Dominica,  Dominican Republic, Grenada, ‎Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and ‎the Grenadines. 

WEOG

Countries that have been represented on the MAG: Australia (7), Austria, Belgium (2), Canada (4), Finland ‎‎(4), France (6), Germany (6), ‎Greece, Italy (3), Netherlands (3), New Zealand (3), Portugal (2), Spain (3), ‎Sweden (4), Switzerland (2), UK (8), ‎USA (18).‎
Countries that have not been represented on the MAG: Andorra, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, ‎Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Norway, San Marino.

Former IGF Host Countries hold one permanent seat each on the MAG: Greece, Brazil, India, Egypt, ‎Lithuania, Kenya, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico, Switzerland, France and Germany.‎

‎*Please note that the overall composition depends on several considerations including the nominations ‎received, as well as the final decision of the UN Secretary-General.‎

List of members that are due to be rotated out
The table below indicates the MAG members who have served three (3) consecutive terms ‎on the MAG in addition to those no longer being able to continue serving. ‎

¹Corresponds to one tenure of up to three consecutive years.