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ICANN and TJ TLD Registry, the manager for the Tajikistan country code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD) signed the 50th arrangement under the AF programme.

The Accountability Framework programme provides two mechanisms by which ccTLD managers can formalise their relationship with ICANN.

The first is an Accountability Framework document that sets out the obligations of a ccTLD manager and ICANN. It also covers dispute resolution and termination and is designed for ccTLD managers requiring a formal document with ICANN.

The second mechanism is an exchange of letters between ICANN and the ccTLD manager designed for those occasions when a simple statement of commitment is more appropriate, as was the case with TJ TLD Registry.

Signed accountability framework and exchange of letters documents can be found at http://www.icann.org/cctlds/agreements.html.

BACKGROUND

As the Internet has evolved over time, stakeholders have become interested in the establishment of appropriate mechanisms to recognise and acknowledge the roles and responsibilities of various entities. There has been a desire to have these mechanisms reflect informal relationships, in a manner that would maintain and enhance the security and stability of the DNS for the benefit of local and global Internet users.

Since 2000, ICANN has been working with managers of ccTLDs (the two-letter TLDs that have been established for countries and some territories) to document their relationship with ICANN. These relationships are complex, because of the variables that surround different ccTLDs and the manner in which they are operated, such as; type of organisation, policies followed, economics, language, culture, legal environment, and relations with their government. After the creation of the ccNSO in 2003, ICANN sought the ccNSO's assistance at the ICANN meeting in Kuala Lumpur in July 2004 to develop a broadly agreed upon set of baseline criteria, which could form the basis for what has become known as an accountability framework.

Using the ccNSO guidelines, ICANN has developed an accountability framework document and exchange of letters template, with the flexibility to accommodate the wide variety in ccTLDs.