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ICANN POLICY UPDATE | Volume 11, Issue 11 – November 2011

PDF Version [429 KB]

http://www.icann.org/en/topics/policy/

CONTENTS:

Across ICANN

  1. Public Comment Reply Cycle Wraps Up
  2. First-time Participants Set Record in Dakar
  3. Issues Currently Open for Public Comment

ccNSO

  1. Survey Lauds New gTLD Session for ccNSO
  2. Burkina Faso Joins ccNSO
  3. Mike Silber Selected for Second Term on ICANN Board
  4. Five ccNSO Council Seats Filled for 2012
  5. Framework of Interpretation Working Group
  6. ccNSO Prepares for Expansion with IDN ccTLDs
  7. Clarity for String Confusion
  8. Two ccNSO Councilors to Focus on Joint Meetings with GNSO

GNSO

  1. Registrars and ICANN Open New Negotiations to Update the RAA
  2. GNSO Council to Decide Whether to Review and Update Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy
  3. GNSO Improvements Move Forward with Council Approval of Updated PDP Final Report, Public Comment Period on Bylaw Changes
  4. Post-Expiration Domain Name Recovery Recommendations Adopted by ICANN Board
  5. Other Issues Active in the GNSO

ASO

  1. Policy Proposal for Recovered IPv4 Address Blocks Has Passed Final Call in All RIRs

Joint Efforts

  1. Review of ICANN Geographic Regions: Draft Final Report Available for Community Comment

At-Large

  1. At-Large Community Holds Record Number of Meetings in Dakar
  2. Dakar Meetings Bring Completion of ALAC/At-Large Improvement Project Into Sight
  3. Silvia Vivanco Joins ICANN's Policy Staff as Manager, At-Large Regional Affairs

SSAC

  1. Issues Active in the SSAC

Read in Your Preferred Language

ICANN Policy Update is available in all six official languages of the United Nations. Policy Update is posted on ICANN's web site and available via online subscription. To receive the Update in your Inbox each month, visit the ICANN subscriptions page, enter your e-mail address, and select "Policy Update" to subscribe. This service is free.

ICANN Policy Update statement of purpose

Send questions, comments and suggestions to: policy-staff@icann.org.

Policy Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees

Address Supporting Organization ASO
Country Code Names Supporting Organization ccNSO
Generic Names Supporting Organization GNSO
At-Large Advisory Committee ALAC
Governmental Advisory Committee GAC
Root Server System Advisory Committee RSSAC
Security and Stability Advisory Committee SSAC

Across ICANN

1. Public Comment Reply Cycle Wraps Up

At a Glance

Staff has completed the summary and analysis of community input into ICANN's proposed new Public Comment process. Community members contributed a total of 22 issues, suggestions and recommendations.

New Developments

Staff published two documents following the close of the Public Comment Period and subsequent “Reply" period on Phase II of the Public Comments Process Enhancements.

Report of Public Comments [PDF, 19.5 KB]: Summarizes the Public Comments received. Note that this report template is now in use consistently for all reports drafted by ICANN staff.

Analysis of Public Comments [PDF, 23 KB]: Within this analysis, comments are grouped into broad categories and evaluated. A checklist is included, noting categories and status of each. This template is new and staff will continue to consider community feedback on its usefulness. If you have suggestions for improvement, please let us know by writing to participate@icann.org.

You can also find these reports through links within the Public Comment Box.

Next Steps

Working with a group of volunteers, staff will perform limited community testing of a threaded discussion environment during November in response to positive community interest on the issue. Based on the community test results, we will be able to work towards a technically improved interface.

While staff continues working on this technically improved interface, it is still “on target" for the Accountability and Transparency Review Team (ATRT) recommended components (Stratification/Prioritization and Comment/Reply Comment cycles) to be fully implemented by 31 December 2011, using the current interface that is already in use. With that, we will have concluded the implementations committed towards the ATRT recommendations 15, 16, 17 and 21.

Background

Phase I activities to improve ICANN's Public Comment Process were implemented effective 30 June 2011, in response to recommendations #15, 16, 17 and 21 of the ATRT. In that first phase, staff completely redesigned web pages, added new navigation menus, streamlined Announcement and Public Comment Box formats, and introduced an "Upcoming Topics" feature. New standardized data fields were added across all solicitations (e.g., Originating Organization, Purpose, Current Status, Next Steps) and opening and closing dates and times were clarified. To support these improvements staff also created internal document templates to facilitate publication and ensure presentation consistency in these pages.

After the launch of the redesigned Public Comment web pages in June, staff worked with a focus group of ICANN community volunteers identified by ICANN community leaders, to gather initial feedback on further improvements.

These further improvements were made available for wider community review and feedback though a public comment and reply period. The public comment includes a staff report where focus group feedback is referenced and linked for each relevant topic. The overall effort supports the implementation of the ATRT recommendations relating to how community members provide input on ICANN matters.

More Information

Staff Contact

Filiz Yilmaz, Senior Director, Participation and Engagement


2. First-time Participants Set Record in Dakar

At a Glance

At the ICANN Public Meeting in Dakar, at least 140 people were first-time attendees, based on the information gathered at the Newcomer Lounge. Many of those first-timers took advantage of the Newcomers Program Track on the Sunday before the meeting kick-off.

New Developments

The Newcomers sessions attracted a record amount of participants. Attendance at one session peaked at 110 people. Of those, 21 percent participated remotely.

Remote Participation Services were available for all 12 rooms of the meeting venue and all open sessions received the services as they were requested. You can find the recordings, presentation materials used, as well as the transcripts of the sessions, where applicable, at the individual session pages.

Background

The Newcomers Track sessions were introduced at the ICANN Public Meeting in Silicon Valley-San Francisco in March 2011. These sessions are designed for first-time participants but are open to all who are interested in expanding their knowledge of ICANN, how the community groups interact and current DNS policy issues.

In Dakar, session topics included:

  • Introduction to Remote Participation
  • Basic Training on ICANN's Community Wiki
  • Welcome to ICANN
  • Ombudsman 101
  • Policy Update
  • Contractual Compliance at ICANN
  • New gTLD Basics

Next Steps

As this Policy Update was written, staff was still collecting survey results about Newcomers Activities and Remote Participation Services provided in Dakar. We will share these details soon.

More Information

Staff Contact

Filiz Yilmaz, Senior Director, Participation and Engagement


3. Issues Currently Open for Public Comment

Numerous public comment periods are currently open on issues of interest to the ICANN community. Act now to share your views on such topics as:

For the full list of issues open for public comment, plus recently closed and archived public comment forums, visit the Public Comment web page.


ccNSO

4. Survey Lauds New gTLD Session for ccNSO

At a Glance

Most participants who responded to the post-event evaluation survey of the two-day ccNSO meeting in Dakar rated the overall daily sessions as “excellent" or “good." A panel on new gTLDs drew many favorable responses.

Recent Developments

Meeting participants were asked to fill out a survey evaluating different aspects of the two-day sessions, including panels, program and remote participation.

Next Steps

The results are posted online and will be used to help define future agendas.

Background

An evaluation of the ccNSO meeting is conducted at the end, in order to give the Programme Working Group, which is responsible for setting the meeting agendas, an idea of what can be improved and what the community would like to see in future agendas.

More Information

Staff Contact

Gabriella Schittek, ccNSO Secretariat


5. Burkina Faso Joins ccNSO

At a Glance

A country code operator from the Africa region was approved as a new ccNSO member in October 2011.

Recent Developments

The ccNSO Council approved the ccTLD operator of .bf (Burkina Faso) as a new ccNSO member. Burkina Faso is in western Africa, north of Ghana.

There are now a total of 121 ccNSO members.

More Information

Staff Contact

Gabriella Schittek, ccNSO Secretariat


6. Mike Silber Selected for Second Term on ICANN Board

At a Glance

ccNSO Council selects Mike Silber, .za, to serve another three-year term on the ICANN Board.

Recent Developments

At the ccNSO Council meeting on 26 October 2011, the Council unanimously selected Mr. Silber, .za, to serve on the ICANN Board for another three-year term.

Next Steps

Mr. Silber's second term starts at the end of June 2012.

Background

Mr. Silber is currently serving a three-year term on the ICANN Board and was eligible for re-election. During the nomination period, he was the only candidate to be nominated. He participated in a question and answer session with ccNSO members in Dakar, and had the opportunity to explain his goals and mission.

More Information

Staff Contact

Gabriella Schittek, ccNSO Secretariat


7. Five ccNSO Council Seats Filled for 2012

At a Glance

Following an election for the open seat representing the African region, all five open seats on the ccNSO Council have been filled.

Recent Developments

Five open ccNSO Council seats – one in each geographic region – were filled through a nomination and election process that took place from August to October 2012. The full list of ccNSO Councilors who will be seated in March 2012 is now set:

  • African Region: Vika Mpisane, .za (South Africa)
  • Asia-Pacific Region: Young-Eum Lee, .kr (South Korea)
  • European Region: Juhani Juselius, .fi (Finland)
  • Latin American Region: Margarita Valdes, .cl (Chile), replacing Patricio Poblete, .cl
  • North American Region: Byron Holland, .ca (Canada)

Next Steps

The Councilors' terms start straight after the ICANN Public Meeting in San Jose in March 2012 and last for three years.

Background

There are a total of 18 ccNSO Councilors, serving staggered three-year terms. Fifteen are elected according to their geographic region. The ICANN Nominating Committee appoints three to the Council. Nominations and elections to the ccNSO Council are held once every year.

More Information

Staff Contact

Gabriella Schittek, ccNSO Secretariat


8. Framework of Interpretation Working Group

At a Glance

The Framework of Interpretation Working Group (FoI WG) released for public comment an Interim Report containing draft recommendations on obtaining and documenting consent from proposed and/or incumbent operators for ccTLD delegations and redelegations.

Recent Developments

The Interim Report addresses the first of five topics – how consent is obtained and documented. This topic is identified as critical to the development of a Framework of Interpretation for the delegation and redelegation of ccTLDs.

Next Steps

Public comment on the Interim Report will be accepted through 1 December 2011. The WG will closely review all submitted comments and will consider whether to modify its report. According to its charter, the WG is not obligated to include all comments received, nor all those submitted by any one individual or organization.

The WG expects to formally publish its Final Report prior to the next ICANN meeting in San Jose in March 2012.

Background

The objective of the FoI WG is to develop and propose a Framework of Interpretation for the delegation and redelegation of ccTLDs. This framework should provide a clear guide to IANA and the ICANN Board on the interpretation of the current policies and guidelines pertaining to the delegation and redelegation of ccTLDs. Having a framework can foster consistent and predictable decisions while enhancing accountability and transparency for all stakeholders. The scope of the FoI WG also clearly specifies that:

  • Any proposal to amend, update or change the Policy Statements is outside the scope of the FoI WG.
  • The IANA functions contract between the U.S. Government and ICANN, including any contract implementation issues or procedures relating to it, are also outside the scope of the FoI WG.

After considering how consent is obtained and documented, the FoI WG will look at the remaining four topics individually and in this order:

  • Obtaining and documenting support for delegation and redelegation requests from Significantly Interested Parties (sometimes referred to as Local Internet Community or LIC).
  • Developing recommendations for “un-consented" redelegations.
  • Developing a comprehensive glossary of the terms used for the delegation and redelegation of ccTLDs.
  • Developing recommendations for IANA reports on delegation and redelegation.

More Information

Staff Contact

Bart Boswinkel, Senior Policy Advisor


9. ccNSO Prepares for Expansion with IDN ccTLDs

At a Glance

A working group posted for public comment its recommendations on the Bylaw changes needed to include IDN ccTLDs in the ccNSO.

Recent Developments

The ccNSO IDN Country Code Policy Development Process Working Group 2 (IDN ccPDP WG 2) has published and presented its Draft Final Report with recommendations on changes to the ICANN Bylaws to include IDN ccTLDs in the ccNSO.

Next Steps

The WG will closely review all submitted comments to determine, at its reasonable discretion whether to modify its report and its recommendations. According to its charter, the WG is not obligated to include all comments made during the comment period, nor is it obligated to include all comments submitted by any one individual or organization.

The WG expects to formally submit its Final Report to the IDN ccPDP Issue Manager prior to the next ICANN Public Meeting in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Background

The purpose of the IDN ccPDP WG 2 is to report on and identify feasible recommendations for the inclusion of IDN ccTLDs in the ccNSO within the framework of the IDN ccPDP.

To date the WG has identified the following clusters of issues/topic areas:

  1. Membership definition
  2. Roles of members
    1. Eligibility and selection of Councilors to the ccNSO Council
    2. Initiation of PDP
    3. Voting (Policy development process, selection of Councilors)
  3. Quorum for voting
  4. Scope of PDP as defined in Annex C

The scope of the IDN ccPDP WG 2 is to focus on, without limitation, examination of Article IX of the ICANN Bylaws and associated Annexes B and C. It shall also take into account the proposals and recommendations of the first Working Group on the selection and delegation of IDN ccTLDs associated with the territories listed in a standard issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a network of the standards institutes of 157 countries.

As this IDN ccPDP WG 2 undertakes its activities within the framework of the IDN ccPDP, the limitations on the scope of a ccPDP, in particular by Article IX and Annex C to the Bylaws, applies accordingly.

More Information

Staff Contact

Bart Boswinkel, Senior Policy Advisor


10. Clarity for String Confusion

At a Glance

The ccNSO Council wrote to ICANN's Board of Directors last month recommending changes to sections of the Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) ccTLD Implementation Plan regarding instances of confusing similarity between IDN and ASCII two-letter codes.

Recent Developments

At its Dakar meeting, the ccNSO Council asked the ICANN Board of Directors to amend the relevant sections of the IDN ccTLD Implementation Plan. Specifically, the Council asked for amendments allowing validation of a requested string under the Fast Track Process if an IDN ccTLD string is a meaningful representation of the name of the territory and is only confusingly similar with the two-letter [a-z] country code that is associated with the same territory.

Next Steps

The Board of Directors is considering the request.

Background

At its meeting in San Francisco, the ccNSO Council adopted a resolution to request a sub-group of the first Working Group to develop, as soon as possible, guidelines (within the framework of the existing Fast Track rules) to improve the predictability of the evaluation process relating to string confusion. The evaluation process was defined in the IDNC WG Final Report and the Final Implementation Plan as adopted by the ICANN Board in November 2009.

The issue of similarity between IDN and ASCII ccTLDs when both are associated with the same territory was one of the items identified for clarification by the sub-group.

More Information

Staff Contact

Bart Boswinkel, Senior Policy Advisor


11. Two ccNSO Councilors to Focus on Joint Meetings with GNSO

At a Glance

The ccNSO Council asked Juhani Juselius and Reolof Meijer to collaborate with GNSO on joint meetings.

Recent Developments

The ccNSO Council appointed two of its members, Mr. Juselius and Mr. Meijer, to coordinate with a designated GNSO Councilor to prepare future joint meetings of the Councils.

Background

Since the ICANN Public Meeting in New Delhi in February 2008, the ccNSO and GNSO Councils have met to exchange information and to provide an update on current activities. To date the meeting agenda and topics for discussion have been set on an ad-hoc basis. The ccNSO has taken the initiative to further improve the coordination of the meetings with the appointment of two of its councilors and requested the GNSO to appoint a counterpart.

Staff Contact

Bart Boswinkel, Senior Policy Advisor


GNSO

12. Registrars and ICANN Open New Negotiations To Update the RAA

At a Glance

ICANN accredited registrars and ICANN have opened negotiations to amend and update the current Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA). The negotiations are in response to the development of a list of recommendations made by law enforcement agencies and the broader Internet community to provide increased protections for registrants and greater security overall. Announcement from Dakar of immediate negotiations received broad support in the ICANN community.

Recent Developments

Prior to Dakar, staff published a Discussion Paper on the Next Steps for the RAA [PDF, 516 KB] that recommended the immediate commencement of bi-lateral negotiations with the registrars. At Dakar, law enforcement representatives and other stakeholders debated the need for additional amendments to the RAA to protect registrants and the public from malicious conduct and cybercrime involving domain names. Recognizing the importance of these efforts regarding the RAA, the GAC encouraged the ICANN Board to take the necessary steps to ensure that ICANN's multi-stakeholder process effectively addresses the law enforcement recommendations as a matter of extreme urgency.

In Dakar, the ICANN Board responded by adopting a resolution acknowledging that the effort to evolve the RAA is an important element in a program to protect registrants and safeguard the stability of a single interoperable Internet. Directing that negotiations commence immediately, the ICANN Board called for proposed amendments to be provided for consideration at ICANN's meeting in Costa Rica in March 2012. The subject of the negotiations should include law enforcement and GNSO working group recommendations as well as other topics that would advance the twin goals of registrant protection and DNS stability. The ICANN Board also requested the creation of an Issue Report to undertake a GNSO PDP as quickly as possible to address remaining items suited for a PDP.

The Registrars Stakeholder Group and ICANN announced the immediate commencement of negotiations on the RAA. These negotiations will occur regularly with the intention to arrive at a new agreement prior to ICANN's Public Meeting in March 2012. To ensure transparency, registrars and ICANN plan to update the community regarding the substance and progress of negotiations. Decision rationale will be included as part of those communications and at the time the new agreement is published for public comment.

Background

In 2009, the GNSO Council embarked on a collaborative process with the At-Large Advisory Committee regarding the RAA. As part of this process, a joint GNSO/ALAC drafting team was formed to conduct further work related to proposals for improvements to the RAA. The RAA Drafting Team reviewed proposals from the law enforcement community, the Intellectual Property Constituency, as well as other stakeholders, seeking to enhance the RAA. The RAA Drafting Team published a Final Report [PDF, 6.78 MB] that identified potential topics for additional amendments to the RAA, as well as a proposal for next steps for the GNSO Council to consider in determining whether to recommend a new form of RAA.

More Information

Staff Contact

Margie Milam, Senior Policy Counselor


13. GNSO Council to Decide Whether to Review and Update Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy

At a Glance

In the Final Issue Report, staff recommends deferring commencement of a Policy Development Process (PDP) on the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) until after the New GTLD Program's Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS) has been operational.

Recent Developments

During the ICANN Public Meeting in Dakar, the GNSO Council solicited reaction to the staff recommendations regarding a possible review of the UDRP as described in the Final Issue Report [PDF, 2.65 MB]. Authored by staff, the report describes the UDRP as an effective alternative to costly litigation for cybersquatting disputes, and that its associated processes are generally fair to the affected registrants. The Final Issue Report describes the view shared by staff and many in the Community that although the UDRP is not perfect, it may not be advisable to conduct a comprehensive review at this time. In Dakar, the GNSO Council debated the staff recommendation to delay the commencement of a PDP of the UDRP until after data is available on the effectiveness of the new gTLD's newest rights protection mechanism, the URS, which was modeled after the UDRP.

Background

The UDRP was created in 1999, with the goal of providing an alternative to costly litigation for resolving disputes concerning cybersquatting in gTLDs.  Since the adoption of the UDRP, over 30,000 complaints have been filed with the dispute resolution providers authorized by ICANN. The UDRP has not been reviewed or updated by the GNSO Council since its inception.

At the request of the GNSO Council, staff published a Final Issue Report [PDF, 2.65 MB] on the current state of the UDRP for discussion at the Dakar Meeting. Upon review of the Final Issue Report [PDF, 2.65 MB], the GNSO Council will consider whether to commence a PDP to review and/or modify the UDRP.

More Information

Staff Contact

Margie Milam, Senior Policy Counselor


14. GNSO Improvements Move Forward with Council Approval of Updated PDP Final Report, Public Comment Period on Bylaw Changes

At a Glance

Members of the GNSO community are working to implement a comprehensive series of structural and operational changes designed to improve the effectiveness and accessibility of the organization. The effort is now in its final stages.

Recent Developments

As requested by the GNSO Council, the Policy Development Process Work Team (PDP-WT) reviewed the public comments received regarding its Final Report. Accordingly, the PDP-WT has revised its report and submitted the Updated Final Report to the GNSO Council for its consideration on 28 September. In addition to the report, a motion to adopt the report and its recommendations was submitted to the GNSO Council for consideration. The GNSO Council adopted the report and its recommendations at its meeting in Dakar. In addition, the ICANN Board resolved to open a public comment forum on the proposed changes to Annex A which outlines the GNSO Policy Development Process, before considering these proposed changes for adoption. Comments can be submitted until 5 December.

Background

The Updated Final Report contains 48 recommendations, an outline of the proposed new Annex A to the ICANN Bylaws and a supporting document that is envisioned to be included in the GNSO Council Operating Procedures as the PDP Manual.

The most substantial of the recommendations include:

  • Recommending the use of a standardized Request for an Issue Report Template;
  • The introduction of a Preliminary Issues Report which shall be published for public comment prior to the creation of a Final Issues Report to be acted upon by the GNSO Council;
  • A requirement that each PDP Working Group operate under a Charter;
  • Changing the existing Bylaws so that upon initiation of a PDP, public comment periods are optional rather than mandatory, at the discretion of the PDP Working Group;
  • Changing the timeframes of public comment periods including (i) a required public comment period of no less than 30 days on a PDP Working Group's Initial Report and (ii) a minimum of 21 days for any non-required public comment periods the PDP WG might choose to initiate at its discretion;
  • Maintaining the existing requirement of PDP WG producing both an Initial Report and Final Report, but giving the WG discretion to produce additional outputs;
  • A recommendation allowing for the termination of a PDP prior to delivery of the Final Report;
  • New procedures on the delivery of recommendations to the Board including a requirement that all are reviewed by either the PDP Working Group or the GNSO Council and made publicly available; and
  • The use of Implementation Review Teams.

Further details and background on the different recommendations, the proposed Annex A and PDP Manual can be found in the Updated Final Report [PDF, 1.51 MB] as well as in the overview of the differences between the Final Report and the Updated Final Report [PDF, 340 KB].

More Information

Staff Contact

Marika Konings, Senior Policy Director


15. Post-Expiration Domain Name Recovery Recommendations Adopted by the ICANN Board

At a Glance

The ICANN community provided comments, which have been summarized and analyzed, on a report and recommendations related to what happens after domain names expire. The GNSO Council adopted the report in July 2011, concluding a two-year process that examined current registrar policies regarding the renewal, transfer and deletion of expired domain names.

Recent Developments

The recommendations made by the Post-Expiration Domain Name Recovery Working Group were adopted by the ICANN Board on 28 October 2011. The GNSO Council had approved the Final Report and recommendations back in July. Among the recommendations adopted by the Board are:

  • Providing a minimum of eight days after expiration for renewal by a registrant;
  • Having unsponsored gTLDs and registrars offer Redemption Grace Periods;
  • Requiring posting of fees charged for renewal; requiring that at least two notices prior to expiration are sent at set times, one after expiration; that an expired web site must explicitly say that registration has expired, and offer instructions on how to redeem the domain; and
  • Developing educational materials about how to prevent unintentional loss.

Next Steps

An Implementation Review Team will be formed to work with staff on developing an implementation plan.

Background

For a history of the ICANN community's policy development activities on this topic, please refer to the PEDNR background page.

More Information

Staff Contact

Marika Konings, Senior Policy Director


16. Other Issues Active in the GNSO


ASO

17. Policy Proposal for Recovered IPv4 Address Blocks Has Passed Final Call in All RIRs

At a Glance

Now that IANA has allocated all the addresses in IPv4, Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) have discussed a number of proposed global policies for handling IPv4 address space returned from the RIRs to IANA. The RIRs are getting closer to adoption of a new policy.

Recent Developments

After failing to reach consensus on two preceding proposals, a third proposal on allocation of recovered IPv4 address space has been launched and introduced in the five RIRs. APNIC, the registry that originated the proposal, has adopted it, and so have LACNIC and RIPE. The proposal has also passed the final call stage in both AfriNIC and ARIN.

In this proposal, IANA would establish and administer a pool of returned address space to be allocated to all RIRs simultaneously in equal blocks of smaller size than the traditional /8. Pool size permitting, allocations would occur every six months.

Next Steps

If and when this policy proposal is formally adopted by all five RIRs, the Number Resource Organization Executive Committee and the Address Supporting Organization Address Council will review the proposal and forward the policy to the ICANN Board for ratification and implementation by IANA.

Background

IPv4 is the Internet Protocol addressing system used to allocate unique IP address numbers in 32-bit format. With the massive growth of the Internet user population, the pool of unique numbers (approximately 4.3 billion) has been depleted and a 128-bit numbering system (IPv6) is taking its place.

More Information

  • A Background Report for the third proposal is posted on the ICANN web site and includes a comparison between the proposals so far on this theme.
  • Background Report for the second proposal.

Staff Contact

Olof Nordling, Director, Service Relations


Joint Efforts

18. Review of ICANN Geographic Regions: Draft Final Report Available For Community Comment

At a Glance

For the past two years a community-wide working group chartered by the ICANN Board has been working to (1) confirm the history, underlying principles and goals of the current geographic regions framework, (2) analyze how those goals and principles have been applied by the Board, staff and community and (3) consulted with the community on how those principles and goals can be best maintained in the future. That working group is now reaching the end of its efforts.

Recent Developments

The Geographic Regions Review Working Group's Draft Final Report reflects the penultimate step of the group's research and consultation effort. The draft document outlines specific recommendations from the Working Group to the ICANN Board regarding how the present Geographic Regions Framework can be modified to ensure that the organizational principles of geographic and cultural diversity are honored and maintained. Those recommendations are based on thorough research, extensive community consultation and reflect the points of view of a wide range of the ICANN community.

Mindful of the potential implications even small changes to the framework could have on the wider community, the working group decided to make the draft document available to the community for review and comment before the working group formally publishes its Final Report. The working group will closely review all submitted comments to determine if further modifications to the draft document are necessary.The working group published it Draft Final Report on 1 October and is asking the community to review and comment on its draft recommendations. The Public Comment Forum will be open through 19 December 2011.

The Working Group conducted a public workshop during the ICANN Public Meeting in Dakar to explain and discuss its recommendations with interested community members. A transcript [PDF, 147 KB] of that session is available.

Background

Geographic diversity is a fundamental component of the ICANN organization.  The ICANN Bylaws (Article VI Section 5) currently define five geographic regions as Africa, North America, Latin America/Caribbean, Asia/Australia/Pacific and Europe.

The ICANN Geographic Regions were originally created to ensure regional diversity in the composition of the ICANN Board and were subsequently expanded in various ways to apply to the GNSO, ALAC and the ccNSO.

Next Steps

After the close of the Public Comment Forum on 19 December 2011, working group members will closely review all comments submitted and will determine whether to modify the recommendations in the Final Report. The working group expects to formally publish its Final Report early next year. At that time the Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees will be asked to formally comment on the recommendations in the Final Report before evaluation by ICANN's Board.

More Information

Staff Contact

Robert Hoggarth, Senior Policy Director


At-Large

19. At-Large Community Holds Record Number of Meetings in Dakar

At a Glance

59 At-Large community members from all five regions attended the ICANN Public Meeting in Dakar in October. These representatives included Members of ALAC, officers of the five Regional At-Large Organizations (RALOs), representatives of At-Large Structures (ALSes), At-Large liaisons, At-Large delegates to the Nominating Committee (NomCom), At-Large representatives on the Whois and SSR of the DNS Review Teams, and representatives of the At-Large community.

Recent Developments

At-Large representatives participated in a record 25 meetings including 16 formal meetings with AFRALO holding an additional nine meetings as part of the successful AFRALO Dakar Events. These meetings resulted in numerous policy and process-related activities.

Among the many policy and process-related issues discussed during these meetings, the following matters were highlighted by the Chair of ALAC in his Report to the Board:

Creation of Several Working Groups and a Taskforce – The ALAC passed resolutions creating a number of new initiatives:     

  • Ad-hoc Working Group to develop an At-Large ICANN Academy – This WG will further develop the At-Large Project Proposal for an ICANN Academy: Learning how a multi-stakeholder Internet governance model works in practice. The first ICANN Academy is aimed to take place during the 2012 Annual General Meeting.
  • Ad-hoc Rules of Procedure Working Group – This WG was created as part of the At-Large Improvements Project to review and update the ALAC Rules of Procedure. Cheryl Langdon-Orr will chair this WG.
  • Working Group to Establish a Set of Metrics for members of the ALAC – This WG will establish a set of metrics to be designed and to evaluate performance of ALAC members.
  • At-Large Improvements Project Taskforce – This taskforce will allocate the remaining recommendations and proposals of the At-Large Improvements Project to standing and ad hoc At-Large working groups. Cheryl Langdon-Orr will be the chair of this taskforce.

Further Progress Made in Transforming ALAC From Being Reactive to Forward-looking – Due in part to the progress the ALAC and the At-Large community have accomplished over the past three years since the first At-Large Summit held in March 2009, members are determined that the ALAC shall play its role more fully. This is in order to better discharge the duties of ALAC in the interest of the general Internet user. As a first manifestation of this work, the ALAC has set up a Future Challenges Working Group (FCWG). In Dakar, the FCWG held a meeting to discuss its themes of maximizing the effectiveness of the ALAC and registration abuse.

AFRALO/AfrICANN Preparatory Work on Cybercrime in Africa – The ALAC made particular note of and gave the highest compliments to the timely preparatory work of the African ICANN community (AfriICANN and AFRALO), regarding cybercrime in Africa. Following the incorporation of additional comments, the Statement of the African ICANN community on Cybercrime in Africa will be distributed to African national governments and CERTs as well as published in African media.

ALAC and At-Large Leadership Updates – The 2011 Annual General Meeting marks a change in leadership within the ALAC and its liaisons.

The ALAC recognized the valuable contributions of the following ALAC members and liaisons who left their leadership positions at the end of the Dakar Meeting.

  • Mohamed El Bashir – ALAC representative elected by AFRALO (March 2007 – October 2011)
  • Dave Kissoondoyal – NomCom appointed ALAC representative from the Africa Region (October 2009 – October 2011)
  • Cheryl Langdon-Orr – ALAC representative elected by APRALO (June 2007 – October 2011)
  • Sylvia Herlein Leite – ALAC representative elected by LACRALO (October 2009 – October 2011)
  • Gareth Shearman – ALAC representative elected by NARALO (October 2009 – October 2011)
  • James Seng – NomCom appointed ALAC representative from the Asian, Australasian and Pacific Islands Region (October 2009 – October 2011)
  • Patrick Vande Walle – ALAC Liaison to the SSAC (November 2008 – October 2011)
  • Andres Piazza – ALAC Liaison to Dotmobi (November 2008 – October 2011)

The ALAC was pleased to announce the incoming ALAC Officers, Representatives, and Liaisons, and At-Large Regional Officers.   

  • ALAC Officers:
    • Chair: Dr. Olivier Crépin-Leblond (Representative from the Europe Region)
    • Vice-Chair: Evan Leibovitch (Representative from the North America Region)
    • Vice-Chair: Carlton Samuels (Representative from the Latin America and Caribbean Islands Region)
    • Rapporteur: Tijani Ben Jemaa (Representative from the Africa Region)
    • Representative from the Asia, Australia, Pacific Region: Rinalia Abdul Rahim (NomCom Selectee to the ALAC from the Asia, Australia, Pacific Region)
  • ALAC Representatives:
    • Titi Akinsanmi (NomCom Selectee to the ALAC from the Africa Region)
    • Yaovi Atohoun (AFRALO)
    • Olivier Crépin-Leblond (EURALO)
    • Eduardo Diaz (NARALO)
    • Natalia Enciso (LACRALO)
    • Dr. Ganesh Kumar (NomCom Interim Selectee to the ALAC from the North America Region; Term began on 6 September 2011) 
    • Rinalia Abdul Rahim (NomCom Selectee to the ALAC from the Asia, Australia, Pacific Region)
    • Carlton Samuels (NomCom Selectee to the ALAC from the Latin America and Caribbean Islands Region)
    • Salanieta Tamanikaiwaimaro (APRALO)
  • ALAC Liaisons
    • ccNSO Liaison: Cheryl Langdon-Orr (APRALO)
    • GNSO Liaison: Alan Greenberg (NARALO) 
    • IDN Liaison: Edmon Chung (APRALO)
    • NCSG Liaison: Evan Leibovitch (NARALO)
    • DotMobi: To be determined
    • SSAC Liaison: To be determined

More Information

Staff Contact

Heidi Ullrich, Director for At-Large


20. Dakar Meetings Bring Completion of ALAC/At-Large Improvements Project into Sight

At a Glance

Following the ICANN Board's acceptance of the ALAC/At-Large Improvements Milestone Report in Dakar, the ALAC created an At-Large Improvements Taskforce with instructions to complete the project by ICANN's June 2012 Public Meeting.

Recent Developments

On 11 October, staff submitted the ALAC/At-Large Improvements Project Milestone Report [PDF, 531 KB], to the Board's Structural Improvements Committee (SIC). This report described the recently completed proposals being used by the ALAC to conclude its implementation of the At-Large Improvements recommendations, listed in the 2009 Final Report of the ALAC Review Working Group on ALAC Improvements [PDF, 270 KB].

The SIC then passed the Milestone Report onto the ICANN Board. During its Dakar meeting, the Board (in resolution 2011.10.28.09) acknowledged receipt of the report and the substantial amount of work done thus far by the ALAC and At-Large community toward implementing the ALAC Review Working Group recommendations.

Also in Dakar, the ALAC passed a motion to create an At-Large Improvements Taskforce to complete the implementation of these recommendations.  Heading this taskforce is Cheryl Langdon-Orr, the past ALAC Chair under whom the At-Large Improvements Project was launched.

Next Steps

The new At-Large Improvements Taskforce is currently being formed.  It will continue the Improvements Project's bottom-up, global emphasis by including the members of ALSes from all five of the RALOs.

At-Large is planning on completing the implementation of the ALAC Review recommendations by ICANN's Public Meeting in Prague in June 2012.

More Information

Staff Contact

Seth Greene, Consultant for At-Large


21. Silvia Vivanco Joins Policy Staff as Manager, At-Large Regional Affairs

At a Glance

Ms. Silvia Vivanco has joined ICANN Policy Team as Manager, At-Large Regional Affairs. In this position, Ms. Vivanco will be working directly with the RALOs and the individual ALSes to support them in their process and policy-related activities.

Recent Developments

Ms. Vivanco brings vast experience in working with global multi-stakeholder communities within an international policy development environment to ICANN. She has worked as both legal counsel and project manager with the United Nations in Austria as well as part of a legal team of a multinational telecommunications company headquartered in the United States.

She holds an LLM from the Georgetown University Law Center and a bachelor's degree from the University of Lima. Ms. Vivanco holds Peruvian and U.S. citizenship and speaks English, Spanish and some German.

She is based in the Washington, D.C. office.

Staff Contact

Silvia Vivanco, Manager, At-Large Regional Affairs


SSAC

22. Issues Active in the SSAC

update-nov11-en.pdf  [428 KB]

Domain Name System
Internationalized Domain Name ,IDN,"IDNs are domain names that include characters used in the local representation of languages that are not written with the twenty-six letters of the basic Latin alphabet ""a-z"". An IDN can contain Latin letters with diacritical marks, as required by many European languages, or may consist of characters from non-Latin scripts such as Arabic or Chinese. Many languages also use other types of digits than the European ""0-9"". The basic Latin alphabet together with the European-Arabic digits are, for the purpose of domain names, termed ""ASCII characters"" (ASCII = American Standard Code for Information Interchange). These are also included in the broader range of ""Unicode characters"" that provides the basis for IDNs. The ""hostname rule"" requires that all domain names of the type under consideration here are stored in the DNS using only the ASCII characters listed above, with the one further addition of the hyphen ""-"". The Unicode form of an IDN therefore requires special encoding before it is entered into the DNS. The following terminology is used when distinguishing between these forms: A domain name consists of a series of ""labels"" (separated by ""dots""). The ASCII form of an IDN label is termed an ""A-label"". All operations defined in the DNS protocol use A-labels exclusively. The Unicode form, which a user expects to be displayed, is termed a ""U-label"". The difference may be illustrated with the Hindi word for ""test"" — परीका — appearing here as a U-label would (in the Devanagari script). A special form of ""ASCII compatible encoding"" (abbreviated ACE) is applied to this to produce the corresponding A-label: xn--11b5bs1di. A domain name that only includes ASCII letters, digits, and hyphens is termed an ""LDH label"". Although the definitions of A-labels and LDH-labels overlap, a name consisting exclusively of LDH labels, such as""icann.org"" is not an IDN."