Interim Ombudsman Report to Board
Singapore 41
June 24, 2011
Mr. Chairman, Mr. President, members of the Board, ladies and gentleman, good morning.
I have been working for the Office of the Ombudsman since shortly after its inception and have had the opportunity to attend many ICANN meetings as Adjunct to the Ombudsman; this is my second ICANN meeting as Interim Ombudsman.
Mr. Chairman, to briefly summarize the activities of the Office since I assumed the role of Interim Ombudsman, there have been 10 complaints received by the Office since January 2011. This compares to 33 complaints lodged in the same period last year, January to June 2010. This is a noticeable reduction but I will mention that most of the complaints received for both years were non-jurisdictional and resolved through self-help or referral. I am hoping the reduction this year is due to education and a better understanding by the community regarding self-help and dispute resolution, as a result of information that is now available on the ICANN web pages and the Ombudsman web site.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Board and members of ICANN staff who have assisted me over the last 6 months. Your support, cooperation and assistance have been critical to the success of the Office.
There have been no outreach activities since the departure of the Ombudsman in January of this year; in my role as Interim Ombudsman I have chosen to focus my energy internally rather than externally.
I would like to acknowledge to the ICANN Board and community that there will be a delay in publishing an Annual Report for 2010. This, and addressing recommendation 24 of the ATRT report, will undoubtedly be the first priorities when the position of Ombudsman is staffed in the near future.
Until an Ombudsman is appointed, I plan to continue to focus my energy inward to serve this community of practice; this inspiring group of volunteers committed to the Internet and its governance. But I need your help; I need you to let me know what is right and what is wrong. I want you, the community, to know that I am interested in what you have to say. I cannot walk around the office every day like an organizational Ombudsman or sit down in the cafeteria and have lunch with you as can the Ombudsman of a university. I rely on you, the ICANN community, to initiate a dialogue with me; a simple e-mail so that we can discuss any issues you may have. Contact with the Office of the Ombudsman does not have to be on a complaint form. I hope to establish and maintain a communication network at a much more informal level.
Ombudsman@icann.org is the address you can use to reach the Office of the Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman’s role is to listen to you, everyone in this room and those listening and watching remotely. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you.