It has been a momentous month for the ICANN community. On behalf of the Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability), we welcome the U.S. Government report that our recommendations meet their requirements. We are actively engaged in the prep work needed for a timely implementation of these new accountability mechanisms into ICANN’s ecosystem.
Looking ahead, our ongoing work to advance ICANN’s accountability is not complete. The CCWG-Accountability identified nine additional areas where community, staff and Board accountability can be improved. These target areas, recognized as Work Stream 2, are outlined in Recommendation #12 of the Work Stream 1 Report.
To launch Work Stream 2, the CCWG-Accountability will be holding a full-day face-to-face meeting in Helsinki on the Sunday before ICANN56 (26 June 2016). All Work Stream 2 topics will be covered during the session. The full agenda can be found here.
The topics that will be discussed are:
- Additional transparency considerations
- Diversity across ICANN
- Clarifying the lines of accountability for ICANN staff
- A work plan to enhance accountability of Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees
- A Framework of Interpretation on respecting human rights within ICANN’s limited mission and scope
- Expanding the list of jurisdictions identified in ICANN’s contracts, for purposes of resolving contractual disputes [1]
- Role and function of the Ombudsman
- Guidelines for good faith conduct in ICANN Board member removal discussions
- Engagement process between a complainant and ICANN prior to an Independent Review Process
We encourage all members, participants and interested observers that are not attending ICANN56 to follow along with our discussions via our Adobe Room. In addition, we will be circulating notes on each of the topics to the publicly archived CCWG-Accountability mailing list to serve as the base of our discussions moving forward.
If you are interested in debating these Work Stream 2 topics and want to become a participant or observer of the CCWG-Accountability, please send an email to acct-staff@icann.org.
For those of you who will be joining us in Helsinki, safe travels and we look forward to seeing you soon!
CCWG-Accountability co-Chairs,
Thomas Rickert, Leon Sanchez, Mathieu Weill
[1] The CCWG-Accountability Work Stream 1 Report has confirmed that ICANN is a California-based organization and acknowledged that jurisdiction is a multi-layered issue. As noted on page 8 of Annex 12 in the CCWG-Accountability Work Stream 1 Report, “The main issues that need to be investigated within Work Stream 2 relate to the influence that ICANN ́s existing jurisdiction may have on the actual operation of policies and accountability mechanisms. This refers primarily to the process for the settlement of disputes within ICANN, involving the choice of jurisdiction and of the applicable laws, but not necessarily the location where ICANN is incorporated.”