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<title>Re: [bc-gnso] Who we are</title>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>Job well done! RNA Partners supports this
initiative as well.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>Kind regards and Happy New Year to all!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>RA<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>Ronald N. Andruff</span></font><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>RNA Partners, Inc.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><ns0:Street w:insAuthor="Owner"
w:insDate="2011-01-06T04:16:00Z" w:endInsAuthor="Owner"
w:endInsDate="2011-01-06T04:16:00Z"><ns0:address w:insAuthor="Owner"
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w:insAuthor="Owner" w:insDate="2011-01-06T04:16:00Z" w:endInsAuthor="Owner"
w:endInsDate="2011-01-06T04:16:00Z"><ns0:City w:insAuthor="Owner"
w:insDate="2011-01-06T04:16:00Z" w:endInsAuthor="Owner"
w:endInsDate="2011-01-06T04:16:00Z"></ns0:City><ns0:State w:insAuthor="Owner"
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w:endInsDate="2011-01-06T04:16:00Z"></ns0:State><ns0:PostalCode
w:insAuthor="Owner" w:insDate="2011-01-06T04:16:00Z" w:endInsAuthor="Owner"
w:endInsDate="2011-01-06T04:16:00Z"></ns0:PostalCode></ns0:place><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></span></font></p>
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size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:blue'> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
owner-bc-gnso@icann.org [mailto:owner-bc-gnso@icann.org] <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Michael D. Palage<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Wednesday, January 05, 2011
6:21 PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> bc-gnso@icann.org<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> [bc-gnso] ICANN Board -
GAC Meeting</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Hello All,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>As many of you may know
the ICANN Board and GAC have scheduled an intercessional meeting in <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Geneva</st1:place></st1:City> next month to
resolve outstanding issues in connection with the new gTLD implementation
process. Unfortunately to date details of whether this meeting will be
open/closed to observers has not yet been publicly addressed. As a strong
advocate toward openness and transparency I have drafted the following text
which calls for the meeting to be open to observers, I did so after talking
with several ICANN stakeholders that shared these same concerns. It
would be my hope that SOs/ACs/SGs and individuals could make their voice heard
on this important issue. I welcome any questions/comments.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Best regards,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Michael<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>DRAFT TEXT<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'>Over the
past eighteen months ICANN has had the opportunity to navigate through a number
of challenges and achievements: expiration of the Joint Project Agreement
and the negotiation and signing of the Affirmation of Commitments; introduction
of new internationalized top-level domains in the ccTLD fast track process;
preparing for the pending exhaustion of IPv4 address space while advancing the
visibility of IPv6; and progress on addressing remaining work on the proposed
Applicant Guidebook/process to introduce new gTLDs, including IDNs. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'>As
important as these initiatives have been, ICANN is now experiencing a new
challenge, an upcoming consultation between the ICANN Board and Government
Advisory Committee (GAC). This consultation appears to be the first time that
ICANN’s Board and the GAC will use provisions set forth in Article XI Section 2
to resolve situations where the Board has decided to reject GAC advice.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'>In many
ways, the legacy of ICANN’s leadership will be significantly impacted by how
the parameters are established for this upcoming consultation between the ICANN
Board and the GAC, which appears to have been scheduled for the end of February
in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Geneva</st1:place></st1:City>. <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Switzerland</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'>While
the undersigned support this meeting as an important step in bringing about the
responsible conclusion of the new gTLD implementation process, and other issues
as defined in the GAC Communiqué, we call on the Board to provide certain
safeguards to protect ICANN’s legitimacy as a bottom up, private sector led
consensus driven global organization.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'>We
respectfully request that this consultation between the Board and GAC be open
to observers, consistent with the practices of GAC – Board interactions at the
public meetings which ICANN holds three times a year. Since this is the first
meeting of this nature in ICANN’s eleven year history, the precedent for all
future such meetings will be established by this meeting. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'>We note
that no clear communication on this aspect of the meeting has yet been
provided. Therefore, we believe it is timely to express the views of the ICANN
community on this topic. Specifically, that ICANN should provide for both onsite
and remote observers to this interaction. An examination of the relevant ICANN
bylaws, commitments and best practices are provided below:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:32.0pt;line-height:115%;text-autospace:
none'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:32.0pt;line-height:115%;text-autospace:
none'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%'>Article I, Section 3 of the ICANN Bylaws states that “ICANN
and its constituent bodies shall operate to the maximum extent feasible in an
open and transparent manner and consistent with procedures designed to ensure
fairness.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:31.5pt;text-indent:.5pt;line-height:115%;
text-autospace:none'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'>Article 3 of the Affirmation of
Commitment (AoC) states that ICANN commits to “ensur[ing] that decisions made
related to the global technical coordination of the DNS are made in the public
interest and are accountable and transparent.” While the GAC is clearly suited
to provide advice to ICANN regarding “public interest”, this advice should be
provided in an open meeting accommodating observers. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:32.0pt;line-height:115%;text-autospace:
none'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:32.0pt;line-height:115%;text-autospace:
none'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%'>The new gTLD policy development and implementation process
has been a multi-year process that has taken place through a series of public
consultations, and since the majority of the items that will be discussed in
this intercessional meeting are about concerns of the GAC regarding aspects of
the new gTLD Applicant Guidebook, we ask that this meeting provide for both
onsite and remote observers. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:32.0pt;line-height:115%;text-autospace:
none'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:32.0pt;line-height:115%;text-autospace:
none'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%'>Holding the intercessional meeting in a closed manner will
raise questions of legitimacy, and could have a chilling effect on future ICANN
policy development processes. We believe it is also not consistent with the
form of multi stakeholder model that ICANN embodies. It may even have a
negative impact on ICANN’s legitimacy within the broader stakeholder community,
which has supported it over the last twelve years.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'>Recently,
ICANN was a recent signatory to a collaborative letter raising concerns about
the actions taken by the Commission on Science and Technology for Development
(CSTD) Bureau to exclude non-government actors from full participation in the
Working Group on Improvements to the Internet Governance Forum. ICANN
participated in both the UN Consultation on Enhanced Cooperation, and in the
CSTD Panel held on December 17, and actively supported the importance of
allowing private sector stakeholders in these meetings. It is hard to
reconcile ICANN’s position in this letter if it organizes a closed
intercessional meeting with the GAC to resolve outstanding issues in the new
gTLD Applicant Guidebook/process.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%;text-autospace:none'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'>We accept that there may be space
limitations for observers, as there often are in the face to face ICANN
meetings. Given logistics and budgetary restraints, it is unlikely that large
numbers of in-person attendees would travel to <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Geneva</st1:place></st1:City>. Therefore, ICANN should also provide
real time transcription and audio streaming of the proceedings, with an MP3
recording in a timely manner. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:115%'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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