<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Mike,</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Great idea and thank you for pulling
this together. I support. <br>
</font>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Best wishes for the New year,</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Martin</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 color=red face="Arial"><b>Martin C SUTTON</b> </font>
<br><font size=2 color=red face="Arial">Group Risk </font>
<br><font size=1 face="Arial">Manager, Group Fraud Risk and Intelligence
| HSBC HOLDINGS PLC HGHQ<br>
Group Security & Fraud Risk<br>
8 Canada Square,Canary Wharf,London,E14 5HQ,United Kingdom</font>
<br><font size=1 color=red face="Arial">________________________________________________________________<br>
</font>
<br><font size=1 color=#4f4f4f face="Arial">Phone. +44 (0)20
7991 8074 / 7991 8074</font>
<br><font size=1 color=#4f4f4f face="Arial">Mobile. +44 (0)
7774556680</font>
<br><font size=1 color=#4f4f4f face="Arial">Email.
</font><a href=mailto:martinsutton@hsbc.com><font size=1 color=red face="Arial"><u>martinsutton@hsbc.com</u></font></a>
<br><font size=1 color=red face="Arial">________________________________________________________________</font>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<table width=100%>
<tr valign=top>
<td width=41%><font size=1 face="sans-serif"><b>"Michael D. Palage"
<michael@palage.com></b> </font>
<br><font size=1 face="sans-serif">Sent by: owner-bc-gnso@icann.org</font>
<p><font size=1 face="sans-serif">Jan 05 2011 23:22</font>
<br>
<br><font size=1 color=#808080 face="sans-serif"><b>Mail Size: 21548</b></font>
<br>
<td width=58%>
<table width=100%>
<tr valign=top>
<td>
<div align=right><font size=1 face="sans-serif">To</font></div>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif"><bc-gnso@icann.org></font>
<tr valign=top>
<td>
<div align=right><font size=1 face="sans-serif">cc</font></div>
<td>
<tr valign=top>
<td>
<div align=right><font size=1 face="sans-serif">Subject</font></div>
<td><font size=1 face="sans-serif">[bc-gnso] ICANN Board - GAC Meeting</font></table>
<br></table>
<br>
<br>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Hello All,</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">As many of you may know the ICANN
Board and GAC have scheduled an intercessional meeting in Geneva 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.</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Best regards,</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">Michael</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">DRAFT TEXT</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">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. </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">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.</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">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 Geneva. Switzerland.
</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">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.</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">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. </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">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:</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">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.” </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">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.
</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">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.
</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">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.</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">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.</font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman">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 Geneva. Therefore,
ICANN should also provide real time transcription and audio streaming of
the proceedings, with an MP3 recording in a timely manner. </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"> </font>
<br>
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