<font size=2 face=" Arial">Dear Thomas, dear James, </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">Dear Members of the reconvened Working Group,
</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">(1) Further to the discussions held during
the second meeting of the reconvened Working group IGO/INGO Protections
PDP Working Group held on 20 July, please find attached a copy of the Non-paper
we had submitted to ICANN’s Board and to the process in 2013. </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">The attached includes a descriptive of the
legal protections of the Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Crystal designations
and of the names/identifiers of the respective Red Cross and Red Crescent
organizations under international law and under the domestic laws in force
in multiple national jurisdictions. </font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">It includes as an annex an outline of relevant
extracts from the first Geneva Convention of 1949 and of the third Additional
Protocol adopted in 2005, and a list of national laws in force in different
national jurisdictions on the use and protection of the emblems and their
designations (the list would require now to be updated to include
more recent national laws/Governmental decrees, as adopted <i>inter alia</i>
in South Sudan, Sweden and Venezuela). </font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">(2) We take note, as underlined during the
recent reconvened Working group discussions, of the WG’s defined objectives
to determine whether the current protections accorded to the Red Cross
and Red Crescent designations and identifiers (as included under Specification
5 of the Model Registry Agreement) should be confirmed as permanent.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">In line with the recommendations of the
NGPC/the Board's Resolutions that the GNSO’s 2013 Recommendations be reconciled
with the GAC’s consistent advice, this would imply that the GNSO’s 2013
recommendations be revised on two counts: </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">- firstly, to extend the protections accorded
to the Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Crystal designations (Scope 1 identifiers)
to the full exact match names of the respective Red Cross and Red Crescent
organizations (Scope 2 identifiers); and </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">- second, to confirm the protections of
the Red Cross and Red Crescent designations and identifiers (Scope 1 and
Scope 2) <i>as permanent</i>.</font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">(3) As recalled during the last reconvened
Working Group session and in line with the GNSO’s decision to initiate
its process for Amendments or Modifications of Approved Policies <i>with
regard to Recommendation 5 Section 3.1 of the 2013 Final Report</i>, the
extension of the protections should importantly be made to cover not only
the names of the respective <i>National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies</i>
(190 in total to date), but also the full exact match names of the two
international components of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent
Movement in the six UN languages. This is congruent with the definition
of Scope 2 identifiers as included in the Final Report of the 2013 PDP
– page 10. </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">This is also confirmed under the Board’s
Resolution (2017.03.16.13) and the latter's Operative paragraph (1). </font>
<p><font size=2 face=" Arial">Reference is also made in this regard to
the GAC’s consistent advice [as expressly stipulated in the GAC Communiqués
adopted in Singapore (27 March 2014), Los Angeles (15 October 2014), Singapore
(11 February 2015), and confirmed in subsequent advice] that the Red Cross
and Red Crescent identifiers be afforded permanent protections. We wish
to underline in this regard that the names of the International Committee
of the Red Cross, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies, and of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent
Movement are included under Specification 5 to the Model Registry Agreement
and already enjoy temporary protections. </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">(4) With respect to the ICRC and IFRC acronyms
(also included under the definition of Scope 2 names adopted by the GNSO
in 2013), the extension of the <i>permanent</i> protections is not requested
here, and thus in line with the GAC’s past advice, as adopted in Durban
(18 July 2013), that <i>“[t]he same complementary cost neutral mechanisms
to be worked out […] for the protections of IGO’s be used to also protect
the acronyms of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC/IFRC)
and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
(IFRC/FICR)”</i>. Given however the importance of also protecting the
acronyms of the ICRC and of the IFRC (particularly the ICRC acronym under
which the ICRC is very commonly known and identified and which forms a
part of the ICRC’s institutional logo), we would propose that the reconvened
WG consider to issue also a recommendation in regard to the ICRC and IFRC
acronyms in line with the GAC’s above-mentioned Durban Communiqué. </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">(5) Lastly and further to recent exchanges
with ICANN Staff, we wish to inform the members of the reconvened Working
Group that, in line with the agreement during the Facilitated discussion
held in Copenhagen, we are amenable to work further on a revised list of
Red Cross and Red Crescent identifiers to replace the current list included
under Specification 5 – this would notably aim to amend the current titles
of the two categories of Red Cross and Red Crescent designations and identifiers
(as these do not offer clarity) and to further harmonize the list of National
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies identifiers (and their <i>limited</i>
and well defined variations). </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">We also wish members of the WG to note,
as indicated during the Copenhagen discussion, that a new National Society
is in the process of formation and recognition, namely the “Marshall Islands
Red Cross Society” and that its name will also soon require to be added
to the list. </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">Please do not hesitate to contact us should
you require any further clarification. </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">With kind regards,</font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">Charlotte </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">Charlotte Lindsey Curtet<br>
Director<br>
Communication and Information Management Department<br>
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)<br>
Tel: + 41 22 730 2773<br>
email: clindsey@icrc.org</font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">Annexes: </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial"> </font>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">- ICRC and IFRC Position paper to ICANN's
Board, July/August 2013:</font>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face=" Arial">- Extracts from the Government Advisory
Committee's Communiqués relevant to the protection of the Red Cross and
Red Crescent designations and identifiers:</font>
<br>
<br>
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