Hi Sam,

Fully agree that the best time to raise these issues is in the course
of the selection process - obviously we're not going to move ICANN 60
away from UAE at this point.

However, I do not agree that we should deliberately muzzle ourselves
for the course of the event. I don't plan on launching into an
unprompted tirade against the UAE government during my participation
there, because that government's human rights record isn't really what
we're there to discuss. But if that subject were to come up, I
certainly wouldn't commit to glossing it over for the sake of
respecting any understanding ICANN may have reached with the
authorities. For example, if a UAE government rep began to wax on
about how progressive their policies towards Internet access are, I
would feel the need to call them out on that, and I believe that would
be absolutely appropriate.

Michael

On Thu, Jun 29, 2017 at 12:13 AM, Sam Lanfranco <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Constituency Colleagues,
>
> The subject of human rights and, in particular, the rights of digital
> citizenship in countries hosting ICANN meetings, is both the elephant and
> the gorilla (the unspoken issues) in ICANN Conference venue discussions.
> Without going into specifics, in the past several years ICANN has held its
> conferences in countries where, while ICANN was meeting, governments were
> exercising extreme control over their citizenry’s access to the Internet and
> cell phone service.
>
> What is absolutely clear is that ICANN should have venue criteria that are
> sensitive to these issues, and these are issues that should be raised in all
> ICANN venue selection discussions.
>
> What is also absolutely clear is that such issues should be raised and
> addressed prior to the selection of a venue. The subsequent ICANN event
> should not be used as a platform for raising country specific issues. I
> would go so far as to recommend that for countries with human rights issues,
> digital or otherwise, if and when ICANN reaches what it considers as a
> satisfactory arrangement, there is an understanding that during the event
> none of ICANN’s constituency groups will publicly, or in collaboration with
> local groups, engage in activities that challenge human rights record and
> policies of the local government.
>
> This is not because governments should not be challenged on their record,
> and it is not because local groups should not be supported. It is also not
> just because these issues should be sorted out prior to venue selection. It
> is because delegates to ICANN meetings are in a privileged position, and
> while public displays would probably not put delegates at risk, they would
> put local collaborators at risk, especially after ICANN has left the scene.
>
> Sam Lanfranco
>
> ------------------------------------------------
> "It is a disgrace to be rich and honoured
> in an unjust state" -Confucius
>  邦有道，贫且贱焉，耻也。邦无道，富且贵焉，耻也
> ------------------------------------------------
> Dr Sam Lanfranco (Prof Emeritus & Senior Scholar)
> Econ, York U., Toronto, Ontario, CANADA - M3J 1P3
> email: [log in to unmask]   Skype: slanfranco
> blog:  https://samlanfranco.blogspot.com
> Phone: +1 613-476-0429 cell: +1 416-816-2852