Niels,

tl;dr A NCSG-organized session about these defenders seems reasonable.
      ICANN's role in human rights issues is limited though. 

At 2015-12-09 10:56:11 +0100
Niels ten Oever <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I hope this email finds you well. As you all know, the next ICANN
> meeting will be in Marrakesh. Morrocco hasn't got a great track record
> when it comes to human rights, and right now, seven human rights
> defenders are on trial.

:(

I only wish Morocco were more unusual in the world in this regard.
 
> I think it would be good if we the NCSG we could give proper attention
> to this case and invite the human rights defenders to our session(s)
> so give them support, shed light on their case and call for the
> protection of freedom of expression in Morrocco.

...

> Am eager to hear from you how you think we could support these
> colleagues in distress, how we could visibility for their cases and
> how we could integrate these discussions in our work at ICANN.

I would not be surprised if during the opening ceremony that there will
be someone from the Moroccan government telling us how important the
Internet is to Morocco and how much they support ICANN and its work.

Having a separate voice or voices reminding the ICANN community that
there are serious issues with how Morocco treats its citizens seems
reasonable to me. If this has to happen at a session organized by the
NCSG, it is better than nothing. Certainly human rights activists are
an important part of the NCSG constituency. It's even in our charter. :)


Note that I don't know if ICANN actually has a role to play in human
rights in general, unless abuses are preventing participation in ICANN
processes or subverting ICANN policies. ICANN's mandate is Internet
identifiers.

It is *possible* for ICANN to expand its role, or at least for the
NCSG to recommend that ICANN expand its role. I do not personally think
that ICANN should do this, and even if I did, it seems unlikely to
succeed. I am happy if someone can convince me otherwise though! :)

Cheers,

--
Shane