I have stayed relatively quiet in the ICANN and Human Rights (HR) 
discussion. I will make my position known here, in very brief language, 
not so much as to record my position but to bring some perspective to 
the possible way forward.

ICANN is a not-for-profit entity pledged to operate in the public 
interest. It goes without saying that this includes respect for Human 
Rights, but it may be worth having ICANN say it on the record, but leave 
it to others to judge ICANN’s record with regard to Human Rights.

What do I mean by that? What do I suggest? My thinking is that ICANN can 
pledge to consider the Human Rights aspects of all of its DNS Internet 
governance policies and implementation, but (BIG BUT) ICANN stops short 
of incorporating anything like a Human Rights check list, a Human Rights 
score card, or internal ICANN human rights performance monitoring, as it 
pursues policy development. Leave that to constituencies as they 
struggle within the multistakeholder policy development process, and 
leave the assessments of ICANN’s record to outside third parties for 
whom Human Rights are central to their own mission, vision and remit.

Why do I suggest this split between an ICANN pledge and outside 
monitoring? There is a legitimate fear that internalizing the monitoring 
process would malfunction at several levels. It could become unwieldy, 
it could become time consuming, it could become self-serving, and it 
could become a venue for proxy fights around other issues. Let ICANN and 
its multistakeholder policy making process, and its organizational 
implementation processes, be open and transparent, and let’s hold ICANN 
accountable on the Human Rights front by assessing it from outside ICANN.

This should not be a struggle over whether Human Rights are in or out of 
ICANN.

Sam L.  NPOC/CSIH

-- 
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"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
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Dr Sam Lanfranco (Prof Emeritus & Senior Scholar)
Econ, York U., Toronto, Ontario, CANADA - M3J 1P3
email: [log in to unmask]   Skype: slanfranco
blog:  http://samlanfranco.blogspot.com
Phone: +1 613-476-0429 cell: +1 416-816-2852