+1 Good statement, tx Milton! Kathy : > Great statement, and a great principle. I hope it receives wide > support within the NCSG and NCSG PC for endorsement. > > Thanks. > > Amr > > On Mar 17, 2014, at 2:52 AM, Rafik Dammak <[log in to unmask] > <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: > >> Hi Everyone, >> >> (cc NCSG-PC) >> >> Milton volunteered and drafted this statement regarding the NTIA >> announcement. we should be able to discuss (commenting here >> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VAkGj39ou5YkypFt0Vwqvyd1FTK31Ojm29s_gX-Ugrw/edit?usp=sharing >> ) and endorse it asap before Singapore meeting to show support and >> indicate our initial positions . >> >> Best Regards, >> >> Rafik >> >> >> ----------statement---------------- >> >> NCSG Statement on the globalization of the IANA functions >> >> The Noncommercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG) welcomes the 13 March 2014 >> statement from the U.S. Commerce Department announcing its intention >> to “transition key Internet domain name functions to the global >> multistakeholder community.” We support this move because an Internet >> governance regime that gives one national government exclusive powers >> over a global resource is bound to be politically biased, divisive >> and promote tendencies toward Internet fragmentation. This change is >> long overdue. >> >> NCSG supports all 5 of the principles NTIA proposed to guide the >> transition. We agree that the transition should: >> >> • Support and enhance the multistakeholder model; >> >> • Maintain the security, stability, and resiliency of the Internet DNS; >> >> • Meet the needs and expectation of the global customers and partners >> of the IANA services; >> >> • Maintain the openness of the Internet; >> >> • Not replace the NTIA role with a government-led or an >> inter-governmental organization. >> >> It is very important to replace the current system with a carefully >> considered, well-designed alternative. We note that noncommercial >> stakeholders have been leaders in developing plans for the proposed >> transition. Submissions to the Netmundial conference from two NCSG >> members, the Internet Governance Project and Avri Doria, have set out >> specific blueprints for the transition. >> >> Consistent with both of these proposals, NCSG proposes an additional >> principle to guide the transition. The transition should: >> >> • Enhance the accountability of ICANN through structural separation >> of the DNS root zone management functions from ICANN’s policy making >> functions >> >> The root zone management functions, which are currently performed by >> Verisign, Inc. and IANA under contracts with the U.S. government, are >> clerical, technical and operational, The policy making functions of >> ICANN, on the other hand, are highly political. NCSG believes that >> those two aspects of DNS governance must be kept apart, in separate >> organizations. Separating them ensures that those with policy and >> political objectives must win support for their ideas in a fair and >> open policy development process, and cannot arbitrarily impose them >> upon Internet users and service providers by virtue of their control >> of the operational levers of the global domain name system. >> >> The existing IANA contract attempts to keep the two separate; >> however, if ICANN simply absorbs the IANA and Verisign functions >> without any oversight from the U.S. government, there is a danger >> that the two could become integrated and intermingled in unhealthy >> ways. That is why the NCSG, along with supporters from other >> stakeholder groups, will insist on this new principle of separation >> during the transition process. >> >> The Department of Commerce has asked ICANN to “conven[e] stakeholders >> across the global Internet community to craft an appropriate >> transition plan.” Unfortunately, ICANN’s management seems to have >> interpreted this as a mandate to implement its own transition plan, >> in which it would simply take over the IANA functions with no >> oversight. NCSG wishes to remind ICANN that it has been charged with >> convening a process, not with controlling it. The transition will not >> work unless ICANN runs a truly open and deliberative process that >> allows the all ideas to be considered and the best ideas to win. >> >> NCSG is the voice of civil society and nonprofit organizations in >> ICANN’s domain name policy making organ, the Generic Names Supporting >> Organization. It is composed of two constituencies, the Noncommercial >> Users Constituency (http://ncuc.org <http://ncuc.org/>) and the >> Non-Profit Operational Constituencies (http://www.npoc.org >> <http://www.npoc.org/>) >> >> ----------end of statement------- >> >> >> <Preview.pdf>_______________________________________________ >> PC-NCSG mailing list >> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> >> http://mailman.ipjustice.org/listinfo/pc-ncsg >