Great work. I support the statement as well. -- Niels ten Oever Acting Head of Digital Article 19 www.article19.org A digital signature is attached to this e-mail, you need openPGP software to verify it. See:http://is.gd/Y06WEs Key fingerprint = 8D9F C567 BEE4 A431 56C4 678B 08B5 A0F2 636D 68E9 On 03/18/2014 11:36 AM, Brenden Kuerbis wrote: > Thanks Rafik and Milton, I support this statement. > > - Brenden > On Mar 16, 2014 9:52 PM, "Rafik Dammak" <[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) and the Non-Profit Operational Constituencies ( >> http://www.npoc.org) >> ----------end of statement------- >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> PC-NCSG mailing list >> [log in to unmask] >> http://mailman.ipjustice.org/listinfo/pc-ncsg >> >> >