Without taking a position on Niels proposal, there is an ongoing issue directly within ICANN's scope related to human rights that I hope we might be able to explore within one of our meetings in Morocco. This concerns delegation of EH.
EH is the ISO 3166-1 alpha 2 code for Western Sahara. I should emphasise it is a code under ISO 3166-1, generally national designations, and not 3166-2, which designates subregions. Western Sahara is a territory that is disputed between Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Although not a UN member, the SADR inc recognised by 80 plus countries, with 40 plus states currently maintaining diplomatic relations with the group.
Delegation of the EH ccTLD has been frozen pending negotiations that have been ongoing for decades. There is a territory controlled under various agreements by the SADR, an internationally recognised government, yet they are currently forced to use the Moroccan ccTLD.
I'd like to learn more about how ICANN deals with situations like these, generally, and the Western Sahara in particular. Is ICANN's policy dictated by the United Stares government? Might / should this change post transition? The CCWG in work stream 2 is going to have a subgroup on jurisdiction, namely that applicable to ICANN. Should we add this topic to it's remit?
As we discuss human rights and ICANN in the context of the Morocco meeting I wanted to bring this up. It certainly is within ICANN's scope and mission, involves recognition by ICANN of the sovereignty of the clearly defined internationally recognised group...might be an interesting issue to explore.
From: "Tapani Tarvainen" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, December 10, 2015 12:04 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Marrakesh & 7 human rights defenders
Thank you Rafik.
We do indeed need to be careful here, good intentions do not guarantee
good results. Hasty action could easily do more harm than good to both
the people in question as well as our future ability to influence
ICANN's human rights and other policies.
But as I expected, you are clearly aware of all this and well able to
evaluate various alternatives and their possible repercussions, so
I'm happy you're willing to take the lead on this.
Best,
Tapani
On Dec 10 11:39, Rafik Dammak (
[log in to unmask]) wrote:
> Hi Tapani,
>
> happy to do that, I will first investigate what are the options and what
> can be done, discussing with the moroccan friends and locals. I am aware
> about the political context and sensitivity in the country, and will get
> more info and feedback anyway.
>
> I saw the latest responses and I think they jumped too quickly to some
> conclusion. I didn't see any proposal for protest or something similar such
> occupying the space. I don't think those activists would ask for any bold
> action or ICANN as organization to take position in the matter. they are
> cautious and pragmatic, aware of the limits. we will discuss with them
> anyway about the best options, having their safety in mind.
>
> btw regarding a parallel event, I may respond to that quickly. ADN, the
> association, was prevented several times from having public meetings so I
> would assume that option doesn't sound realistic.
>
> Best,
>
> Rafik
>
> 2015-12-09 23:11 GMT+09:00 Tapani Tarvainen <
[log in to unmask]>:
>
> > Hi Niels,
> >
> > I think this is an excellent idea.
> >
> > But exactly what and how, that is a difficult question.
> >
> > Fortunately we have people with local knowledge who can
> > help us plan this in more detail. I should think Rafik
> > would be in an ideal position to coordinate this effort,
> > if his undoubtedly busy schedule allows.
> >
> > Rafik, what do you think?
> >
> > Tapani
> >
> > On Wed, Dec 09, 2015 at 10:56:11AM +0100, Niels ten Oever (
> >
[log in to unmask]) wrote:
> >
> > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> > > Hash: SHA256
> > >
> > > Dear all,
> > >
> > > 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 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.
> > >
> > > More information on the seven can be found here:
> > > https://www.freepressunlimited.org/en/news/these-seven-moroccan-human-ri
> > > ghts-defenders-are-on-trial
> > >
> > > and here:
> > >
> > > https://www.freepressunlimited.org/en/news/international-appeal-to-the-m
> > > oroccan-authorities-to-drop-charges-against-human-rights-defenders
> > >
> > > 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.
> > >
> > > Best,
> > >
> > > Niels
> > >
> > > - --
> > > Niels ten Oever
> > > Head of Digital
> > >
> > > Article 19
> > > www.article19.org
> > >
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