At its meeting in Mexico City, the package of Registrar Accreditation Agreement amendments was unanimously approved. This was following a GNSO meeting earlier this year where the package was rejected. The ALAC had previously formally supported the acceptance of the RAA, not because it was felt to address all of our concerns, but rather that the proposed changes were in their own right, very important for the community. Going into the Mexico City meeting, there was significant distance between the various constituencies (and ALAC) and in fact two very distinct motions were on the table. The level of cooperation shown to achieve this result speaks well to the collaborative model that ICANN uses. The new motion below approved the amendments, but at the same time sets a hard deadline for completing a Registrant Charter of Rights and puts the Registrars on record as committing to quickly begin working in good faith to address further changes to the RAA. Alan =================================== Motion made by Tim Ruiz Seconded by Kristina Rosette Whereas, the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) has not been amended since May 2001, and ICANN has undertaken a lengthy consultative process related to amending the RAA, including several public comment periods and consultations; Whereas, the proposed changes to the RAA include important compliance and enforcement tools for ICANN; The Council wishes to approve the set of proposed amendments as quickly as possible so that the ICANN Board may review them, and if approved then implement them as quickly as possible; and Whereas, The Council would like to proceed on the drafting of a charter identifying registrant rights that registrars would be obliged to link to, as contemplated in the set of amendments; The Council would like a specific process and timeline to move forward with additional potential amendments to the RAA; and The Registrar Constituency is supportive of these efforts and is willing to participate on a good faith basis on anticipated next steps. Resolved: The GNSO Council supports the RAA amendments as documented in http://gnso.icann.org/drafts/current-list-proposed-raa-amendments-16dec08.pd... and recommends to the Board that they be adopted at its meeting of March 6, 2009; Within 30 days of Board approval of the set of amendments, representatives from the GNSO community and the ALAC shall be identified to participate in drafting a registrant rights charter, as contemplated by the amendments and the current GNSO Council discussions, with support from ICANN staff. A draft charter shall be completed no later than July 31 2009; and Within 30 days of Board approval of the set of amendments, the GNSO Council will form a Drafting Team to discuss further amendments to the RAA and to identify those on which further action may be desirable. The Drafting Team should endeavor to provide its advice to the Council and ICANN staff no later than July 31, 2009.