Dear Olivier and colleagues,

Thank you for your thoughtful and urgent message highlighting the troubling developments regarding the deferral of ATRT4 and broader accountability issues at ICANN.

As someone who served on the ATRT3 team and contributed directly to the recommendations, I share your concern that the Board’s recent decision appears to disregard both the Bylaw requirements and the principles of continuous accountability and transparency that the ATRT process is designed to uphold.

During ATRT3, we made significant efforts to ensure that our recommendations would strengthen ICANN’s accountability mechanisms and foster community trust in the multi-stakeholder model. It is disheartening to see that, rather than advancing the review cycle in line with Bylaw Section 4.6 (b) (vi), the Board has chosen to defer ATRT4 indefinitely. This not only contravenes the letter of the Bylaws but also undermines the very purpose of these periodic reviews—to prevent the erosion of community accountability and trust.

I agree with you that the ALAC has a duty to act firmly in the face of these developments. Filing a Reconsideration Request is a legitimate step, as the Board’s inaction on ATRT4 has direct and adverse effects on the effectiveness of the ICANN review process and the community’s ability to hold ICANN accountable.

Given the role of ATRT3 in shaping the continuous improvement framework and our collective efforts to provide recommendations that would be both actionable and meaningful, I believe it is essential for the ALAC to assert its mandate and push back against this apparent sidelining of community reviews.

I fully support the call for the ALAC to initiate a Reconsideration Request promptly and to engage with other supportive stakeholders to ensure that ICANN’s accountability and transparency commitments remain robust and in line with its Bylaws.

Thank you again for bringing this to our attention with such clarity and urgency.

Best regards,

Daniel K. Nanghaka