Dear all, Please find below the agenda for the GNSO Council meeting taking place on 21 May 2026 at 05:00 UTC. This will be posted on the agenda wiki page <https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/MoA_J> shortly. Thank you. Kind regards, Terri Policy Team Supporting the GNSO ********** GNSO Council Agenda 21 May 2026 Please note that all documents referenced in the agenda have been gathered on a Wiki page for convenience and easier access: https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/CIBNJ. This agenda was established according to the GNSO Operating Procedures<https://gnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/file/field-file-attach/op-procedu...> v3.5, updated on 15 March 2023. For convenience: * An excerpt of the ICANN Bylaws defining the voting thresholds is provided in Appendix 1 at the end of this agenda. * An excerpt from the Council Operating Procedures defining the absentee voting procedures is provided in Appendix 2 at the end of this agenda. GNSO Council meeting on Thursday, 21 May 2026 at 05:00 UTC: https://tinyurl.com/5hy4zjwe (Wednesday) 22:00 Los Angeles; (Thursday) 01:00 Washington DC; 06:00 London; 07:00 Paris; 08:00 Moscow; 15:00 Melbourne GNSO Council Meeting Remote Participation: <https://icann.zoom.us/j/91048235847?pwd=bmEHjk0uYT3sR2DIoE0c0yw4HKbM6O.1> https://icann.zoom.us/j/92983839529?pwd=R0BcWsye1mbmk1uFXUbeN42WAt2jyP.1 Councilors should notify the GNSO Secretariat in advance if they will not be able to attend and/or need a dial out call. ___________________________________ Item 1: Administrative Matters (5 minutes) 1.1 - Roll Call 1.2 - Updates to Statements of Interest 1.3 - Review / Amend Agenda 1.4 - Note the status of minutes for the previous Council meetings per the GNSO Operating Procedures: Minutes<https://gnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/policy/2026/minutes/minutes-gnso-...> of the GNSO Council Meeting on 11 March 2026 were posted on 29 March 2026. Minutes <https://gnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/policy/2026/minutes/minutes-gnso-...> of the GNSO Council Meeting on 16 April 2026 were posted on 30 April 2026. Item 2: Opening Remarks / Review of Projects & Action List (5 minutes) 2.1 - Review focus areas and provide updates on specific key themes / topics, to include review of Projects List<https://gnso.icann.org/en/council/project> and Action Item List. <https://community.icann.org/x/RgZlAg> Item 3: COUNCIL VOTE - Board Un-Adoption Process in Updated GGP and PDP Manuals (20 minutes) In November 2025, the GNSO Council published a proposed process to enable the ICANN Board to reconsider a previously adopted policy recommendation from the GNSO for public comment<https://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/proceeding/proposed-gnso-process-for...>. The proposal is based on the identification of a procedural gap, specifically the lack of a defined process for the Board to reconsider an adopted GNSO policy recommendation. The process is proposed to be contained in updates to the GNSO Operating Procedures, specifically updates to the Policy Development Process (PDP) Manual and the GNSO Guidance Process (GGP) Manual. Prior to developing updated text, the Council proposed to the ICANN Board the placement of these process in the PDP and GGP Manuals, with the Board agreeing to the placement. Based on the public comments received, GNSO Support Staff proposed and circulated<https://lists.icann.org/hyperkitty/list/council@icann.org/thread/AG5GYIOAK77...> updated text for the PDP<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WxnQEsswTbeLuT-D_iZzD8N9BXGIgiGkYiaADsxH...> and GGP<https://docs.google.com/document/d/159UvOrKfigdEvWCB9f4cmHNo8cVVlOMCE2LTTREX...> Manuals to the Council. The updated text, which was presented during the March 2026 Council meeting<https://icann.zoom.us/rec/play/152o_2p-GXyQcg7t2rfUd4Tnn8d778AkXhDRZzL16RRR1...> endeavors to strike the right balance of necessary flexibility and appropriate guardrails. Councilors were asked to discuss the proposed updates with their groups and share feedback. The Council further discussed the proposed updates during its meeting on 16 April 2026<https://icann.zoom.us/rec/play/bGwYr-puVuR4yPSg_nIWmhIUtn7Vc49wt9qgWhx-9V48a...>. Here, the Council will vote on the updated PDP<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WxnQEsswTbeLuT-D_iZzD8N9BXGIgiGkYiaADsxH...> and GGP<https://docs.google.com/document/d/159UvOrKfigdEvWCB9f4cmHNo8cVVlOMCE2LTTREX...> Manuals. 3.1 - Presentation of Motion (Jennifer Chung, GNSO Council Vice-Chair) 3.2 - Council Vote (voting threshold: simple majority of each house) 3.3 - Next Steps Item 4: COUNCIL VOTE - Council Process for Response to SPIRT Request (20 minutes) The Standing Predictability Implementation Review Team (SPIRT) was chartered<https://gnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/policy/2025/draft/version2point0-...> by the GNSO Council to utilize the Predictability Framework outlined in the New gTLD Program: 2026 Round Applicant Guidebook<https://newgtldprogram.icann.org/en/application-rounds/round2/agb> to collaborate with ICANN org on all non-minor changes to the New gTLD Program (including policy changes) when issues arise during the course of the New gTLD Program. The GNSO Council is responsible for oversight of the SPIRT. According to the Charter, the SPIRT “cannot directly refer an issue to itself, but it may have an issue referred to it by the GNSO Council, confer with the GNSO Council if it wishes to request change and determine the change mechanism.” The SPIRT Leadership Team noted this limitation and acknowledging the constraint, the SPIRT developed a mechanism to confer with the GNSO Council, through the GNSO Council Liaison to the SPIRT, on issues submitted by members of the SPIRT. On 16 April 2026<https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/agAyJ>, Lawrence Olawale-Roberts, GNSO Council Liaison to the SPIRT, provided the GNSO Council with a brief overview of the process. As noted in the April GNSO Council meeting, the process developed by the SPIRT only applies to the requests submitted by SPIRT members since they “cannot directly refer an issue to itself” and must receive GNSO Council approval before discussing a SPIRT-referred request with ICANN org. In other words, it will serve as a proactive alert mechanism for the SPIRT to alert the Council of a potential issue. The process outlines two response pathways for the Council to engage and respond back to SPIRT; a standard process and an expedited process. The standard process aims to have Council make a decision within no more than two (2) Council Meetings after receiving the request from the SPIRT. The expedited process, intended to apply only where the issue is time-sensitive, enables SPIRT-referred issue to be discussed with ICANN org after a 72-hour consent period from GNSO Council members. If GNSO Council members object to an expedited SPIRT-referred request, the SPIRT-referred request would be added to the subsequent GNSO Council meeting for discussion. This does not limit and is exclusive of the GNSO Council’s ability to refer an issue to the SPIRT for discussion with ICANN org. To clarify any points of confusion and address outstanding issues, given the time constraints during the Council’s April meeting, the Process for Response to SPIRT Request was subsequently added to the May GNSO Council meeting agenda. Here, the Council will discuss the proposed process and vote on it . 4.1 - Introduction of Topic (Lawrence Olawale-Roberts, GNSO Council Liaison to the SPIRT) 4.2 - Council Discussion 4.3 - Council Vote (voting threshold: simple majority of each house) 4.4 - Next Steps Item 5: Council Discussion - GNSO Mechanism for Work Prioritization (20 minutes) During the GNSO Council’s second Working Session at ICANN82<https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/gnsocouncilmeetings/pages/...>, in March 2025, the Council discussed its immediate and longer term pipeline of work, including work that the Council has previously committed to, e.g. Latin Diacritics, RPMs Phase 2, and a list of potential topics the GNSO Council could consider for future PDPs. At the time, the Council suggested that “level of effort” be integrated into the prioritization document, to help provide important context for the prioritization exercise. An updated prioritization document<https://gnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/policy/2025/draft/gnso-council-pr...> was shared with Council on 05 September 2025. Following the Council’s September meeting, Councilors were asked to share the updated prioritization document<https://gnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/policy/2025/draft/gnso-council-pr...> with their respective groups for further feedback and guidance. The Council further discussed this topic during its recent Strategic Planning Session in January 2026. During that session, the Council agreed that its current priorities include DNS abuse, and next steps for SSAD recommendations. Councilors also noted the current Action Decision Radar is an appropriate tool to assist in objectively assessing future decisions, provided there are built-in flexibility principles as new issues emerge. However, the Council also agreed that the ADR could coexist with a Council prioritization framework, as they serve different functions and accomplish separate things. The Council requested GNSO Support Staff to update the prioritization documents based on this discussion. A further updated prioritization document was shared with the Council, which supported the Council’s discussion during its February meeting. There, the Council agreed that it wished to pursue options to be able to prioritize its work in the future, and a briefing document was prepared which sets out various potential mechanisms Council might use in order to prioritise its work, for consideration and discussion. Tapani Tarvainen, a Councilor from the NCSG, volunteered to provide suggestions on a prioritization mechanism; Tapani provided that suggestion on the Council email list. The Council leadership team took into consideration the suggested mechanisms from both staff and Tapani, and would like to suggest a blended approach that takes inputs from both sources. Additionally, the leadership team would like to emphasize that whatever mechanism is ultimately selected can be viewed as a pilot, undergoing modification in the future as needed. Here, the Council will seek to agree upon a prioritization mechanism. 5.1 - Introduction of Topic (Jennifer Chung, GNSO Council Vice-Chair) 5.2 - Council Discussion 5.3 - Next Steps Item 6: Any other business (20 minutes) 6.1 - ICANN86 Planning * GNSO Prep Week Webinar - 28 May at 13:00 UTC * GNSO Council members will be panelists and expected to join, unless apologies given in advance. Questions will be taken from GNSO Council only. 6.2 - DNS Abuse PDP2 Charter Drafting 6.3 - SPIRT Issue regarding RSP _______________________________ Appendix 1: GNSO Council Voting Thresholds (ICANN Bylaws, Article 11, Section 11.3(i)) See https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/governance/bylaws-en/#article11. Appendix 2: GNSO Council Absentee Voting Procedures (GNSO Operating Procedures, Section 4.4) See https://gnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/file/field-file-attach/op-procedu...