Dear LACRALO members I believe this is an interesting opinion from a member of ICG and former board and alac member -Jean Jacques Subrenat - you should read. Good read... From Jean Jacques :
as one of the two members chosen by the ALAC for the ICG, it is my pleasant duty to share with the ALAC, and with its Transition Working Group, some PERSONAL observations on the current status of the IANA Oversight Transition Proposal, shortly after the NTIA published its Assessment Report.
1) THE ASSESSMENT REPORT ("Assessment") The Assessment makes clear that the ICG's Transition Proposal ("Proposal") meets all four criteria set out by the NTIA: it supports and enhances the multistakeholder model; maintains the security, stability, and resiliency of the Internet DNS; meets the needs and expectations of the global customers and partners of the IANA services; and maintains the openness of the Internet. The Assessment supports the overall Proposal, its findings, conclusions and recommendations. It is important to note that the Assessment covers not only the ICG Proposal, but also the CCWG-Accountability recommendations, which dealt with other aspects necessary for the Transition of Oversight. Published by the NTIA on 9th June 2016, the Assessment does not only express the opinion of the NTIA itself. It also carries the approval of other US government agencies such as the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), as well as the opinion of an expert panel of corporate governance experts. Viewed from outside the US, this collective approval, beyond the NTIA alone, would appear to enhance the authority of the Assessment.
2) THE ICG EXPERIENCE As soon as the NTIA called for a Transition Proposal, and as an outgoing member of the ALAC, I pointed out the potential importance of the ICG for our global community, and requested that the ALAC quickly designate 2 representatives. That led to the appointment of Mohamed El Bashir and myself. In its initial stage, the ICG was assigned the task of assembling a Proposal, was asked to develop its own charter, determine its composition, and define its working methods. The best way to ensure adequate multi-stakeholder representation was debated at some length. The GAC first had 2 representatives, but it quickly became apparent that, owing to the working methods of the GAC (rule of unanimity), each of the 5 geographic regions (as defined in ICANN) needed to be represented, so the GAC was granted 5 seats. The ICG became operational with 30 members and 2 Liaisons (ICANN Board and IANA Staff), a Chair structure (Chair + 2 Vice-Chairs), an independent Secretariat (funded by the ICANN budget), working methods, and a tight schedule. A remark in passing: out of the 30 members, more than one third share the same citizenship. At the behest of the technical community, the ICG agreed to receive separate contributions from the 3 communities "directly affected" by the proposed Transition, i.e. Domain names, Internet number resources, and Protocol parameters. Having consulted the ALAC, Mohamed and I pointed out that the multi-stakeholder model would not be upheld if contributions were restricted to only the three groups "directly affected". Our suggestion was accommodated: whereas each of the 3 "directly affected" communities was to draft its own plan, our wider communities would provide "input". Some months before our Transition Proposal was due to be finalized, we realized the need to determine how the ICG would communicate on its work. I was asked to draft a "communications strategy", which was approved unanimously by the ICG. At an early stage, there was some debate on how the ICG would present its Transition Plan to the NTIA. Some in ICANN were adamant that their Board should have the right to modify the Proposal as it saw fit. Others, including myself, argued that maintaining the independence of the ICG implied that the ICANN Board should not modify in any way the Transition Proposal, although it could include comments in its letter of transmission to the NTIA. This pattern was respected entirely, when we sent our Transition Proposal on 10th of March 2016.
3) IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ICG PROPOSAL The Assessment, which was ably drafted by the NTIA team under the leadership of Assistant Secretary Strickling, represents the consolidated view of the current US Administration, but must be viewed within the context of the US Presidential primaries and election. In its conclusion, the Assessment states: "The Obama Administration is committed to doing everything within its power to preserve and protect the open and free global Internet, which has revolutionized the world." However, the complete or partial implementation of the Transition Proposal now depends on various factors, some of which lie outside the authority of the Administration. We can only hope that the current Administration will succeed in moving from Assessment to Implementation as soon as possible.
I would be grateful if you would kindly share this email with the global ALAC membership.
Best regards, Jean-Jacques.
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