[council] ALAC statement on the approval of the .com agreement

[Alan Greenberg <alan.greenberg@xxxxxxxxx>]

The statement now approved by ALAC is as follows:


The At-Large Advisory Committee wishes to express its disappointment 
with the Board's decision to meet in a closed session on Saturday 23 
June to adopt the draft .com renewal agreement: 
http://www.icann.org/en/groups/board/documents/resolutions-23jun12-en.htm#2.
ICANN staff had placed this topic on the Thursday 28 June public 
forum agenda some time ago, and the .com renewal item remains on the 
public forum topic list.  Although we were aware that the .com 
agreement was on the Board's agenda, we were not aware of the intent 
to approve the agreement at its closed session.
This comment is not with regard to the merits of the Board's action 
nor on the content of the .com agreement. The process followed by the 
Board is objectionable at a time when ICANN is subject to increased 
scrutiny. To give the impression that the Board is interested in 
additional community comment but then make a decision five days 
earlier is not appropriate. It is imperative that the Board hold 
itself to the highest standards of transparency and accountability 
that it is mandated to uphold.