[council] Enhancing ICANN Accountability | ICANN - Proposed Next Steps for the Process

[Glen de Saint Géry <Glen@xxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.icann.org/en/news/in-focus/accountability/enhancing-accountability

Proposed Next Steps for the Process
Establishing the ICANN Accountability Working Group:

At the ICANN meeting in Singapore, members of the community suggested 
establishing a working group to address topics raised around ICANN 
Accountability. To respond to both the community dialogues and suggestions, an 
ICANN Accountability Working Group is proposed.

The leaders of ICANN's Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees will be 
responsible for appointment of community members to the Working Group. 
Community members with skills in the subject matter areas listed below are 
encouraged to have their names put forward by the leadership of ICANN's 
Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees for participation in the 
Working Group before the end of the comment and reply period. The Board may 
appoint liaisons to the Working Group. ICANN staff will identify external 
experts in these subject matter areas to join the Working Group and bring in 
new ideas. The subject matter areas are:

 *   Internet Technical Operations
 *   International Organizational Reviews
 *   Global Accountability Tools and Metrics
 *   Jurisprudence / Accountability Mechanism
 *   Internet Consumer Protection
 *   Economics (Marketplace and Competition)
 *   Global Ethics Frameworks
 *   Operational, Finance and Process
 *   Board Governance
 *   Transparency
 *   Risk Management

After the public comment and reply period, the Working Group will commence in 
time for the ICANN 50 Meeting. It's expected that sub-working groups on 
specialized subject areas will be useful and open to all including experts.

The ICANN Accountability Working Group would coordinate community dialogue, 
including discussion on draft materials on the discussions and proposed themes 
outlined above with regards to strengthening ICANN's accountability to address 
the absence of its historical contractual relationship to the U.S. Government 
and other identified issues. One of the first tasks of the Working Group will 
be to identify the issues that need to be solved. The ICANN Accountability 
Working Group would prepare a draft report on issues identified including 
whether measures are needed to strengthen ICANN's accountability, and if so, 
the recommended time frames for development of new or improved mechanisms, if 
any. The draft report would be provided for public comment. The ICANN 
Accountability Working Group would submit its final report to the ICANN Board. 
The Board would immediately and publicly post the final report, consider 
whether to adopt all or parts of it, and direct the CEO to implement those 
parts it has accepted once that decision is made.

It is expected that the ICANN Accountability Working Group would operate in an 
open, transparent and inclusive process, primarily through remote participation 
opportunities, that would include:

 *   A website that would include a timeline of activities and events, as well 
as all materials and communications from the working group, and a full archive 
of all content provided and evaluated throughout the process;
 *   A mailing list to ensure anyone can remain involved in the activities and 
progress of the group; and,
 *   All meetings and phone conference would be open for stakeholders to 
observe and transcripts and recordings would be posted.

Questions for Community Discussion:

As the next steps are being outlined and process finalized, ICANN is collecting 
community input to help provide feedback to further the work of the ICANN 
Accountability Working Group once it is comprised. ICANN is now seeking 
community discussion on both the questions first posed in March 2014 as well as 
some additional questions:

 *   What issues does the community identify as being core to strengthening 
ICANN's overall accountability in the absence of its historical contractual 
relationship to the U.S. Government?
 *   What should be the guiding principles to ensure that the notion of 
accountability is understood and accepted globally? What are the consequences 
if the ICANN Board is not being accountable to the community? Is there anything 
that should be added to the Working Group's mandate?
 *   Do the Affirmation of Commitments and the values expressed therein need to 
evolve to support global acceptance of ICANN's accountability and so, how?
 *   What are the means by which the Community is assured that ICANN is meeting 
its accountability commitments?
 *   Are there other mechanisms that would better ensure that ICANN lives up to 
its commitments?
 *   What additional comments would you like to share that could be of use to 
the ICANN Accountability Working Group?

Please provide your input on the questions above at 
comments-enhancing-accountability-06may14@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:comments-enhancing-accountability-06may14@xxxxxxxxx>

Download a PDF of this document 
here<http://www.icann.org/en/news/in-focus/accountability/enhancing-accountability-06may14-en.pdf>
 [PDF, 375 KB].


David A. Olive
Vice President, Policy Development Support
General Manager, ICANN Regional Headquarters -Istanbul
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)

Direct Line: +90.212.381.8727
Mobile:       + 1. 202.341.3611
Email:  david.olive@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:david.olive@xxxxxxxxx>
www.icann.org<http://www.icann.org>