[council] NCSG councillors' statements

[Marilia Maciel <mariliamaciel@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear James, dear colleagues,

I would like to convey to you the statements that the NCSG councillors
would like to see included in the records of today's approval of the CCWG
Accountability proposal.

Thank you
Marília


These comments are submitted by the councillors identified under each of
the recommendations to either clarify our understanding of the
recommendations, or put some concerns associated with them on the record.
They are not meant, in any way, to either renegotiate the substance of the
recommendations, nor provide any instructions regarding their
implementation. It is also important to be clear that the councillors
identified with each of the comments have supported these recommendations,
and have voted in favor of the GNSO adopting them as one of the chartering
organizations from the ICANN names community.

Recommendation #2: Empowering the Community through Consensus: Engagement,
Escalation, and Enforcement

Statement presented on behalf of Amr Elsadr, David Cake, Stephanie Perrin
and Marília Maciel.

The aforementioned NCSG representatives in the GNSO council support
Recommendation 2 with the understanding that bylaws will reflect the CCWG's
requirement that the exercise of community powers should not require
unanimity of participating AC/SOs, and that no single AC/SO could block
exercise of any power.

Statement presented by Stefania Milan

A number of members of the NCSG are concerned about providing governments
with the new powers contained in the Empowered Community and the impact of
changing the fundamental nature of governments at ICANN by allowing GAC to
be a Decisional Participant.

Recommendation #7: Strengthening ICANN’s Independent Review Process

Statement presented on behalf of: Amr Elsadr, David Cake, Stephanie Perrin,
Marília Maciel, Stefania Milan

The following NCSG representatives in the GNSO council support
Recommendation 7 with the understanding that the revised Cooperative
Engagement Procedure and the IRP processes will : 1) allow any person,
group, or entity “materially affected” by an ICANN action or inaction in
violation of ICANN’s Articles of Incorporation and/or Bylaws to have the
right to equal participation in CEP and IRP proceedings on par with the
original IRP filer; 2) require timely notification at filing to all parties
known to be materially affected by the process or decision being
challenged; 3) require ICANN to provide prompt and timely publication to
the larger community of the filing so that other interested and materially
affected parties can come forward to participate; and 4) enable and support
the timely, full and equal participation of all materially affected parties
in an IRP proceeding.  It is our understanding that reform of the
Cooperative Engagement Process (CEP) is included in the IRP implementation
plan.

Recommendation #8: Improving ICANN’s Request for Reconsideration Process

Statement presented on behalf of: Amr Elsadr, David Cake, Stephanie Perrin,
Marília Maciel, Stefania Milan

The following NCSG representatives in the GNSO council support
Recommendation 8, but emphasise that the Ombudsman may not be the proper
office to evaluate a RFR and make an initial recommendation to the BGC. We
encourage WS2 to consider whether another office or official should be
 granted this authority instead.  We want to emphasize that this
responsibility should be independent or at a minimum neutral and insulated
from pressure from the ICANN Board and staff. Under no circumstances should
ICANN's Office of the General Counsel assume this responsibility.

Recommendation #10: Enhancing the Accountability of Supporting
Organizations and Advisory Committees

Statement presented on behalf of: Amr Elsadr, David Cake, Stephanie Perrin,
Stefania Milan

The following NCSG representatives in the GNSO council support
Recommendation 10, but are concerned that Recommendation 10 would allow the
Board too much control over SO/AC reviews that could  undermine the
bottom-up structure of ICANN. Therefore, implementation of Recommendation
10 should ensure that the terms of reference of a review should be
developed in a cooperative manner between the Board and the AC/SO under
review. The GNSO also believes as a matter of fairness that the GAC, if it
becomes a decisional participant in ICANN, should also be subject to some
manner of review as with the other AC/SOs.

Recommendation #11: Board Obligations with Regard to Governmental Advisory
Committee Advice

Statement presented on behalf of: Amr Elsadr, David Cake, Stephanie Perrin,
Marília Maciel

The following NCSG representatives in the GNSO council support
Recommendation welcome the important accountability reform of locking-in
the definition of “consensus advice” for the Governmental Advisory
Committee, which triggers the board’s obligation to consider that advice
and reach a mutually agreeable solution. Nonetheless we remain concerned
because it raises the threshold by which the board can refuse to follow GAC
advice.

Statement presented by Stefania Milan

A number of NCSG members remain concerned about providing GAC enhanced
power over the ICANN Board of Directors, and about the Board’s ability to
refuse to follow GAC advice, particularly when said advice contradicts
policy developed through the bottom-up policy development process by the
ICANN community.


Recommendation #12: Committing to Further Accountability Work in Work
Stream 2

Statement presented on behalf of: Amr Elsadr, David Cake, Stephanie Perrin,
Marília Maciel, Stefania Milan

The following NCSG representatives in the GNSO council support
Recommendation 12 with the understanding that WS2 issues, while not
necessary for the transition to occur, remain vitally important and must be
budgeted and supported at a level sufficient to ensure their development
and implementation.

-- 
*Marília Maciel*
Pesquisadora Gestora - Centro de Tecnologia e Sociedade - FGV Direito Rio
Researcher and Coordinator - Center for Technology & Society - FGV Law
School
http://direitorio.fgv.br/cts

DiploFoundation associate - www.diplomacy.edu
PoliTICs Magazine Advisory Committee - http://www.politics.org.br/
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