[A2k] Request for civil society sign-on to support NCUC's petition for a non-commercial stakeholder group at ICANN

Tue Apr 14 15:45:02 2009

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Dear All,

I am contacting you in the hopes that you will add your noncommercial
organization=92s support for the proposed Non-Commercial Stakeholders
Group (NCSG) charter at ICANN by signing this joint civil society
statement: http://www.ipjustice.org/ICANN/NCSG/
NCSG_Charter_Civil_Society_Support.pdf    (deadline: 15 April)

=09As you know, the Non-Commercial Users Constituency (NCUC) is the
organization that represents non-commercial interests and advocates
for the protection of digital rights including free expression,
privacy, due process of law and other non-commercial interests in
ICANN-GNSO policy discussions.  As part of ICANN=92s GNSO Restructuring
efforts, the 6 =93constituencies=94 are being replaced by 4 broader
=93stakeholder groups=94, including a Non-Commercial Stakeholders Group
(NCSG) to represent the interests of non-commercial users of domain
names in the GNSO policy arena at ICANN.

NCUC has submitted a petition for the charter of the NCSG that
intends to encourage broader civil society participation at ICANN and
aims to increase the relative power of non-commercial interests in
ICANN policy negotiations.  Noncommercial individuals and
organizations are invited to participate in the NCSG, which will be
governed by stakeholder group wide elections under the petition.

All of the proposed stakeholder group petitions are in the midst of a
Public Comment Period at ICANN (until 15 April) so the ICANN Board of
Directors can receive input from the general public on the various
stakeholder group petitions.  Today I write to ask that your
organization consider signing onto the attached joint civil society
statement supporting NCUC=92s proposal for a stakeholder group petition
to be filed in the Public Comment forum.

=09The NCSG charter needs your support to ensure that all non-
commercial interests have a voice through their GNSO representatives
and in the creation of policy.

=09We ask for your support because we want the stakeholder group that
represents non-commercial interests to be able to generate sound,
consensual, and collaborative policy and decisions that are
representative of all of the members in the stakeholder group.

=09In summary, the NCUC=92s petition for a Non-Commercial Stakeholder
Group is the best proposal of those submitted because it:

Emphasizes democratic representation to the Generic Names Supporting
Organization instead of a constituency-based approach that gives
disproportionate power to select groups.
Encourages cooperation and inclusiveness through consensus-building
among members of the stakeholder groups.
Ensures that minority viewpoints are heard and their policy ideas are
explored through an increased reliance on working groups.
Operates with a flexible and lightweight framework that allows it to
focus on representing non-commercial interests without getting bogged
down by bureaucratic details.
Was drafted in consultation with dozens of civil society
organizations representing all corners of the globe and went through
numerous evolutions and thus represents a true consensus document,
submitted by the entire NCUC (over 70 members, accept 1 dissenter).
=09Please consider signing the following statement to indicate your
support for the NCSG petition from NCUC.

Joint Civil Society Statement Supporting the NCSG Petition from NCUC:

http://www.ipjustice.org/ICANN/NCSG/
NCSG_Charter_Civil_Society_Support.pdf

We would be glad to provide any additional information or answer any
questions or concerns you may have on the issue.

Please indicate your support for signing this civil society statement
before 15 April (which is the deadline for submitting Public
Comments) by sending an email to robin@ipjustice.org.  Thank you very
much.

Signed,

The NCUC Executive Committee and GNSO Councilors:

Robin Gross, NCUC Chair

Norbert Klein, NCUC Nominating Committee Representative (Asia)

Carlos Affonso Pereira de Souza, NCUC GNSO Policy Councilor (South
America)

Mary Wong, NCUC GNSO Policy Councilor (Asia)

William Drake, NCUC GNSO Policy Councilor (Europe)

Carlos Afonso, NCUC Executive Committee Representative (South America)

Horacio Cadiz NCUC Executive Committee Representative (Asia)

Georg Greve, NCUC Executive Committee Representative (Europe)

Robert Guerra, NCUC Executive Committee Representative (North America)

Dave Kissoondoyal, NCUC Executive Committee Representative (Africa)

Background Information:

Joint Civil Society Statement Supporting the NCSG Petition from NCUC:
http://www.ipjustice.org/ICANN/NCSG/
NCSG_Charter_Civil_Society_Support.pdf

NCUC=92s Petition to Form a Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group:
http://gnso.icann.org/en/improvements/ncsg-petition-charter.pdf

Executive Summary / Cover Letter of NCSG Petition from NCUC:
http://gnso.icann.org/en/improvements/executive-summary-ncsg-
proposal.pdf

Information on ICANN Public Comment Period for Stakeholder Group
Petitions:
http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/#sg-petitions

Public Comments Submitted Thus Far on Stakeholder Group Petitions:
http://forum.icann.org/lists/sg-petitions-charters/

IGF/WSIS Internet Governance Caucus Statement Supporting NCUC=92s NCSG
Proposal:
http://forum.icann.org/lists/sg-petitions-charters/msg00009.html

IP JUSTICE
Robin Gross, Executive Director
1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA  94117  USA
p: +1-415-553-6261    f: +1-415-462-6451
w: http://www.ipjustice.org     e: robin@ipjustice.org