AFFIRMATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES
for
ICANN’s Private Sector Management
Approved by the
ICANN Board of Directors
ICANN’s
shall continue in its commitment to the private sector management of the
Internet DNS, by promoting the security and stability of the global Internet,
while maintaining, and promoting competition through its multi-stakeholder
model.
ICANN
hereby affirms and agrees to be guided by the following responsibilities:
1) Security and Stability: ICANN shall coordinate, at
the overall level, the global Internet's systems of unique identifiers, and in
particular to ensure the stable and secure operation of the Internet's unique
identifier systems.
2) Transparency:
ICANN shall continue to develop, test and improve processes and procedures to
encourage improved transparency, accessibility, efficiency, and timeliness in
the consideration and adoption of policies related to technical coordination of
the Internet DNS, and funding for ICANN operations. ICANN will innovate
and aspire to be a leader in the area of transparency for organizations
involved in private sector management.
3) Accountability: ICANN shall continue to develop,
test, maintain, and improve on accountability mechanisms to be responsive to
global Internet stakeholders in the consideration and adoption of policies
related to the technical coordination of the Internet DNS, including continuing
to improve openness and accessibility for enhanced participation in ICANN’s
bottom-up participatory policy development processes.
4) Root Server Security and Relationships: ICANN shall continue to coordinate with the
operators of root name servers and other appropriate experts with respect to
the operational and security matters, both physical and network, relating to
the secure and stable coordination of the root zone; ensure appropriate
contingency planning; maintain clear processes in root zone changes. ICANN will
work to formalize relationships with root name server operators.
5) TLD Management: ICANN shall maintain and build on processes
to ensure that competition, consumer interests, and Internet DNS stability and
security issues are identified and considered in TLD management decisions,
including the consideration and implementation of new TLDs and the introduction
of IDNs. ICANN will continue to develop
its policy development processes, and will further develop processes for taking
into account recommendations from ICANN’s advisory committees and supporting
organizations and other relevant expert advisory panels and organizations.
ICANN shall continue to enforce existing policy relating to WHOIS, such
existing policy requires that ICANN implement measures to maintain timely,
unrestricted and public access to accurate and complete WHOIS information,
including registrant, technical, billing and administrative contact
information. ICANN shall continue its efforts to achieve stable agreements with
country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) operators.
6) Multi-stakeholder Model: ICANN shall maintain and
improve multi-stakeholder model and the global participation of all
stakeholders, including conducting reviews of its existing advisory committees
and supporting organizations, and will continue to further the effectiveness of
the bottom-up policy development processes. ICANN will strive to increase
engagement with the Private Sector by developing additional mechanisms for
involvement of those affected by the
ICANN policies.
7) Role of Governments: ICANN shall work with the
Government Advisory Committee Members to review the GAC’s role within ICANN so
as to facilitate effective consideration of GAC advice on the public policy
aspects of the technical coordination of the Internet.
8) IP Addressing:
ICANN shall continue to work collaboratively on a global and regional
level so as to incorporate Regional Internet Registries’ policy-making
activities into the ICANN processes while allowing them to continue their
technical work. ICANN shall continue to
maintain legal agreements with the RIRs (and such other appropriate
organizations) reflecting this work.
9) Corporate Responsibility: ICANN shall maintain
excellence and efficiency in operations, including good governance,
organizational measures to maintain stable, international private sector
organization, and shall maintain relevant technical and business experience for
members of the Board of Directors, executive management, and staff. ICANN will implement appropriate mechanisms
that foster participation in ICANN by global Internet stakeholders, such as
providing educational services and fostering information sharing for
constituents and promoting best practices among industry segments.
10) Corporate Administrative Structure: ICANN shall
conduct a review of, and shall make necessary changes in, corporate
administrative structure to ensure stability, including devoting adequate
resources to contract enforcement, taking into account organizational and
corporate governance “best practices.”