[council] Press release on Resolution 102 at Marrakech

[Elisabeth Porteneuve <Elisabeth.Porteneuve@cetp.ipsl.fr>]

Alexander Svensson spotted it first ...


cf. http://www.itu.int/newsroom/pp02/Highlights/1010.html

ITU stakes claim on Internet names

The Working Group of the Plenary approved a resolution on the management 
of internationalized multilingual domain names. This resolution aims at 
promoting the role of Member States in the internationalization of domain 
names and addresses of their respective languages. This will be increasingly 
important in the coming years as a majority of Internet users is expected 
to prefer to conduct online activities in their own language. It is also 
important because the current Domain Names System (DNS) mapping does not 
reflect the growing language needs of all. The resolution stresses that 
the registration and allocation of Internet domain names and addresses 
should reflect the geographical and functional nature of the Internet with 
an equitable balance of interests of all stakeholders. It also emphasizes 
that the non-discriminatory access to Internet domain names and addresses, 
and more generally to the Internet, should be available to all citizens 
and that the management of Internet Domain Names and addresses is of 
concern to both governments and the private sector. It also reiterates 
the need to fully maintain country code numbering plans and addresses as 
in ITU-T recommendation E.164 which defines the international public 
telecommunication numbering plan. Under this resolution, ITU will be 
providing assistance to its Member States to promote the use of their 
languages for domain names and addresses and will cooperate with the 
World Intellectual Property Organization whose role includes protection
against misuse of intellectual property rights in the use of countries’ 
languages for domain names and addresses.

-- 
Elisabeth