[ga] Position Paper for your consideration

[DannyYounger@cs.com]

Note:  this draft is being circulated for public comment.  This will not 
represent a consensus document from the General Assembly until its members 
have ratified it.  

General Assembly Position Paper on the DNSO:

Members of the General Assembly are committed to the mission of ICANN and 
have actively participated in discussions regarding its future 
reorganization.  This involvement has manifested itself through contributions 
to the At-Large Study Committee Forum, dialogue on the General Assembly 
lists, participation in ALSC Outreach sessions, discussion at plenary 
sessions, and involvement in the independent efforts of groups such as NAIS 
and the Interim Coordinating Committee.  

We believe that in view of the clearly-documented community consensus, the 
At-Large Study Committee will re-assess its preliminary conclusions, and will 
re-visit its decision to break our compact with the US government and elect 
less than the requisite number of At-Large Directors promised.  

In principle, we support a reorganization of ICANN along functional lines, 
and see merit in a structure that enables participation for users, providers, 
and developers.  Once the user community is invested with a participatory 
structure and begins the process of electing its nine representative 
Directors to the ICANN Board, it will be necessary to assess the proper 
distribution of remaining Board seats.

We agree with the assessment of the ALSC that the ASO and PSO, in general, 
seem to be functioning well, and submit that there would be no apparent 
justification for any changes either in their structure or in their degree of 
representation on the Board.

At issue is the disposition of the three remaining Board seats.  As we 
support the concept of a Supporting Organization for Providers, the 
implication is clear - the DNSO, which to date has aptly been characterized 
as dysfunctional, must be decommissioned. 

While it can be expected that those constituencies that have entered into 
contractual relationships with ICANN (the gTLDs, the ccTLDs, and the 
registrars), will form the Provider Supporting Organization, it is evident 
that such a restructuring raises questions as to the means for continued 
participation by others that have been loyal to the ICANN mission.

The General Assembly believes than no constituent element in the ICANN 
process should be disenfranchised in this restructuring.  

Accordingly, we propose to the ICANN Board that the concept of the Open 
Public Forum, the General Assembly, wherein all constituent groups may have a 
voice and an opportunity to substantively address mutual concerns, be 
retained.   

The General Assembly will provide a venue for cross-SO dialogue, thereby 
preserving the consensus-building efforts that are the cornerstone of the 
ICANN process.

We encourage the ICANN Board to direct the Names Council to "wrap up its 
affairs" and to pass the mantle of leadership to the General Assembly.  The 
Assembly will facilitate this transition by undertaking those committee and 
task force projects started by the Council, and will bring them to conclusion 
in a thoughtful and timely fashion.  




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