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<div>Certainly we should file a comment on this important process that is reviewing ICANN's accountability and transparency mechanisms. Take a look at the Initial Questions from the ATRT to the ICANN community. Then we should draw together the noncommercial members who want to draft a statement on behalf of the group. The comment period ends 1 July, but it would be better if we got our comment in earlier in the process, rather than at the end of the comment period. Any volunteers?</div><div><br></div><div>Thanks,</div><div>Robin</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-18may10-en.htm">http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-18may10-en.htm</a></div><br><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; "><font face="Arial" size="5" style="font: 18.0px Arial"><b>Public Comments Opens Today: Questions to the Community on Accountability and Transparency within ICANN</b></font></div><p align="center" style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px; text-align: center"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">18 May 2010</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial"><b>Explanation/Background:</b> In the Affirmation of Commitments (AoC), ICANN commits to maintain and improve robust mechanisms for public input, accountability and transparency so as to ensure that the outcomes of its decision-making will reflect the public interest and be accountable to all stakeholders. The AoC Accountability and Transparency Review Team (ATRT) is in the process of analyzing stakeholder and community input that has been submitted on these topics prior to the AoC (i.e. comments on Improving Institutional Confidence, submissions to the NTIA NOI on expiration of the JPA, etc.). However, the ATRT would also like to understand if there are new inputs or changes in stakeholder views since the establishment of the AoC.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial"><b>The Initial Questions from the ATRT</b> can be found here: <a href="http://www.icann.org/en/reviews/affirmation/community-questions-18may10-en.pdf"><font color="#0032e6" style="color: #0032e6"><u>http://www.icann.org/en/reviews/affirmation/community-questions-18may10-en.pdf</u></font></a> [PDF, 225 KB]</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">The Accountability and Transparency Review Team web space with other reference materials can be found here: <a href="http://www.icann.org/en/reviews/affirmation/activities-1-en.htm"><font color="#0032e6" style="color: #0032e6"><u>http://www.icann.org/en/reviews/affirmation/activities-1-en.htm</u></font></a></font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial"><b>The Process Going Forward:</b></font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">At the end of this Public Comment period, the ATRT will review the comments submitted and prepare a summary analysis of the various submissions. The ATRT will use them as both benchmarking of post AoC community view and to inform the specific methodologies and processes the ATRT will be conducting between now and December 2010.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial"><b>Deadline and How to Submit Comments:</b></font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">The ATRT is opening a 45-day public comment, from 18th May through 1 July 2010, and invites community comments and responses to these questions.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">The formal Public Comment Forum Box is located here<b>:</b> <a href="http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-201007-en.htm#atrt"><font color="#0032e6" style="color: #0032e6"><u>http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/public-comment-201007-en.htm#atrt</u></font></a></font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">To Submit Comment<b>: </b><a href="mailto:atrt-questions-2010@icann.org"><font color="#0032e6" style="color: #0032e6"><u>atrt-questions-2010@icann.org</u></font></a></font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">To View Comments<b>:</b> <a href="http://forum.icann.org/lists/atrt-questions-2010/"><font color="#0032e6" style="color: #0032e6"><u>http://forum.icann.org/lists/atrt-questions-2010/</u></font></a></font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.0px 0.0px"><font face="Arial" size="4" style="font: 13.0px Arial">Staff Responsible<b>: </b>Alice Jansen, ICANN Assistant, Organizational Review <a href="mailto:alice.jansen@icann.org"><font color="#0032e6" style="color: #0032e6"><u>alice.jansen@icann.org</u></font></a></font></p><div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "><div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div><div><br class="khtml-block-placeholder"></div><div>IP JUSTICE</div><div>Robin Gross, Executive Director</div><div>1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 USA</div><div>p: +1-415-553-6261 f: +1-415-462-6451</div><div>w: <a href="http://www.ipjustice.org">http://www.ipjustice.org</a> e: <a href="mailto:robin@ipjustice.org">robin@ipjustice.org</a></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"> </div><br></body></html>