Human rights impact assessment

[Mary Wong]

Rebecca and everyone, doing a human rights impact assessment is an excellent suggestion that should definitely be included in the public comments to the current DAG. Perhaps the NCSG (or NCUC) can also include in its public comments a statement of support for the idea?
 
As to bringing it up to and within the GNSO Council process, I'd be glad to except that I am not sure at this time when and how would be the best method. It's not just that the Council has tons on its plate at the moment (as many of you know), which would likely mean little enthusiasm for taking on something new that probably is not a priority item for some of the other Councillors and SGs; it's also the question of what "action item" we (NCSG/NCUC) would be requesting of the Council.
 
Would NCSG/NCUC be requesting a statement of support from the Council or a policy action? Or something else? Each possibility requires a different process (and possibly a different strategy).
 
[NOTE: A policy development process (PDP) may be initiated by the Board, an Advisory Committee (AC) or the Council. It first requires an Issues Report be prepared by ICANN Staff that will include a recommendation as to whether the issue is properly within the scope of the GNSO Council's mandate. The Council then votes on whether to initiate the PDP (unless it is a Board-initiated request). NCUC has, in fact, recently requested an Issues Report on Registrar/Registry integration, which should be finished and sent to the Council later this month.]
 
Perhaps the NCUC and/or the newly-established NCSG Executive Committees can discuss what their preferred option would be, in addition to making the suggestion in public comments to DAG-3? For example, would ALAC be interested in making a joint request?
 
(I'm not trying to be negative - far from it - but am hoping to focus our discussions and actions to have the maximum impact possible within ICANN's arcane processes and organizations.)
 
Cheers
Mary
 
Mary W S Wong
Professor of Law & Chair, IP Programs
Franklin Pierce Law Center
Two White Street
Concord, NH 03301
USA
Email: mwong at piercelaw.edu
Phone: 1-603-513-5143
Webpage: http://www.piercelaw.edu/marywong/index.php
Selected writings available on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) at: http://ssrn.com/author=437584


>>> Rebecca MacKinnon <rebecca.mackinnon at GMAIL.COM> 11/1/2009 9:19 AM >>>
Andrew, yes, Google is a founding member of the Global Network Initiative and is working with GNI to develop a human rights assessment process for Internet companies and hopefully the ICT sector more broadly. Perhaps ICANN staff might be more willing to listen to GNI members Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft than to non-commercial users. 

Milton, glad you like the idea. If our GNSO councilors are interested in bringing this up through the GNSO, or if anybody participating in the various working groups wants to use the GNI principles on privacy and free expression as a benchmark for whether basic standards are being met on that front please let me know what other contacts/info you need. 

Meanwhile I will plan to submit something with this suggestion in the DAG public comments as well.

Cheers,
Rebecca

On Sun, Nov 1, 2009 at 9:13 PM, Andrew A. Adams <a.a.adams at reading.ac.uk> wrote:


milton Mueller wrote:
> This is a fantastic idea, Rebecca.
> As you may know, some of us have been trying to get free expression concerns
> as an officially recognized part of ICANN's agenda for some time (back to
> the beginning, in fact).
> We learned during the new gTLD policy making process (e.g., the "morality
> and public order" section) how difficult that will be and we have learned
> that the U.S. government is completely indifferent, at least the Commerce
> Department that controls relations with ICANN.

I recently attended a talk by David Drummond, Chief Legal Officer and Senior
VP at Google, on Technology and Freedom of Speech. He (and by extension,
Google, since he was speaking officially for the company) have a policy of
promoting freedom of speech quite broadly. They might be a useful ally in
such an effort.




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Rebecca MacKinnon
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Assistant Professor, Journalism & Media Studies Centre, University of Hong Kong

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