ICANN meeting and security concerns

Fri Jan 22 11:24:07 CET 2010

Bill,

I haven't cross posted to ALAC or any other list, but want to give NCUC
members a first hand perspective.

Nairobi is no less safe now than when ICANN decided to hold its March 2010
meeting here.  Last weeks violence happened because police banned a
demonstration from happening after Friday prayers.  The Jamaican cleric was
deported last night.  It was a very, very small scale skirmish. I've been in
far worse riots in Washington D.C.

It would be an over reaction IMHO to cancel or move the March meeting from
Nairobi at this point.   Kenyan and other African stakeholders who are
looking forward to the meeting would be very annoyed indeed, and with good
reason.

--
Cheers,

McTim

On Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 12:36 PM, William Drake <
william.drake at graduateinstitute.ch> wrote:

> I don't know whether all NCUC people are aware of the debate going on about
> the Nairobi meeting, and how many are planning on attending.   But below
> with apologies to Adam is a useful cross posting from the extended Nairobi
> discussion on the ALAC list.
>
> Apparently only 300+ people have registered so far. The board is having a
> call tonight to make a decision; it seems cancelation is a real possibility.
>  I sat next to one boardie at dinner last night (at the ICANN Studienkreis
> in Barcelona) who said he was for canceling and repurposing the funds to
> allow AC/SOs to hold their own, disaggregated meetings.
>
> Bill
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> *From: *Adam Peake <ajp at glocom.ac.jp>
> *Date: *January 21, 2010 8:48:50 AM GMT+01:00
> *To: *ALAC Internal List <alac-internal at atlarge-lists.icann.org>
> *Subject: **Re: [ALAC-Internal] ICANN meeting and security concerns*
> *Reply-To: *ALAC Internal List <alac-internal at atlarge-lists.icann.org>
>
> Rebecca's posted a follow-up to her article.  Worth a look, not about
> security, but ICANN and Africa in general <
> http://wanjiku.co.ke/eng/articles/main/uxn1264057592/>  She also reminds
> us there's an AFTLD meeting planned the week before the ICANN meeting,
> important training for the region. (I should have remembered, I hope to go
> to a few of the sessions :-))
>
> I have a couple of projects with people in Kenya and East Africa so hear
> some general comments.  The following is not a security assessment!
>
> Background: There was a demonstration in the city last Friday over the
> deportation of a Muslim cleric, Abdullah al-Faisal, who was in the country
> illegally.  Faisal <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_el-Faisal> was
> convicted of racial hatred (I am not sure that's the name of the actual
> crime) in the UK, jailed and then deported.  He found his way to Kenya
> around New Year and was preaching.  He is now being jailed in Kenya while
> awaiting deportation and this led to demonstrations by some of the Muslim
> community in downtown Nairobi that turned violent with about 7 people being
> shot, one killed.  The Kenyan police are not subtle, though they claim shots
> were fired from the demonstration.
>
> The demonstrations were pretty violent with gangs of Kenyan youths seeming
> to have joined in on the side of the police, and all this happened in the
> downtown area close to where a number of the ICANN hotels are and the
> conference center where the meeting will be held. The central Mosque is in
> downtown, that's why people were there.  The area where the demonstration
> happened seemed to be quite constrained. The concern for ICANN seems to be
> that the trouble was in downtown near the meeting location and hotels
> (although my understanding is the demonstration did not reach either.)
>  ICANN knows there are areas of the city where you simply do not go, and
> these are the areas where there was violence after the elections a couple of
> years ago, but last Friday's violence was in downtown and this is new.
>
> That said, three friends were out to dinner in downtown Nairobi last Friday
> and they didn't know of the troubles until one of them got some calls about
> ICANN's concerns!  Sometimes news footage can make things look much worse
> than they are, and perhaps this is the case here?
>
> Not trying to pretend this isn't serious, just that more information would
> be helpful. The UN has a very large office in Nairobi, location of the UN
> Environment Programme and UN-Habitat, both global programs. It would be good
> to know what the UN security assessment is, particularly if it has changed
> since last Friday's violence.
>
> People in Nairobi seem to think it's a one off, although there might be a
> demonstration this coming Friday (which would be bad timing for the board
> meeting!)  But my very non-expert sense is further demonstrations in
> downtown are not likely to continue, they can't afford the city center to be
> disrupted, its the hub of the city, the area around the law courts,
> administration etc. That said, there is certainly ongoing tension with the
> Muslim community.
>
> There is some talk of moving the ICANN meeting to the UN center. There are
> a couple of problems with this.  The UN center is out of the city, not many
> hotels near, and it is on a road known for traffic jams (traffic during rush
> hour  in Nairobi is bad generally).  And that road has construction planned
> for the next few months so the jams at the moment are terrible.  It will be
> a nightmare to get to. As it's out of the city, and is also seen by many
> Kenyans as a bit of a separate 'country' (it's not easy to get in, all the
> usual UN security clearances needed) any meeting held there would not see
> many locals.  Not good for the meeting generally, very bad for At Large in
> particular.
>
> I think the article Patrick forwarded makes clear that there's a feeling
> that ICANN's concerns are a typical over reaction to events in a developing
> country.  The demonstrations probably the only piece of news about Kenya the
> world's press has picked up on in weeks.  And violence in Africa is often
> the only news we see.  It becomes a stereotype. I am not trying to downplay
> the seriousness of this situation, but be aware of that point of view.
> Comments from African colleagues on this general point might he helpful.
>
> Unless the security assessments have changed, assessments by the UN or
> perhaps major embassies such as the EU, I am happy to stick to arrangements
> in place (and no doubt anyway being updated to reflect any changes.)
>
> For what it's worth, a very high level of security has been planned for the
> conference center and hotels. The conference center is used to handling high
> level meetings, ICANN is quite small by comparison to many.
>
> If there's any change, a move from Nairobi to another city, or a change of
> planned conference venue in Nairobi, let it be based on a fact based
> independent assessment.  ICANN owes Kenya and Africa that.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Adam
>
>
>
> Perhaps it would be useful to Vanda  in the upcoming Board meeting on this
>
> issue (Friday)  for us to have IN THIS LIST,  some opinion / discussions on
>
> this issue...
>
>
> For example it is My view that unless serious and substantial *security
>
> risks* exist (and I assume the Board will have some access to proper
>
> briefings on any that do) AND I do NOT mean street crime that can happen
> any
>
> where in my view...  Then we should hold the Nairobi meeting either as
>
> planned (or with relevant modifications / precautions arranged...
>
>
> *IF* however for what ever good reason there is the meeting is moved (and
> it
>
> should be MOVED *not* Cancelled we have way too much to do we need this F2F
>
> opportunity... Then it must be clear that this is not for any phobic reason
>
> rather a matter of real risk mitigation or management  AND if that did
>
> happen then significant effort into outreach and regional activities MUST
> be
>
> undertaken by ICANN (in partnership with others perhaps) to
>
> also effectively mitigate the 'opportunities lost' by the meeting Not being
>
> held as planned...
>
>
> What are your thoughts??
>
>
> And Yes I will go wherever it is held... Preferable in Nairobi...
>
>
> CLO
>
>
> 2010/1/21 Patrick Vande Walle <patrick at vande-walle.eu>
>
>
> FYI
>
>
> http://wanjiku.co.ke/eng/articles/main/pte1263978626/
>
>
> In March 2008, Nairobi was supposed to host Internet Corporation for
>
> Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) meeting. This is a huge meeting,
>
> ICANN uses about $ 2 million for these meetings, am sure you know what
>
> it means for the economy.
>
>
> But the events that followed the 2007 elections meant that the meeting
>
> was cancelled, it was such a shame but that was understandable; after
>
> all, you do not want the people who control internet resources to fall
>
> into the traps of rival tribal gangs or to be caught in the cross fire.
>
>
> After another round of presentations last year, the Kenya delegation led
>
> by Kenic and the Communications Commission of Kenya was able to convince
>
> the ICANN community that Kenya is safe enough, and they agreed to host
>
> the meeting this March.
>
>
> We have been busy sweeping the roads and upgrading the hotels just to
>
> make sure that the most important ICANN community is happy, but they
>
> have never been, and I do not think they will ever be, if you ask me. I
>
> have been talking to sources within the organizing committee and ICANN
>
> has always had one niggling problem after another.
>
>
> Last Friday's fracas with the muslims seems to have tipped the balance;
>
> ICANN now is contemplating moving the meeting to another safer city.
>
> >
>
> But if you ask me or any other ordinary Kenyan, I think ICANN does not
>
> understand the country and how it operates. Since 1998, Kenya has never
>
> been secure, according to US and UK embassies, yet its their
>
> installations that make us targets.
>
>
> For whatever reasons, the country has always been rated poorly security
>
> wise, but which city is safe? New York? J' Burg? Cairo? Cassablanca? Am
>
> sure this is open to debate.
>
>
> I think ICANN has its double standards; if they were truly concerned
>
> about the security, the meeting in Seoul would not have taken place;
>
> South Korea is always under alert because of North Korea nuclear
>
> intentions.
>
>
> The meeting in Mexico city would not have gone on, after all every one
>
> there is said to carry a gun and the senior executives within ICANN
>
> membership were at risk of kidnappings. But the meetings took place.
>
>
> So, why all the security farce about Nairobi?
>
> >
>
> I would love to point out a similar incident during the 2005 or around
>
> there Cricket world cup, where New Zealand forfeited their match with
>
> Kenya in Nairobi because of security situation. Sri Lanka agreed to play
>
> their match in Nairobi provided they were given top notch security, the
>
> government obliged.
>
>
> By the time the plane carrying the Sri Lanka cricket team entered the
>
> > Kenyan air space, they were escorted by helicopter gunships and all the
>
> other stuff you see in the movies. But Sri Lanka soon realized that no
>
> one was bothered with them; we whipped them and by the time they were
>
> going back to the airport, they took taxis and realized that no one cares.
>
>
> In short, ICANN should know that they will come, they will hold their
>
> meeting, they will go away, and no one will probably remember they were
>
> > here. How many people know about ICANN and what it does? How many people
>
> know that the people present are online millionaires?
>
>
> ICANN has made demands that the meeting be moved to the UNEP Complex in
>
> Gigiri, and that the government should pay for all the charges bla
>
> bla... I think this is a move to alienate themselves from the ordinary
>
> kenyans. Getting to Gigiri is hectic let alone getting through the mean
>
> UN security staff.
>
>
> Trust me, I have had my share of security incidences in Nairobi, but I
>
> do not think its worth canceling a meeting.
>
>
> >From my sources, I am told the government is paying for the gala dinner
>
> and all that, in other countries, ICANN has paid for that. So I think
>
> this is just a way for ICANN to make their demands and demonstrate their
>
> authority.
>
>
> I am not saying that security measures should be ignored, but just know
>
> that poor security rating means more hardship allowance for the UN and
>
> embassy staff, so its in their interest to show Kenya on fire all the time.
>
>
> One thing you should know that Kenya is a highly political company, all
>
> year round, stupid politics and we the media love it and exalt it, so
>
> deal with that. When you come and when you go, we will remain the same,
>
> and it does not mean ICANN will change anything, so get over it.
>
>
> By the way, most people who will come will be holed up in lavish 5-star
>
> hotels where the thugs will not reach. The insecurity problem is for
>
> people like us who will have to walk home and deal with the neighborhood
>
> thugs.
>
>
> The upshot of it is that ICANN should come, hold their meeting, give us
>
> the revenue, visit Maasai Mara and all the other areas, and go home. I
>
> am sure there will be enough cops guarding everywhere.
>
>
> So, insecure or not, I think the meeting should go on. If you guys are
>
> not convinced, then you can move the meeting to wherever you want!
>
>
>
>
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>
> --
>
> Cheryl Langdon-Orr
>
> (CLO)
>
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> ***********************************************************
> William J. Drake
> Senior Associate
> Centre for International Governance
> Graduate Institute of International and
>  Development Studies
> Geneva, Switzerland
> william.drake at graduateinstitute.ch
> www.graduateinstitute.ch/cig/drake.html
> ***********************************************************
>
>
>
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