CCWG Accountability

During initial discussions about the IANA stewardship transition, the ICANN community identified a potential for the transition and changing nature of the organization’s relationship to the US Government to affect ICANN’s accountability to its community. A Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability) was convened to look at what improvements might be made to strengthen the community’s oversight of the organization.

The CCWG-Accountability includes Appointed Members from most of the ICANN Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees, including the Address Supporting Organization (ASO). The ASO representatives on the CCWG-Accountability are:

  • Fiona Asonga
  • Athina Fragkouli
  • Izumi Okutani
  • Jorge Villa
  • Michael Abejuela

All information on the CCWG-Accountability, including public archives of all mailing list discussions and meeting proceedings, is available on their website.

On 4 March 2016, in response to a recommendation from the ASO liaisons to the CCWG, the NRO Executive Council, acting on behalf of the ASO, approved the CCWG proposal. Together with ICANN’s existing structures and groups, enhancements to accountability as outlined in the proposal include:

  • A revised Mission Statement for ICANN’s bylaws that specifies what ICANN does
  • An enhanced Independent Review Process and redress process with the power to ensure that ICANN stays within its mission
  • New enumerated powers entrusted to a so-called ’empowered community’, which are enforceable against the ICANN Board to ensure that ICANN remains focused on its defined technical mission
  • A community Independent Review Process as an enforcement mechanism further to a Board action or inaction

Safeguards have been designed to ensure that community powers can only be exercised after extensive community discussions and debates have been duly held. The proposal also captures further changes to ICANN’s existing structures and groups including improved accountability and diversity standards for ICANN’s Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees.

Full details of the CCWG-Accountability’s findings and recommendations, inclusive of annexes and supplementary information, are listed in the Third Draft Report available on their website.

 

This page is an archive page from the IANA Stewardship Transition Archive and may contain outdated information. 

Last modified on 10/08/2018