The Affirmation of Commitments – What it Means
30 September 2009
The Affirmation of Commitments completes a transition that started 11 years ago …
When ICANN was created in 1998, with the assistance of the United States Government, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) process was started with the objective of achieving a noble goal: the coordination of the Internet’s unique identifiers by the private sector through a not-for-profit organization where policies were developed from the bottom up.
The signing of the Affirmation determines once and for all that this model works.
The JPA was the seventh amendment of the original MOU. Over the years there have been thirteen report cards on performance of responsibilities to the US Department of Commerce alone. So why is the Affirmation of Commitments a further step in progress and internationalization of the ICANN model?
It commits ICANN to remaining a private not for profit organization. It declares ICANN is independent and is not controlled by any one entity. It commits ICANN to reviews performed BY THE COMMUNITY – a further recognition that the multi-stakeholder model is robust enough to review itself.
The Affirmation is of long standing and is not limited to the three years for which previous agreements operated.
The Government Advisory Committee’s role is reaffirmed. And the GAC is a key participant in selecting the membership of the review teams.
There is a certain timetable as to when those reviews will take place.
In summary, the Affirmation of Commitments places beyond doubt that the ICANN model is best equipped to coordinate this vital resource and places reviews of ICANN’s performance in the hands of the community.
That provides a stable, secure platform into the future that can adapt to changes to the Internet itself.
