This message is sent on behalf of the Number Resource Organization (NRO)
Input by the NRO Executive Council on the Public Consultation to
Determine the Future Structure of the ASO
Proposed Next Steps
In January 2018, the NRO Executive Council responded to the 18 resulting
recommendations that were issued following the second independent review
of the Address Supporting Organization (ASO) carried out in 2017 by
ITEMS International. The last of these Recommendations was that a public
consultation be held in each of the five RIR communities to determine
the future structure of the ICANN Address Supporting Organization (ASO).
The recommended public consultations have been initiated in each RIR
community over the past six months, including discussions on mailing
lists and at meetings in each of the five regions. The NRO EC have
considered results of this process to date, and have distilled the
following points as a proposed way forward.
1) While not specifically asked as part of our consultation, there was
prevailing view across the communities that the number community’s
relationship with ICANN (that which is referred as the ASO relationship)
should continue. A significant number of community members suggested
that the relationship must be significantly simplified and its focus
limited to number community matters.
2) The ASO Review recognised that the number community relationship with
ICANN is unlike that of other Supporting Organizations. The number
community’s engagement with ICANN serves primarily to facilitate
coordination of global Internet number resource policies. It follows
that number community representatives be careful in appraising current
and future proposed ICANN-related work items, and be prepared to decline
those that lie outside this scope.
3) It is clear that the existence of two separate identities (those of
the NRO and the ASO) leads to complexity and confusion in the ICANN
relationship. The NRO EC will work with the ICANN organisation to
determine the viability of consolidating the number community’s
participation in ICANN under either the “Number Resource Organization”
or the “Address Supporting Organisation”.
4) The number community finds value in the ICANN relationship and in
ICANN’s defined role as described above. We support ICANN in continuing
to undertake this role, and will support continuing evolution of our
relationship, including further changes as needed, as time goes on.
The NRO EC provides this statement to the RIR communities in each region
as a possible common way forward to aid in their consideration of the
future structure of the ASO.
Regards
Antony Gollan
Senior Communications Officer
RIPE NCC
