17937: IANA Report - HAITI's .ht Internet Domain (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Ralph Reid <rafreid@yahoo.com>

IANA Report on Redelegation of the .ht Top-Level Domain

--------------------------------------------------------------
IANA Report

Subject: Request of the Consortium FDS/RDDH for Redelegation of .ht
Top-Level Domain
Date: January 2004

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (the IANA), as part of the
administrative functions associated with management of the domain name
system root, is responsible for receiving requests for delegation and
redelegation of top-level domains, investigating the circumstances
pertinent to those requests, and reporting on the requests. This report
gives the findings and conclusions of the IANA on its investigation of
various requests for redelegation of the .ht (Haiti) country-code
top-level domain (ccTLD).

Factual and Procedural Background

In 1997, the University of Southern California's Information Sciences
Institute (which then performed the IANA functions) approved a request
for establishment of the .ht ccTLD. At that time and today, that
two-letter code was and is set forth on the ISO 3166-1 list maintained
by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency (ISO 3166/MA) as the approved
alpha-2 code for Haiti.

Upon its establishment in March 1997, the .ht ccTLD was delegated by
Dr. Jon Postel (then in charge of the IANA function at the Information
Sciences Institute) to Jean Claude Filien, of HINTELFOCUS, as
administrative contact, and Domain Administrator, of HINTELFOCUS, as
the technical contact. At that time, it was Dr. Postel's usual practice
to delegate authority and responsibilities regarding ccTLDs to trusted
individuals.

In March 2002, ICANN received an expression of interest to redelegate
the .ht ccTLD to the Consortium FDS/RDDH. The Government of Haiti
supported this request. The Haiti Government, through the Haitian
Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communications (MTPTC),
recognized Consortium FDS/RDDH as the appropriate delegee for the .ht
ccTLD, and expressed an interest to have Consortium FDS/RDDH formally
recognized by ICANN as the delegee for the .ht ccTLD according to the
"Principles for the Delegation and Administration of Country Code Top
Level Domains" issued in February 2000 by ICANN's Governmental Advisory
Committee (GAC), commonly known as the "GAC Principles." Consortium
FDS/RDDH is an independent body, active within the local Internet
community.

The existing administrative contact has expressed support for the
redelegation request, and the listed technical contact has stated that
it has no objection.

To clarify and document the relative roles and responsibilities of
Consortium FDS/RDDH, the Government of Haiti, and ICANN;
representatives of the parties have drafted the bilateral
communications between each pair of the three parties. A Consortium
FDS/RDDH - ICANN Agreement was entered in November 2003 in accordance
with the GAC Principles, which the Haiti Government has used as a guide
in proceeding. The Haiti Government has also sent ICANN communications
recognizing ICANN's role in coordinating the DNS to preserve global
interoperability. In November 2003, Consortium FDS/RDDH expressed its
desire to execute the appropriate ccTLD Sponsorship Agreement with
ICANN, and on January 2004 the ICANN Board authorized the entry of such
an agreement with Consortium FDS/RDDH.

Evaluation

This report is being provided under the contract for performance of the
IANA function between the United States Government and ICANN. Under
that contract, ICANN performs the IANA function, which includes
receiving delegation and redelegation requests concerning ccTLDs,
investigating the circumstances pertinent to those requests, and making
its recommendations and reporting actions undertaken in connection with
processing such requests.

In acting on redelegation requests, the IANA currently follows the
practices summarized in "Internet Domain Name System Structure and
Delegation" (ICP-1). ICP-1 represents an update of the portions of RFC
1591 (which was issued in March 1994) dealing with ccTLDs, and reflects
subsequent documents and evolution of the policies followed by the IANA
through May 1999. Relevant guidance is also provided in the GAC
Principles.

In considering delegation or redelegation of a ccTLD, the IANA seeks
input from persons significantly affected by the transfer, particularly
those within the nation or territory which the ccTLD has been
established to benefit. As noted in ICP-1, the parties affected include
especially the relevant government or public authority: "The desires of
the government of a country with regard to delegation of a ccTLD are
taken very seriously. The IANA will make them a major consideration in
any TLD delegation/transfer discussions."

Based on the materials submitted and the IANA's evaluation of the
circumstances, Consortium FDS/RDDH qualifies as an appropriate manager
for the .ht registry, with support from the Haiti Internet community,
including the Haiti Government. As noted above, the government of Haiti
has formally endorsed Consortium FDS/RDDH as the appropriate delegee
for the .ht registry.

Mutual agreement of the old and the new delegees is also of importance.
Here, the former administrative and technical contacts support the
change in delegation.

The GAC Principles serve as "best practices" to guide governments in
assuming proper roles with respect to the Internet's naming system,
which the GAC has observed is a public resource to be administered in
the public interest. In general, they recognize that each government
has the ultimate responsibility within its territory for its national
public-policy objectives, but also that ICANN has the responsibility
for ensuring that the Internet domain name system continues to provide
an effective and interoperable global naming system. The GAC Principles
recommend that governments and ICANN pursue their respective roles by
creating a framework for accountability memorialized in communications
with each other and with the ccTLD manager (see clause 2). The GAC
Principles guide governments on how to responsibly structure their
relations with ccTLD managers (see clauses 5.5 and 9). Among these
specific principles, the best practices contemplate that governments
will assist in ensuring that the ccTLD manager complies with ICANN
polices related to global coordination of the Internet DNS (clauses
9.1.7 and 9.1.8).

Consortium FDS/RDDH has committed itself to abiding by the GAC
Principles in communication dated 11 September 2003 from the Haiti
Government, MTPTC, to ICANN CEO Paul Twomey. In the 11 September
letter, the Government of Haiti has followed the actions of the
Governments of Australia1, Japan2, Kenya3, and the Sudan4 in committing
to the principles of private-sector self-regulation of the type that
have allowed and will continue to allow the Internet globally to
flourish, while providing the Government with the ability to intervene
should the private sector be unable to fulfill this function. The Haiti
Government's letter also recognizes the desirability of private-sector
technical coordination of the Internet on a global scale, and affirms
that the Haiti Government is committed to ICANN and, "considers ICANN
to be the appropriate international entity to oversee the technical
coordination of the Internet in a manner that will preserve it as an
effective and convenient mechanism for global communication and
commerce."

By migrating the delegation of the .ht ccTLD from the responsibility of
an individual acting under informal understandings with the IANA to a
more formal, legally enforceable set of arrangements among a delegee
organization, the relevant government, and ICANN (which performs the
IANA function), the proposed delegation will promote service to the
local Internet community and will help assure continued Internet
interoperability through the global technical coordination that ICANN
was created to provide. In this regard, the recognition in the Haiti
Government's discussion of the need for close coordination between
ICANN and the government is particularly noteworthy.

According to the relevant communications, Consortium FDS/RDDH is well
suited to be inclusive of, and accountable to, the Haitian Internet
community; and to operate through appropriate open, transparent, and
inclusive processes.

Conclusion

The structure proposed by Consortium FDS/RDDH and endorsed by the Haiti
Government is to have Consortium FDS/RDDH undertake management of the
.ht ccTLD under appropriate oversight of the Haiti Government
concerning the national policy interests. Consortium FDS/RDDH and the
Haiti Government also acknowledge and support ICANN's responsibility
for coordinating management of the DNS, including the .ht ccTLD, to
safeguard global technical coordination interests. In reviewing the
request and in light of the Haiti Government's endorsement of
Consortium FDS/RDDH as the appropriate all inclusive manager, and in
view of the achievement of agreements documenting the framework of
accountability described above, the IANA concludes that the .ht ccTLD
should be redelegated to Consortium FDS/RDDH.



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