Governmental Advisory Committee: Difference between revisions

'''GAC''' is the acronym for the '''Governmental Advisory Committee''', which is a formal advisory body providing important feedback and input for [[ICANN]] regarding its public policy.<ref>[http://gac.icann.org/about-gac/ GAC Definition]</ref>

[[ICANN]] relies on certain advisory committees to receive guidance and advice related to the interests and needs of stakeholders who are not able to directly participate in the Supporting Organizations; one of these advisory committees is the Governmental Advisory Committee, which is composed of representatives of national governments from all over the world.  

The GAC provides its advice and guidance upon request. One of its most important responsibilities is its duty to analyze ICANN's activities and policies as they might influence governments, especially with regards to the interaction between [[ICANN]]'s policies and national laws or international agreements.<ref>[http://itlaw.wikia.com/wiki/ICANN_Governmental_Advisory_Committee GAC considerations]</ref>

The GAC has the duty to incorporate the diverse opinions and perspective of its members when supplying advice to [[ICANN]], and it's imperative that its members stay informed about new Internet trends and pending policy issues.

The GAC has more than 100 members; and three of its important organizational features are:

* GAC structure consists of elected officers, a Chairman and 3 Vice-chair which include:

** [[Heather Dryden]], Canada (Chairman)

** [[Alice Munyua]], Kenya (Vice-chair)

** [[Maria Häll]], Sweden (Vice-chair)

** [[Choon-Sai Lim]], Singapore (Vice-chair)

* GAC has its own GAC Secretariat

* GAC organizes at least three meetings on a yearly basis which are held in conjunction with ICANN's meetings.

===Related Bodies===

* [[ALAC]] (At-Large Advisory Committee)

* [[Root Server System Advisory Committee]]

* [[SSAC]] (Security and Stability Advisory Committee)

==GAC Achievements==

Over the years, GAC is proud of accomplishing the following:

* Setting up the principles for [[ccTLD]] management and delegation;

* Setting up the principles for public policy for delegation, introduction, and [[gTLD]] operation;

* Setting up the principles for public policy of [[gTLD]] [[Whois]] services;<ref>[http://www.aptld.org/dubaiJune2007/04%20JK%20-%20APTLD%20meeting%20June%202007.pdf GAV accomplishments]</ref>

The GAC has been influential with regards to  [[IDN]]s, as well as [[IPv4]] and [[IPv6]] best practices.

===GAC Working Style===

The GAC creates different Working Groups to study and address each issue; for instance there was a different working group for [[IDN]]s  than that used for [[ccTLD]]s.<ref>[http://www.aptld.org/dubaiJune2007/04%20JK%20-%20APTLD%20meeting%20June%202007.pdf GAC working groups]</ref>

On January 11, 2012, the ninth version of the [[Applicant Guidebook]] was released one day prior to the opening window of ICANN's [[New gTLD Program|new gTLD program]]. The new version gave greater power to the GAC in forcing the [[ICANN Board]] to manually review any application that the committee found problematic. Exactly how many GAC members it would take to cause this review is vague, but it could be as little as one nation's objection. This is a significant change given that the ICANN Board had no requirement to heed any GAC objection in the previous guidebook; the board is still able to over-rule any GAC objection.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/gac-gets-more-power-to-block-controversial-gtlds/ GAC Gets More Power to Block Controversial gTLDs, DomainIncite.com]</ref>

On March 17, 2011, GAC through its' Chairman Heather Dryden reiterated to ICANN Chairman [[Peter Dengate Thrush]] that the Committee has no active support for the implementation of [[.xxx]] TLD. GAC also informed ICANN that some governments might prevent access to the TLD, which could harm the global interoperability and stability of the internet. Furthermore, the Committee also pointed out the possibility for ICANN to assume management and oversight role regarding internet content on the proposed ICANN-[[ICM Registry]] Agreement.<ref>[http://news.dot-nxt.com/2011/03/17/gac-statement-dot-xxx GAC Statement on .xxx]</ref> Despite GAC's position, the [[ICANN Board]] approved .xxx TLD to the during the [[ICANN 41]] Meeting in San Francisco on March 18.<ref>[http://news.dot-nxt.com/2011/04/03/summary-icann-san-francisco#xxx Conference summary: ICANN San Francisco]</ref>

The Accountability and Transparency Review Team ([[ATRT]]) was one of the four Review Teams created by ICANN to comply with the requirements set forth  by the Department of Commerce ([[DOC]]) in the '''Affirmation of Commitments.''' The primary objective of ATRT is to provide evaluation mechanisms and report ICANN's progress on ensuring accountability, transparency and the interests of global Internet users.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/about/aoc-review Affirmation of Commitments – Reviews]</ref> ATRT is composed of volunteer members; 1 from both [[ASO]] and [[ALAC]], 2 from [[ccNSO], 4 from GNSO, 4 from governments including 2 ex-officio members, the chair of the ICANN Board and 1 or 2 independent experts. GAC's representatives to the [[ATRT]] include [[Manal Ismail]], an ex-officio member who is the designated nominee of former GAC chairman [[Janis Karklins]] and vice-chair of RT, [[Fabio Colossanti]] from EU and [[Xinsheng Zhang]] from China.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/about/aoc-review/atrt/composition Accountability and Transparency Review Team Composition]</ref>

On December 31, 2010, ATRT submitted its Final Report to the ICANN Board with 27 recommendations. The final report identified four areas to improve ICANN's accountability and transparency which include:<ref>[http://news.dot-nxt.com/2010/12/31/atrt-final-report#concern Final Recommendations of the Accountability and Transparency Review Team]</ref>

* After establishing the formal context of GAC public policy "advice," the ICANN Board should develop a more formal documented process to notify and request for GAC advice regarding public policy issues by March 2011. ATRT recommended for ICANN to be proactive in requesting GAC advice in writing. In addition the team also recommended the development of a data base to be able to document every request and advice received by ICANN from GAC.

* The Board and GAC should work together to ensure that GAC advice is provided and considered on time. ATRT also suggested the creation of an independent review joint working group and a formal documentation process on how ICANN responds to GAC advice by March 2011. The process must require ICANN to provide specific information on a timely manner regarding its position whether it agrees or disagrees with GAC advice and for both parties to find mutually acceptable solutions in good faith. The Board and GAC must also establish strategies to ensure that the provisions in Bylaws regarding GAC advice is met.

* The Board should develop and implement mechanisms to engage GAC earlier in the policy development process.

* The Board and GAC should work together to create and implement actions to ensure that GAC is well informed regarding ICANN's policy agenda. Both parties should also consider creating/evaluating the role and necessary skills of the ICANN Support Staff to ensure that effective communication will be provided.

* The Board is encouraged to increase the level of support and commitment of governments to the GAC process by encouraging member countries and organizations particularly developing countries to participate in GAC deliberations, provide multilingual access to ICANN records and to develop a process to identify how and when    ICANN deals with senior government officials on public policy issues on a regular or collective basis to complement the GAC process.

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[[Category: Glossary]]