.persiangulf

Status:	Proposed
Type:	Generic
Category:	Culture
PIC Submitted:	Yes, Download Here
Priority #:	1069 - Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti.

.persiangulf is a proposed TLD in ICANN's New gTLD Program. The applicant is Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti.

Objection

Saudi Arabia's Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) filed an objection against the TLD during the public comment period.

The application was issued a single GAC Early Warning jointly submitted by the governments of Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and UAE; the warning system is noted as a strong recommendation on behalf of national governments to the ICANN Board that a given TLD application should be denied. The warning notes that there is a lack of community involvement and support and that the applicant is trying to standardize and use a term for the body of water that is not used by the countries bordering the gulf, that is, they officially recognize it as being named the "Arabian Gulf".

Although the United States government initially opposed the GAC objection to geographic-looking strings such as .persiangulf, they put out a statement in July 2013 that revised their position, saying it would remain neutral in the case of .persiangulf, thereby allowing the GAC to present a consensus objection regarding the string and all of its IDN versions.

Independent Objector

The Independent Objector is responsible for determining if a new gTLD application is in the best interest of the Internet community. If not, he or she will file formal objections against a new gTLD application. Alain Pellet, a law professor from the University of Paris and a former member of the United Nations International Law Commission and International Court of Justice, was chosen by ICANN to serve as the sole independent objector for the New gTLD Program in May, 2012. The position was created by ICANN in accordance with the implementation of the New gTLD Program. As defined, the IO may be an individual or organization and must not be affiliated with any applicant and must carry out their responsibility without bias.

In December 2012 Mr. Pellet released his first correspondence on actual TLDs, commenting on so-called "Controversial strings". Those strings include: .adult, .sex, .porn, .sexy, .hot, .gay, .lgbt, .persiangulf, .vodka, and .wtf. A string seemed to have been deemed "controversial" by Mr. Pellet if it received a substantial amount of objections during the public comment period. He addresses each TLD separately and at length, noting the objection, and turning to International law and precedent to determine whether an objection from his point of view, of defending the public interest, is warranted. In each case he concludes that the objections are not supported by international law and that regional, cultural, and personal issues influence the objections rather than broadly accepted treaties, laws, or international cultural trends. He has reserved the right to later object to the strings, but at that time it was deemed that the "controversial strings" are in fact not offensive to the greater public interest and Internet users.

With Regards to .persiangulf, the IO notes the longstanding contention over the naming standard of the Persian Gulf, and of other international areas. He defers to a number of U.N. Naming Conventions and International Organizations that recognize "Persian Gulf" as the official name of the body of water, including the International Hydrographic Organization, which has a clear interest in maritime names.

Community Objection

The Gulf Cooperation Council filed a community objections against this application.