FINAL VERSION TO BE SUBMITTED IF RATIFIED
The final version to be submitted, if the draft is ratified, will be placed here.
FINAL DRAFT VERSION TO BE VOTED UPON BY THE ALAC
The final draft version to be voted upon by the ALAC will be placed here.
FIRST DRAFT SUBMITTED
As you might know, a number of people who intended to participate at the ICANN meeting in Toronto experienced visa problems, and some of them missed the meeting altogether. Of course, the granting of visas is the sovereign right of the host country, and there is very little ICANN can do when such problems come to light, typically very close to the meeting.
However, ICANN should be a concerned when its essential structures and the bylaws-mandated balance of their composition are affected by visa problems. This is what happened in Toronto, when three of five ALAC-appointed members of the 2013 Nominating Committee were not able to participate at the committee's kick-off meeting. They were from Sudan, representing Africa, Moldova, representing Europe, and from Armenia, representing Asia and Asia-Pacific. A fourth NomCom member, a Kenyan representative of the GNSO business community, barely made it, having received his visa at the last moment.
ICANN's globalization and its endeavour to be inclusive and representative of all regions of the world should not be held hostage by the whims of visa policies of the host countries and bureaucratic delays in their implementation. We know that Wikimedia is also conducting a global annual meeting – the Wikimania – which is hosted subsequently by a another chapter in a different country. They have managed a full participation even in countries with severe visa conditions (like US, Europe or Israel) by earliest arrangements possible (around a year ahead) with the host country representatives and authorities.
The ALAC respectfully suggests that in the future, as part of the selection process of future meeting venues, ICANN sets as a condition that the potential host organization presents a firm commitment of relevant immigration authorities to facilitate the granting of visas to all members of the NomCom and other participants designated as essential by ICANN.
Sincerely Yours,
Olivier Crépin-Leblond
