Staff Request for Advice of GAC On Definition of Geographic Regions Sent: 9 June, 2000

From: Andrew McLaughlin
Sent: Friday, June 09, 2000
To: Paul Twomey
Subject: Request for Advice: Allocation of Countries and Territories to Geographic Regions

Dear Paul:

This note is a formal request for advice from the GAC. The ICANN staff seeks the GAC's views on the proper allocation of countries, territories, and distinct economies as recognized in international fora among the five geographic regions defined by the ICANN Bylaws.

The GAC's advice is needed on a relatively urgent basis, because ICANN will be conducting regionally-based At Large elections for the ICANN Board over the next few months. As supported by the GAC, a candidate will be assigned to the region of her/his citizenship, while an At Large member will vote according to her/his place of residence. Accordingly, every country, territory, and distinct economy as recognized in international fora must be placed within one of the five regions. As a practical matter, the allocation must be finalized at the ICANN meetings in Yokohama (July 13-17, 2000).

The ICANN Bylaws define five geographic regions: Europe; Asia/Australia/Pacific; Latin America/Caribbean islands; Africa; North America. See Article V, Section 6 of the ICANN Bylaws. The Bylaws do not provide any further guidance as to the appropriate definition of the five regions. Attached to this email is ICANN's current list of countries, territories and distinct economies as recognized in international fora, primarily drawn from the ISO 3166-1 list of code elements. Our objective is a comprehensive division of this list among the five regions.

Let me highlight for your attention two particular questions:

(1) The Middle East.

The Bylaws do not specify whether the Middle East should be grouped with Africa or with Asia/Australia/Pacific. The ICANN staff observes that, for Internet addressing purposes, the Middle East countries have been served by the same regional Internet registry as North Africa (RIPE NCC).

(2) The Caucasus.

The Bylaws do not specify whether the nations of the Caucasus (i.e., Azerbeijan, Armenia, and Georgia) should be grouped with Europe or with Asia/Australia/Pacific. The ICANN staff observes that, for Internet addressing purposes, the Caucasus countries have been served by the same regional Internet registry as Europe (RIPE NCC).

Let me know if I can provide any further assistance.

On behalf of the ICANN staff, let me thank in advance you and the members of the GAC for your timely advice.

Best regards,

--Andrew

===========================

List of Countries, Territories, and Distinct Economies

 

---

Page Updated 11-June-2000
(c) 2000  The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. All rights reserved.