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Received: 22 January 2002 |
Subject: FW: Application for pops.int
Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 17:40:14 +0100
From: "David Ogden" <DOgden@unep.ch>
To: <reconsider@icann.org>
CC: "Jim Willis" <JWillis@unep.ch>
Dear Reconsideration Committee,
This is to request reconsideration of the decision (see below) by IANA not to afford the top level .int of www.pops.int domain name to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).
Please see the attached fax of 3 January 2002 from the Director of UNEP Chemicals to Stuart Lynn, CEO and President of ICANN asking for a reversal of the IANA decision referenced above. (We have yet to receive a response to this fax.) As indicated in the letter, we believe the IANA's rejection of our request does not have any legal foundation and may be deemed as unjustified discrimination against the Stockholm Convention. This is particularly troubling since a number of other international treaties have secretariats with provided by the United Nations with the same legal status/personality as does the Stockholm Convention have already been granted .int top level domain names (e.g., www.pic.int, www.basel.int, www.unfccc.int, www.unccd.int) by IANA.
I am also attaching the text of the Stockholm Convention as included in the Final Act of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries that adopted it as well as the list of signatory (112 as of today) to the Convention from the United Nations Treaty Collection.
In response to the questions in from your Reconsideration Policy of 4 March 1999, please see our responses below:
1. Contact information:
David Ogden, Coordinator
Interim Secretariat for the Stockholm Convention
on Persistent Organic Pollutants
UNEP Chemicals
11-13, chemin des Anemones
CH-1219, Chatelaine, Geneva, Switzerland
tel.: +41-22-917-8190; fax: +41-22-797-3460
2/3. Specific action for reconsideration:
IANA decision of 22 December 2001 not to afford the Stockholm Convention the top level domain name www.pops.int
4. The manner by which the effected party will be effected by this action:
We are unable to establish the official website for the Stockholm Convention with the top level domain name www.pops.int. As IANA had already provided .int domain names to our next door neighbors (both in terms of location and policy) to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (www.pic.int), and the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Diposal (www.basel.int) we had assumed that we would be able to receive the www.pops.int domain name. This is simply unfair and requires Parties and others involved or interested in the Stockholm Convention to remember a much longer Internet address than those of the other global environmental conventions dealing with chemical pollution. This also means a delay in our printing and distribution of materials on which our Internet address was to be listed. I.e., how can we say, "For more information please visit our website at www.pops.int" if we can not use this. We have to give people a temporary address until we work this thing out. This is particulary a problem with the thousands of booklets that include the treaty text in the six United Nations languages. This is not helpful and unnecessary.
5. The request does not involve a temporary stay of action.
6. Specific steps: For IANA to reverse earlier decision and afford the requested int address to the Stockholm Convention.
7. Grounds for the reversal. Please see the attached file "ianafax_rv3.doc" -- this document was reviewed by by the legal office of the United Nations Environment Programme who provided much of the text. Basically, the Stockholm Convention fits to two criteria for the int. address, in that it is established by an international agreement (it was adopted by 127 countries and has been signed by 112) and is an independent legal entity and it and its organs (e.g., the secretariat) enjoy independent legal personality.
Please note that Michelle Cotton's suggestion below that we ask the UN for a second level domain name is not helpful and inconsist with IANA's policy of giving top level .int domain names to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change www.unfccc.int, and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification —www.unccd.
Please let me know if you further questions or other information is needed.
Regards, -David Ogden
-----Original Message-----
From: Int Dom [mailto:int-dom@iana.org]
Sent: Samstag, 22. Dezember 2001 00:57
To: David Ogden; int-dom@iana.org; Andrew Isaac
Cc: guillaume.marneffe@unep.ch; Osmany Pereira Gonzalez;
doherty.jane@epa.gov; fraenkel.amy@epa.gov; bandemehr.angela@epa.gov;
ricciardonemd@state.gov; smithb@un.org
Subject: RE: Application for pops.int
Attn: David Ogden
Andrew Isaac
Thank you for your message and the information about the 106 countries that have signed the Stockholm Convention. We understand that it is common for Multilateral Environmental Agreements to designate existing international organizations, such as UNEP, to provide the secretariat. However, to obtain a .int domain name, the treaty/convention must establish a separate entity with independent legal personality.
You also mention that the Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent has the same status as the Stockholm Convention secretariat. We will examine that case to determine whether an .int domain name was wrongly granted.
Since you appear to be an activity of the United Nations, you might want to consider contacting James Jones <jones@un.org>, the administrative contact for un.int, regarding the possibility of registration under UN's second-level domain, such as pops.un.int.
Thank you,
Michelle S. Cotton
.int Domain Registry
-----Original Message-----
From: DOgden@Chemicals.unep.ch [mailto:DOgden@Chemicals.unep.ch]
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2001 8:25 AM
To: int-dom@iana.org; AIsaac@Chemicals.unep.ch
Cc: guillaume.marneffe@unep.ch; OPereira@unep.ch; doherty.jane@epa.gov;
fraenkel.amy@epa.gov; bandemehr.angela@epa.gov; ricciardonemd@state.gov;
smithb@un.org
Subject: RE: Application for pops.int
Importance: High
Dear Ms. Cotton,
Could please give me the status of this request. Honestly, it is getting very difficult to do an important part of our work in assisting countries in their efforts to develop plans and capacity to implement the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants without the toplevel domain name. I will also need to start posting documents for our upcoming Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting.
As mentioned earlier, conventions with the same legal setup as the Stockholm Convention presently have .int addresses (e.g., www.basel.int, and www.pic.int. Can you tell me when we can expect to get the top level domain name?
Please let me know what more is needed and feel free to call me on my cell phone (011-41-79-477-0801 -- we are 9 hours ahead of California so if you could call before 1pm your time it would be fine.) Attached is the most recent list of signatories to the Convention from the United Nations Treaty Collection website.
Thanks,
David Ogden, Coordinator
Interim Secretariat for the Stockholm
Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
United Nations Environment Programme/Chemicals
International Environment House
11-13, chemin des Anémones
CH-1219 Châtelaine, Geneva, Switzerland
tel.: +41-22-917-8190 fax: +41-22-797-3460
-----Original Message-----
From: Int Dom [mailto:int-dom@iana.org]
Sent: mardi, 27. novembre 2001 21:21
To: AIsaac@Chemicals.unep.ch
Cc: guillaume.marneffe@unep.ch; opereira@unep.ch; aisaac@unep.ch;
dogden@Chemicals.unep.ch
Subject: Application for pops.int
Dear Andrew,
Thank you for your application and documentation for pops.int (submitted 12 September 2001).
In reviewing the convention, we do not see that it establishes a separate organization with independent international legal personality. We note Article 19 establishes the Conference of the Parties, but this does not appear to have legal personality. Article 20 establishes a secretariat, but assigns the responsibility to the executive director of UNEP rather than creating a new entity.
We also need proof that this convention was signed by 2 or more nations. You mentioned in your letter of 12 October 2001 that you would be able to provide a username and password so that we could review this convention online. This would me most helpful.
Please send any information that would help clarify the above points. Once we receive this information we will continue the review process. If we have misunderstood the materials you have submitted, please fill free to submit an explanation or additional documentation to us.
Thank you for your patience during the review process and we apologize for any delays that you experienced.
Best regards,
Michelle S. Cotton
.int Domain Registry
Attachments:
A: 3
January 2002 Letter to Stuart Lynn
B: Final
Act of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Stockholm Convention
on Persistent Organic Pollutants
C: Signatures
List for Stockholm Convention as of 22 January 2002