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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <br> </span><b><i><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</span></i></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> </span><b><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>December 10, 2010</span></i></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <br> </span><b><span style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>ICANN Joins Broad Coalition in Opposing a Government Only U.N. Advisory Committee to Internet Governance Forum</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> </span><b><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Multi-Stakeholder Model of Internet Governance is Threatened</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <br> </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>ICANN has joined other groups in sending a letter to the United’ Nations’ Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD), which expresses surprise and strong opposition to a government-only model for participation and consultation in working group whose mission is to study improvements to the Internet Governance Forum.</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>The letter signed was signed by 10 organizations, including ICANN, the Internet Society (ISOC) and the International Chamber of Commerce.</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>In the correspondence, the group wrote, “We ask the Secretary-General of the United Nations to set up a working group on Internet governance, in an open and inclusive process that ensures a mechanism for the full and active participation of governments, the private sector and civil society from both developing and developed countries, involving relevant intergovernmental and international organizations and forums, to investigate and make proposals for action…”</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>The letter is a direct response to a decision by the CSTD on Monday to form a </span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>working group to study Internet improvements that would be made up only of “member-states,” which means that such a body would not only exclude all non-governmental entities, such as business and technology organizations, but also limit participation of governments that are not members of the CSTD.</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>The consensus decision of the UN would be based in large part on </span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>the deliberations of the working group in question. The decisions of the working group could frame the structure and mandate of the United Nation’s Internet Governance Forum (IGF) for the next 5 years.</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>ICANN and the other organizations, wrote that the original purpose and function of the group should be retained through, “the full and active participation of governments, the private sector and civil society from both developing and developed countries, involving relevant intergovernmental and international organizations and forums”.</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>To read the letter, go here: <span style='color:blue'><a href="http://www.igcaucus.org/node/48">http://www.igcaucus.org/node/48</a></span></span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <<a href="http://www.igcaucus.org/node/48">http://www.igcaucus.org/node/48</a>> </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'> </span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <br> </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>###</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <br> </span><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>MEDIA CONTACTS: </span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Brad White </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>ICANN Director of Global Media Affairs</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'> </span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Tel. +1 (202) 570 7118</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:blue'><a href="brad.white@icann.org">brad.white@icann.org</a></span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <<a href="mailto:brad.white@icann.org">mailto:brad.white@icann.org</a>> </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'> Andrew Robertson</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Edelman Public Relations</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Tel. +</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'> 44 (7811) 341 945</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:blue'><a href="andrew.Robertson@edelman.com">andrew.Robertson@edelman.com</a></span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <<a href="mailto:andrew.Robertson@edelman.com">mailto:andrew.Robertson@edelman.com</a>> </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'> </span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <br> </span><b><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>About ICANN: </span></i></b><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>ICANN’s mission is to ensure a stable, secure and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet you have to type an address into your computer - a name or a number. That address has to be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN coordinates these unique identifiers across the world. Without that coordination we wouldn't have one global Internet. ICANN was formed in 1998. It is a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation with participants from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet’s unique identifiers. ICANN doesn’t control content on the Internet. It cannot stop spam and it doesn’t deal with access to the Internet. But through its coordination role of the Internet’s naming system, it does have an important impact on the expansion and evolution of the Internet.<b> For more information please visit: www.icann.org</b></span></i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <<a href="http://www.icann.org/">http://www.icann.org/</a>> </span><b><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>.</span></i></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p align=center style='text-align:center'><o:p> </o:p></p><p><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>If you would rather not receive future communications from ICANN, let us know by clicking here. <<a href="http://ICANN.pr-optout.com/OptOut.aspx?523509x19831x12709x1x3742078x24000x6&Email=jamie.hedlund%40icann.org">http://ICANN.pr-optout.com/OptOut.aspx?523509x19831x12709x1x3742078x24000x6&Email=jamie.hedlund%40icann.org</a>> <br>ICANN, 4676 Admiralty Way Suite 330, Marina del Rey, CA 90292 United States </span><o:p></o:p></p><p><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>