hanks
- also of interest, approved in the same Board meeting, is an update in
the Code of Conduct for Statements of Interest. Among many other
relevant improvements, it signals that consulting *is* expected to be
disclosed; regular consulting contracts should not be under
non-disclosure; and confidentiality should not be used to hide interests
that affect the processes. Verbatim:
"
Interests are the connections that
each participant brings to ICANN that positively contribute to ICANN’s work.
Acknowledging interests is a proactive and positive endeavor, and the scope of
each participant’s declared interest should be respected and valued.
The obligation to fully disclose interests lies primarily with each individual
participant. If an entity maintains engagements with multiple ICANN participants,
including for the purpose of participating in different groups or on different
issues across the ICANN community, that entity is strongly encouraged to
confirm that each of its representatives are making full and proper disclosure.
Regular consulting relationships or other engagements typically are not duty-
bound to be maintained as confidential, and participants and their clients should
not use contractual confidentiality terms in ways that shield the release of
information about representation within ICANN processes."
This formulation is particularly exigent on those participants
whose main activity is in consulting, as the clients in this business
may be affected by the decisions made within the ICANN processes (even
having domain names registered creates an interest)
or may be double-dipping through the consultant (e.g. a government or a
regional organization which is represented in the GAC may be gaining a
foothold in the At Large, GNSO, or the many working groups and task
forces that contribute to the formation of ICANN
policy. I encourage all LACRALO participants to be vigilant of the SoI's
and EoI's that we encounter.
Yours,
Alejandro Pisanty