Resolution CGI.br/RES/2017/017

The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee – CGI.br, in its fourth ordinary meeting of 2017, held on May 12, 2017 at NIC.br headquarters, and exercising the mandate conferred upon it by Decree no. 4.829/2003, has approved the following Resolution:

Resolution CGI.br/RES/2017/017 – Regarding the use of two-letter country and territory codes, as specified in the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 standard, at the second level of new gTLDs

Whereas:
1. Two-letter country and territory codes are a historically well-known and important standard established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2) in terms of identity and identification on the Internet;

2. Codes included in the ISO 3166 standard have been used as identifiers for countries in the DNS decades before the creation of new TLDs in the current round of the new gTLDs program within ICANN (all of which are created and set up by agreements between the latter and interested parties);

3. Different stakeholder groups and constituencies within ICANN (e.g. ccNSO Study Group, CWG-UCTN) have carefully examined ICANN policies related to the representations of country and territory names in the DNS, and indicated overall consensus on the need for keeping the reservation of two-letter codes at the top level to serve as ccTLDs;

4. The ICANN Board of Directors adopted in November 2016 Resolution 2016.11.08.15, which proposed measures for the release of two-letter second-level domains in gTLDs;

5. The mission of ICANN is to ensure the stable and secure operation of the Internet's unique identifier systems, and any policy adopted by its Board shall reinforce the credibility and trustworthiness of the domain name system;

6. Several constituencies as well as representatives of countries have consistently complained and expressed concerns about the release of two-letter codes at the second level by ICANN;

7. Different ccTLD registries and countries have reiterated their willingness to preserve the right to be consulted before any delegation of two-letter codes by ICANN at the second level of new gTLDs;

8. The Brazilian Government, in agreement with the country-code operator for the .BR, has duly notified ICANN, in July 2016 in the context of a general consultation, that for Brazil there would be no need for notification in the case of brand gTLDs, but that Brazil would require to be consulted prior to the release of the .BR under any other gTLDs.

CGI.br recommends that ICANN:
1. MAINTAIN previous policies that protect and reserve two-letter country and territory codes at the top and the second levels of the DNS, except when used at the second level under brand gTLDs, keeping the right of countries/territories and their respective ccTLD operators to be consulted before delegations be granted by ICANN;

2. ENGAGE all interested constituencies in any effort to review the name reservation policy, given its complexity and centrality for the stability and security of the Domain Name System;

3. KEEP the policies regarding domain names related to countries and territories included in the ISO 3166 standard separated from those created and based on gTLD registry agreements;

4. STRIVE to avoid any confusion and misguidance of users, thus reinforcing the credibility of the Domain Name System, given that it historically meant reliable and clear identification of Internet addresses;

5. REINFORCE those protections also for the three-letter codes which are listed in the same ISO 3166 standard, as they have direct correspondence with the two-letter country and territory codes.