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<h2>News Alert</h2>
<p style="margin:0px 0px 10px 0px;font-family:arial;font-size:small"><a href="https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-3-2015-12-23-en" target="_blank">https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-3-2015-12-23-en</a></p>
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<h2 style="clear:left;margin-bottom:0px">Final Report Recommendations of the Geographic Regions Review Working Group</h2>
<p>23 December 2015</p>
<table>
<tbody><tr>
<td><strong>Forum Announcement:</strong></td>
<td>Public Comment Period opens on</td>
<td><strong>Date:</strong></td>
<td>23 December 2015</td>
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<td><strong>Categories/Tags:</strong></td>
<td colspan="3">Reviews/Improvements</td>
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<td><strong>Purpose (Brief):</strong></td>
<td colspan="3"><p>The cross-community Geographic Regions Review Working Group has produced its Final Report in which it proposes a series of recommendations regarding the ongoing application of the organization’s geographic regions framework.</p>
<p>The ICANN Board is interested in further community reaction to those recommendations and has instructed the Staff to open and manage a public comment period of at least 120 days to give the community an opportunity to thoroughly review the proposals and provide any additional comments on the working group recommendations.</p>
<p>The Working Group’s Final Report provides an extensive series of conclusions, proposals and recommendations including:</p>
<ol>
<li>The Working Group concludes that the general principle of geographic diversity is valuable and should be preserved. </li>
<li>Application of the geographic diversity principles must be more rigorous, clear and consistent.</li>
<li>Adjusting the number of ICANN geographic regions is not currently practical.</li>
<li>No other International Regional Structures offer useful options for ICANN.</li>
<li>ICANN must formally adopt and maintain its own unique Geographic Regions Framework.</li>
<li>The Community wants to minimize any changes to the current structure.</li>
<li>ICANN must acknowledge the sovereignty and right of self-determination of states to let them choose their region of allocation.</li>
<li>ICANN communities have flexibly applied geographic diversity principles over the years. While the Board should remain strictly subject to the current framework, flexibility should be preserved for other structures.</li>
<li>“Special Interest Groups” or “Cross-Regional Sub-Groups” offer new diversity opportunities.</li>
<li>Implementation mechanisms and processes must be developed by Staff; and</li>
<li>The Board must preserve its oversight and future review opportunities.</li>
</ol>
<p>The extensive comment period will give individuals and community groups an opportunity to thoroughly review the proposals and provide any additional comments on the working group recommendations.</p></td>
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<td><strong>Public Comment Box Link:</strong></td>
<td colspan="3"><a href="https://www.icann.org/public-comments/geo-regions-2015-12-23-en" target="_blank">https://www.icann.org/public-comments/geo-regions-2015-12-23-en</a></td>
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