[cooperation-wg] Cruz and Co Send ICANN Another Letter

Dear Avri,

Indeed it is very difficult to compare the budgets of governmental or intergovernmental entities with those of private sector organizations.

As Jim Reid has correctly pointed out, UN organizations (including ITU) have sovereign immunity, they do not pay taxes (but they do pay a proportion of total salaries to the host country in lieu of taxes), and they cannot be sued in ordinary courts, so certain legal fees are lower. On the other hand, they have to follow UN rules regarding procurement (which raises procurement costs), pay employee benefits according to UN rules (which include generous health insurance and pension benefits), and are subject to the jurisdiction of a special tribunal for labor disputes, with rules that are more favorable to employees than in many national jurisdictions.

In terms of in-kind benefits, UN organizations in Geneva (including ITU) get a deal from the Swiss government on the buildings they occupy, in the form of interest free loans and/or no-cost use of the land.

More fundamentally, the scope of ICANN's and ITU's activities are very different, so their overall budgets are not directly comparable.

Best,
Richard

> -----Original Message-----
> From: cooperation-wg [mailto:cooperation-wg-bounces at ripe.net] On Behalf
> Of avri doria
> Sent: Wednesday, April 6, 2016 14:58
> To: cooperation-wg at ripe.net
> Subject: Re: [cooperation-wg] Cruz and Co Send ICANN Another Letter
> 
> Hi,
> 
> Does ITU get other contributions in kind?  For example how much does it
> pay on rent for its offices and such or are these rent free leases?
> 
> Also I have wondered are any of its staff seconded from other
> organizations, either from with the UN or from the nation state
> members?
> 
> I do not dispute your reveal of equivalent budgets, but want to make
> sure that we aren't comparing Oranges and Grapes.
> 
> avri
> 
> On 06-Apr-16 09:27, Richard Hill wrote:
> > ITU's budget is about CHF 165 million per year. ICANN's budget for
> fiscal year 2016 is about $ 113 million (CHF 108 million).
> >
> > Best,
> > Richard
> 
> 
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