[members-discuss] [ripe-list] A frank discussion

Dear Lu,

You will have seen that the RIPE Chair has declared discussion on this topic to be concluded on the RIPE List as she does not see any new arguments or information:
https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/ripe-list/2022-October/002723.html

I agree with her that there is little to be gained by continuing this discussion. I have made the RIPE NCC position clear on numerous occasions, and I will do so here for the last time in an effort to remove any remaining doubt.

We fully support the continuation of the current system of Internet governance. This statement fully negates all the concerns you have raised. In particular, it should make clear that there is no desire on anyone's part for any RIR to become “a specialised agency of the United Nations”. It has been pointed out already on the lists that an NRO letter to the Mauritius government in no way demonstrates an intent to become formally connected to a completely different entity, such as the United Nations. This idea seems to be at the root of your concerns, but you can rest assured that it is completely without basis in reality.

To restate the intent of that NRO letter, AFRINIC believed that a letter from the NRO would lend weight to its request to be granted a status within Mauritius that would help with its efforts to address the governance issues it faces. Questions about the specifics of AFRINIC's request should be raised in the AFRINIC community if you feel there are still concerns to be addressed. However, if I felt that signing such a letter would in some way change the current system of Internet governance or undermine the community-driven aspect of that system, I would not have signed it. The five RIRs work closely together to maintain the system you claim to believe in, and we were willing to lend our support when one of those RIRs believed it would strengthen its position.

Finally, I would like to add that I am very grateful for the support the RIPE community has shown recently for our efforts to engage with governments and to make sure the views of the technical community are known and understood.

This list is for members to discuss matters of importance to them, so I am not in a position to declare an end to discussions here in any way. However, I will state that I see no value to be gained by our making further contributions to those discussions.


Regards,

Hans Petter Holen
Managing Director
RIPE NCC

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