An Arab Voice, Opposing ACDR's Appointment as UDRP Provider

[H SAJM <h_s_a_j_m@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Members of the ICANN Board, 


As a citizen of a state in the Arab World, who has deep
knowledge of the region and what goes on there, I would like to be on the
record for opposing, in the strongest terms possible, the appointment of ACDR
as a dispute resolution center for domain name property.

A brief summary of myself: I happen to be a once-insider in
the Arab World, who has moved to the Free World (leaving a medical school
behind, a guaranteed career as a physician, and property which was liquidated
at a fraction of its value). As such, I have earned my right - THE VERY HARD
WAY - to describe the Arab World like it is, without worrying about political
correctness.

The current management of ICANN has been trying to paint -
to both the public and members of the ICANN Board - the rosy picture of an
"Arab Spring" and the idealistic theory that allowing domain name
arbitration to take place in the Arab world will encourage Internet governance
in the region and will contribute to the Arab Spring.

Given my intimate knowledge of the Arab World, allow me to
make an obvious observation for the benefit of anyone whose intelligence is so
low that they haven't noticed for themselves. The so-called Arab Spring was 
really
the Arab Fall; I know because I already see the very harsh reality of a cold
and cruel Arab WINTER that has already established itself so firmly in the
region and is unlikely to loosen its grip anytime soon.

1) In Egypt: Hardline Muslim Brotherhood elected to power, brutally
cracking down on groups promoting free speech and fair government, targeting
all groups with ties to the West, not to mention the genocide-level assaults on
religious minorities.

2) In Syria: Religiously-motivated rebel groups calling
themselves "freedom fighters" - a laughable moniker really for a
group that commits unspeakable atrocities against anyone who does not support
its agenda. Their agenda is to topple a president who, at his worst, is still a
1000 times more humane than they are. The only common point between both
parties of this civil war is their belief that their opponent is being funded
by the "Evil West" that has long desired to import its corrupt values
(they mean: free speech, democracy, etc.) to the Arab World for the purpose of
destroying it.

3) In Libya: The same group calling themselves "freedom
fighters" captured their despot Gaddafi alive on camera; then beat him to
his death within minutes. It's not clear what kind of "freedom"
anyone expects a group of thugs such as those to bring. But these are the
powers that be in Libya today, and they know how to riot, murder, and destroy
foreign-owned property at the first whiff of any excuse they can find.

4) In Bahrain: Corporations with ties to the West are being targeted,
and several calls have been made to Bahraini consumers to boycott their
products. Of course, the usual targeting of the religious minority by the 
government
is taking place as well (suppression of their free speech, damaging their
physical property, etc.) - although sadly in the case of Bahrain, the religious
minority is none other than a sect of the same religion (Sunni majority vs.
Shia minority).

5) Jordan (the proposed location of ACDR) is just as fragile
as the rest of the Arab World. For the politically-ignorant who need a basic
primer on Jordan: It's a country whose Hashemite tribal elders are so vocal in
their critique of their king, that their king has married a Palestinian
(Palestinians are a majority in Jordan) in a political attempt to win the
support of the Palestinian majority, who are often in conflict with the
Jordanians, and who can protect him from his "own people" in the case
they attempt to dethrone him - very sad, but true.

The Arab World is in a state of complete chaos in 2013,
despite its huge financial resources, because basic concepts such as democracy,
free speech, and human rights do not echo very far. If you think these concepts
are irrelevant to domain names, think again. The extent to which these concepts
are accepted where domain name arbitration is allowed is very relevant, as
domain names are tightly-linked to freedom of expression and the right to 
disseminate
information. 


The fact that ICANN's current management is actively
campaigning to give a center located in this hotbed of chaos the right to
determine whether US, Canadian, European, Australian, and other citizens get to
keep their domain property, is so surreal that it would make a perfect case
study in insurance books as to why managers and officers of corporations need
to buy liability coverage for themselves personally. This is especially true 
given
the following facts:

1) The Arab World can't even govern itself without
collapsing into civil war, with casualties ranging anywhere from hundreds to
tens of thousands dead depending on the location. It's not clear why ICANN's
management is pushing so hard to allow ownership rights of millions of dollars’
worth of digital property to be determined in Arab states with poor (no, excuse
me, I mean, HORRIBLE) track records in governance and democracy. Why does 
ICANN's
management wish to permit valuable property which owned by citizens of 
established
democracies to be treated as guinea pigs to teach the Arab World about Internet
governance, when the Arab World hasn’t even figured out basic political
governance?

2) There are profound differences between the Arab World vs.
the Free World in interpreting the meaning of "bad faith." Basic
rights such as free speech are often frowned upon in the Arab World and
considered "bad faith." Why is ICANN allowing arbitration to take
place in such a restrictive environment, where there's a very high risk of
property being seized for political reasons and/or to silence free speech?

3) Statistics from WIPO, regarding the geographical
distribution of parties initiating UDRP proceedings 
(http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/statistics/countries_a-z.jsp),
do not justify the creation of a domain name dispute resolution center in the
Arab World. Out of 25,871 cases, only 91 (less than 1%; to be more precise,
approximately 1/3 of 1% percent) were initiated by parties from Arab states
(Algeria 2, Bahrain 2, Egypt 4, Iraq 2, Jordan 5, Kuwait 1, Lebanon 8, Morocco
2, Oman 3, Qatar 4, Saudi Arabia 12, Syria 1, Tunisia 5, UAE/Emirates 40, Yemen
0). If we also add Malaysia (35 cases), on the basis of religious affiliation
(after all, Malaysia has a history of collaborating with its Arab allies, even
if it means acting unlawfully against international conventions, e.g. it
deported a Saudi journalist who was fleeing persecution for simply exercising
his basic free speech rights in Saudi Arabia), the total reaches 126. If we
also assume that Turkey (287 cases), despite its bid to join the European
Union, will in a hypocritical move seek arbitration from an Arab and not
European center, simply on the basis of religious affiliation (Turkey is
currently run by a member of the anti-free-speech anti-human-rights Muslim
Brotherhood), the total number of cases rises to 413, which is still only 1.5%
of total cases. This negligible demand for arbitration from Arab and affiliated
states, combined with the restrictive political environment of the Arab World,
combined with the high risk ICANN's management is asking domain property owners
in the Free World to bear, all combined do not justify the approval of a domain
name resolution dispute center in Jordan.

4) The West, with its free and democratic beliefs, is often
portrayed in the Arab World as an evil force constantly trying to destroy the
pristine and divine values of the Arab World - I know, because I grew up there
and I have been fed the usual dose of "Arab Supremacy" together with
a very popular side dish that ‘we are not fairing very well because the West is
killing and robbing us and trying to import these unacceptable values.’ This
ideology of blaming the West is obvious in the following original language 
submitted
by the ACDR in its first proposal: "only through strong protection of
Intellectual Property Rights that the region can truly develop a dynamic and
innovative business environment." Given that domain name ownership in the
Arab World is very minimal, and that most domains are owned by citizens of 
developed
regions, it is not hard to do the math and realize that the ACDR is seeking to
protection against theft by citizens of developed regions. Therefore an
accurate translation of ACDR’s statement is: The West is stealing us, and we
need to get our property back. Although the statement regarding “strong
protection of Intellectual Property Rights” has been removed from ACDR’s new 
proposal
after several pointed out "its specific non-neutral belief," its
protectionist nature, and its unsuitability as a motivating ideology for a
"body for domain name resolution," I am of utmost confidence that
those behind ACDR will still execute the spirit of their original statement in
their "neutral" dispute resolution operations.

5) The ACDR had at some point requested permission to
arbitrate 5000 domains in their start-up stage. Several experts - including
Phil Corwin, counsel for ICA - have expressed astonishment as to how the ACDR
plans to attract such a suspiciously high volume of domain name disputes. 
Although
the ACDR has changed its numbers and is now requesting a limit of 50 cases per
month, the total annual of 600 domains is still very high compared to normal
levels originating from the Arab World (see point 3). The only explanation
possible (and I give this explanation based on my familiarity with the region,
and my awareness of free speech and its limited recognition in the Arab World)
is that those behind ACDR have already compiled and are sitting on a list of
domain names which they consider "offensive" or "bad faith"
(by their standards), and which they have not attempted to dispute in the past,
because they are aware that more-reputable dispute centers in democratic states
will not award to them, so they plan to quickly usurp those domains without
fuss once given arbitration privileges. 


In conclusion, given the statistics regarding negligible demand
in the region, and given all the concerns raised above regarding lack of
democracy, lack of free speech, lack of human rights, the unstable political
environment, the poor representation of the region in domain name ownership,
and consequently, the poor understanding of domain name rights in the region, I
see absolutely no reason why ICANN’s management would insist on approving a 
domain
name dispute resolution in this region. 


If approved, the ACDR will be used as a tool by this 
democratically-underdeveloped
region to execute politically-motivated suppression of free speech and 
intellectual
property theft against more democratic states. 


I urge members of the ICANN Board, who have any conscience
within them, to DO THE RIGHT THING and recognize these concerns, and fight the 
pressure
by ICANN’s management, and put an end to this joke of a proposal and vote
against it.

Thank You,
H.S.A.J.M.