Dear RIR Community,

As a Decisional Participant in the ICANN Empowered Community, the Address Supporting Organization has received a notification from the ICANN Secretary concerning the ICANN Board’s approval of the following items:

1. Standard Bylaws Amendment to Article 27 of the ICANN Bylaws
2. IANA FY27 Operating Plan and Budget
3. ICANN FY27 Operating Plan and Budget
4. ICANN FY27–31 Operating and Financial Plan

In accordance with the ICANN Bylaws, Decisional Participants are required to promptly inform their constituents of the delivery of these ICANN Board decisions.

Pursuant to Section 25.1 of the ICANN Bylaws, this serves as notice to the Empowered Community Administration and the Decisional Participants that, on 3 May 2026, the ICANN Board approved a Standard Bylaws Amendment to Article 27 of the ICANN Bylaws.

The Board resolution approving the Standard Bylaws Amendment is available here:
https://www.icann.org/en/board-activities-and-meetings/materials/approved-resolutions-regular-meeting-of-the-icann-board-03-05-2026-en#section2.b

The text of the approved Standard Bylaws Amendment is available here:
https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/transition-article-to-address-specific-reviews-03may26-en.pdf

The purpose of this amendment is to create a temporary pause and reset mechanism for ICANN’s Specific Reviews.

Pursuant to Section 22.4(b)(v) of the ICANN Bylaws, this also serves as notice to the Empowered Community Administration and the Decisional Participants that, on 3 May 2026, the ICANN Board approved the following plans and budgets:

• IANA FY27 Operating Plan and Budget
• ICANN FY27 Operating Plan and Budget
• ICANN FY27–31 Operating and Financial Plan

The Board resolution approving these plans and budgets is available here:
https://www.icann.org/en/board-activities-and-meetings/materials/approved-resolutions-regular-meeting-of-the-icann-board-03-05-2026-en#section2.a

The approved documents are available as follows:

IANA FY27 Operating Plan and Budget
https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/adopted-iana-op-plan-budget-fy2027-published-2026-en.pdf

ICANN FY27 Operating Plan
Pages 117–215 of the following document:
https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/adopted-icann-op-financial-plan-fy2027-2031-op-plan-fy2027-published-2026-en.pdf

ICANN FY27 Budget
https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/adopted-icann-budget-fy2027-published-2026-en.pdf

ICANN FY27–31 Operating and Financial Plan
Pages 1–116 of the following document:
https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/adopted-icann-op-financial-plan-fy2027-2031-op-plan-fy2027-published-2026-en.pdf

Under the ICANN Bylaws, the Empowered Community now has the opportunity to consider whether to reject the Board’s approval of these actions. During the applicable Rejection Action Petition Period, any individual may submit a petition to any Decisional Participant seeking to reject the Board action.

The Rejection Action Petition Period will end on 1 June 2026 at 06:59 UTC.

Further details on the Rejection Process, including the relevant deadlines and requirements for Rejection Action Petitions, are available in Article 2 of Annex D of the ICANN Bylaws:
https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/governance/bylaws-en/#annexD

Any Rejection Action Petition to the ASO should be sent to the ASO Secretariat at secretariat [at] aso.icann.org before the deadline.

Regards,

ASO Secretariat

Dear RIR Community,

As a Decisional Participant in the ICANN Empowered Community, the Address Supporting Organization has received a notification from the ICANN Secretary concerning the ICANN Board’s approval of Fundamental Bylaws Amendments to Articles 17 and 18 of the ICANN Bylaws.

In accordance with the ICANN Bylaws, Decisional Participants are required to promptly inform their constituents of the delivery of the ICANN Board decisions relating to these Fundamental Bylaws Amendments.

The ICANN Board approved the Fundamental Bylaws Amendments on 3 May 2026. The Board resolutions, including the discussion and rationale, are available here:

Bylaws Amendment – IANA Naming Function Review
https://www.icann.org/en/board-activities-and-meetings/materials/approved-resolutions-regular-meeting-of-the-icann-board-03-05-2026-en#section2.c

Bylaws Amendment – Customer Standing Committee Composition and Review, and CSC Charter
https://www.icann.org/en/board-activities-and-meetings/materials/approved-resolutions-regular-meeting-of-the-icann-board-03-05-2026-en#section2.d

The text of the Fundamental Bylaws Amendments is available here:

Article 17 – Customer Standing Committee
https://itp.cdn.icann.org/en/files/governance/proposed-updates-to-article-17-csc-11-02-2026-en.pdf

Article 18 – IANA Naming Function Reviews
https://itp.cdn.icann.org/en/files/governance/proposed-updates-to-article-18-ifr-redline-11-02-2026-en.pdf

Under the ICANN Bylaws, delivery of the Secretary’s Notice triggers an Approval Action Community Forum. The Forum must be convened and concluded during the period beginning on the Approval Action Board Notification Date, 11 May 2026, and ending at 11:59 pm PDT on the 30th day after that date, 9 June 2026, or during the next scheduled ICANN Public Meeting, ICANN86, which will take place from 8–11 June 2026.

Further details on the Approval Action process are available in Article 1.2 of Annex D of the ICANN Bylaws:
https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/governance/bylaws-en/#annexD

Please note that the Approval Action Community Forum is convened at the direction of the Empowered Community Administration.

Any comments on these ICANN Bylaws changes should be sent to the ASO Secretariat at secretariat [at] aso.icann.org no later than 9 June 2026 at 11:59 pm PDT.

Regards,

ASO Secretariat

The Number Resource Organization Number Council (NRO NC) has completed its qualitative analysis and summary of the community feedback received in response to the second version of the draft “Governance Document for the Recognition, Operation, and Derecognition of Regional Internet Registries” (RIR Governance Document).

The second consultation was open from 28 August until 7 November 2025. During this window, the NRO NC received comments across the five RIR mailing lists, input via various webinars and online sessions, sessions held at RIR Meetings, community fora, engagement with ICANN communities and also via the ICANN Public Comment process.

This summary provides an overview of the comments received, including input received through ICANN’s public comment which was held in parallel with the RIR community engagements. The NRO NC will continue to discuss the feedback received by the RIR and ICANN communities while revising the RIR Governance Document.

The summary does not include the NRO NC’s opinions on or responses to the comments submitted, nor does it include an evaluation of the communities’ opinion on the draft document. We invite you to browse through the feedback from the various community engagements along with reading our summary.

We sincerely thank everyone who has shared their insights, and we appreciate the time, thought and effort put in by our respondents. The NRO NC are working on responses to the remaining key issues to be shared with the community. Please review the updated process timeline to ensure you don’t miss the opportunity to provide feedback in the future.

On behalf of the NRO NC

The Number Resource Organization Number Council (NRO NC) is also known as the Address Supporting Organization Address Council (ASO AC) within ICANN, where it serves as the body responsible for overseeing global policy development related to Internet number resources.

Hervé Clément, representative of the RIPE NCC region, has been re-elected by the Address Supporting Organization Address Council (ASO AC) to serve as Chair of the ASO Address Council and the NRO Number Council for 2026. His appointment was confirmed during the ASO AC teleconference held on 14 January 2026.

In his role as Chair, Hervé will be supported by two Vice Chairs: Amy Potter, representing the ARIN region, and Esteban Lescano, representing the LACNIC region.

Elections for the ASO AC Chair are held annually in January. The Chair and Vice Chairs each serve a one-year term.

The NRO NC has published a revised version of the document that aims to update ICP-2: Criteria for Establishment of New Regional Internet Registries. This updated document is titled “Governance Document for the Recognition, Operation, and Derecognition of Regional Internet Registries” (RIR Governance Document) and can be viewed here. A consultation on the first version of the draft document was held from 14 April to 27 May earlier this year. Feedback received from this consultation was used to inform the revisions.

We now invite your input on the revised draft. Please make sure to share your feedback by Friday, 7 November 2025.

Background Information

In October 2023, the Number Resource Organization Executive Council (NRO EC) asked the NRO Number Council (NRO NC), that fulfils the role of  the Address Supporting Organization Address Council (ASO AC), to establish and manage a process to update the Internet Coordination Policy (ICP-2): Criteria for Establishment of New Regional Internet Registries document. Modification of ICP-2 requires an open and transparent process to allow participation from across the global RIR and ICANN communities.

As part of this process, the NRO NC invited the global Regional Internet Registry (RIR)  communities to provide feedback on each principle via a questionnaire, which was open from 8 October until 6 December 2024. On 24 February 2025, the NRO published a qualitative analysis and summary of the community responses received on the proposed principles to update ICP-2. The NRO NC hosted a community consultation in each RIR region, in parallel with an ICANN Public Comment, from 14 April until 27 May 2025.  The summary report from the consultation was published on 30 July 2025.

The NRO NC has reviewed and considered the feedback received during the original consultation, and is now providing the same opportunity for community review of the revised draft. To simplify community review, the NRO NC will also provide supporting documents including a redline version showing the differences between the two drafts and a summary rationale for the changes in the new version in the coming days.

Share Your Input

The NRO NC is now seeking community input on the revised text of the proposed “RIR Governance Document”. This feedback will be reviewed by the NRO NC during their upcoming workshop scheduled from 12 to 14 November 2025.

We ask you to please keep the following in mind while preparing your comments:

• Please share feedback that is specific to this document.
• We are particularly interested in hearing your views on whether this draft addresses questions and concerns with the previous draft.
• This document does not address the implementation of the RIR governance framework; comments on implementation will be considered out of scope.
• Constructive comments are highly appreciated.

To participate, please follow the consultations in your region listed on the Community Engagements web page.

Join a Session

All the planned sessions during which we will share information on the revised “RIR Governance Document” and the process to update ICP-2 will be listed on the NRO website. The sessions will also be recorded and archived, links to the recordings will also be listed on the same webpage.

The NRO NC

—

The NRO reaffirm our unwavering commitment to open, transparent, and high‑integrity governance processes, including the conduct of elections for RIR governing bodies.

We acknowledge the recent concerns expressed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) regarding the integrity and transparency of the AFRINIC Board of Directors election. We note ICANN’s request for clarity on this matter, in alignment with the Internet Coordination Policy‑2 (ICP‑2) framework.

We fully support ICANN’s efforts to bring transparency and accountability to the AFRINIC election process. Upholding trust in RIR governance is essential not only for AFRINIC’s community, but for the stability and cohesion of the global Internet number resource system.

Each RIR is founded on the principles of neutrality, community‑developed policy, and member‑driven processes. Ensuring that these principles are upheld in AFRINIC’s election safeguards the integrity and resilience of the entire RIR ecosystem.

Hans Petter Holen

Chair
Number Resource Organization

On behalf of the NRO Executive Council (NRO EC)

Dear RIR Community,

Under the ICANN Bylaws, delivery of a Community Reconsideration Petition to the Empowered Community Administration (ECA) by a Community Petitioning Decisional Participant on 19 June (Community Reconsideration Notification Date) triggers a 21-day Community Reconsideration Petition Support Period, during which other Decisional Participants may support the Community Reconsideration Petition.

The petition from the ALAC representative in the ECA seeks reconsideration of the ICANN Board Resolutions of 19 May 2025 published at https://www.icann.org/en/board-activities-andmeetings/materials/approved-resolutions-special-meeting-of-the-icann-board-19-05-2025-en#section1.a, specifically:

1. The continued deferral of the ICANN Fourth Accountability and Transparency Review (otherwise known as ATRT4) pending community dialogue (the third bullet of Resolved 2025.05.19.02) (“Challenged Decision #1”);

2. The direction to the ICANN President and CEO or his designee(s) to initiate work to design a review program intended at enhancing ICANN’s accountability, transparency, and effectiveness (Resolved 2025.05.19.01) (“Challenged Decision #2”); and

3. The direction to ICANN’s President and CEO or his designee(s) to develop the plan for community dialogue for ICANN Reviews (Resolved 2025.05.19.04) insofar as it impacts ATRT4 and/or the review of ICANN’s accountability and transparency (“Challenged Decision #3”).

Full details of the petition document can be found at ICANN Website

https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/alac-to-eca-19jun25-en.pdf

The 21-day ICANN Community Reconsideration Petition Support Period commenced on 19 June 2025 and will end at 23:59 PDT on 10 July 2025, or 06:59 UTC on 11 July 2025. Please refer to Article 4.3, Annex D of the ICANN Bylaws for additional details on the Community Reconsideration Request https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/governance/bylaws-en/#annexD.

Members of the ASO community can submit comment about this petition before the deadline at secretariat at aso.icann.org

The feedback period for the draft ‘Governance Document for the Recognition, Maintenance, and Derecognition of Regional Internet Registries’ (draft ‘RIR Governance Document’) has officially concluded. 

The consultation was open from 14 April to 27 May 2025, and allowed participants to share their opinions on the proposed text and requirements as well as provide additional constructive comments. Each RIR hosted at least one interactive informational session for their community during this period, where additional feedback may have been collected. Sessions were also hosted for ICANN communities, and an ICANN Public Comment process was held in parallel during the same period. The list of the sessions held and links to their archives are available on the NRO website.

This process focuses on reviewing and updating the fundamental principles of Internet Coordination Policy-2 (ICP-2), a key document that defines the criteria for recognizing and evaluating RIRs. 

The Number Resource Organization Number Council (NRO NC), that fulfils the role of the Address Supporting Organization Address Council (ASO AC), will discuss the feedback received from the RIR communities as well as the ICANN Public Comment process and use it to inform the next draft. The NRO NC will publish the next draft for review to the RIR and ICANN communities in the later months of 2025.

We would like to thank everyone who participated and provided feedback during this critical process. Your contributions are essential to ensuring that these principles reflect the needs and expectations of our community.

NRO NC