Human rights impact assessment is being incorporated into ICANN processes

• 03/13/2026

From 7 to 12 March, the multi-stakeholder community gathered at the ICANN 85 Community Forum in Mumbai (India). Together, they discussed current issues and developments relating to the security and further advancement of the Internet. From the perspective of the “Child Protection and Children’s Rights in the Digital World” project run by the Digital Opportunities Foundation, the focus was on efforts to develop and implement a human rights impact assessment, as well as on the upcoming decision-making process regarding the handling of urgent requests in the context of the Registration Data Request Service (RDRS). In addition, the drafting of a Policy Development Process (PDP) for dealing with DNS abuse was a key priority.

Following the Board’s decision at ICANN’s Annual General Meeting in Dublin (Ireland) in autumn 2025 to extend the Registration Data Request Service (RDRS) for a further two years, it was now necessary to clarify the timeframe within which urgent requests should be processed. Following exchanges between the relevant bodies and stakeholders, a consultation process took place at the end of last year. Having reviewed the positions submitted and taking into account the understanding reached so far, it has now become clear, following joint consultations between the Board and the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), that such requests must be answered within 24 hours. A prerequisite for the swift and effective processing of urgent requests will be the parallel development of a process for the authentication of law enforcement agencies. This procedure is intended to enable police officers to clearly prove their affiliation with a law enforcement agency to those processing urgent requests. This should significantly minimise delays caused by clarifying competence.

Progress is also being made on the development and implementation of a human rights impact assessment within ICANN’s processes. The relevant stakeholders provided information on the purpose and key aspects of the procedure during various meetings. Potential use cases were already discussed at previous ICANN meetings using scenarios, with the aim of raising awareness of the assessment. In some discussions, however, alongside general agreement on human rights issues and their significance, a degree of caution was also evident. This was linked to reservations regarding the potential for delays in processes and possible cost increases associated with implementation into existing procedures. Nevertheless, the human rights impact assessment will be applied in the development of the Policy Development Process (PDP) for addressing abuse of the Domain Name System. According to current plans, this policy is to be developed and adopted by the end of 2027.

The announcement of this year's Community Excellence Award to Amrita Choudhury came as a lovely surprise. In the laudatory speech, she was honoured for her significant contribution to inclusivity in internet governance: “For nearly two decades she has worked to ensure that global Internet policy is not shaped only by those already at the table, but also by those still finding their way to it. [...] She proves that consensus is not about compromise, its about understanding. Her leadership reminds us that strength of this [multistakeholder] model lies not in process, but in people.” Through her commitment and involvement, as well as the way she has shaped the process, Amrita Choudhury has thus made a significant contribution to ensuring that the perspectives of end-users are heard and find their way into ICANN’s processes was presented with the 2026 ICANN Community Hashtag#Award in recognition of her significant impact on Hashtag#inclusivity in Hashtag#Internet governance. "For nearly two decades she has worked to ensure that global Internet policy is not shaped only by those already at the table, but also by those still finding their way to it. [...] She proves that consensus is not about compromise, its about understanding. Her leadership reminds us that strength of this [multistakeholder] model lies not in process, but in people."