Why the NRO is defending AFRINIC
July 26, 2022
By Paul Wilson – Director General at APNIC
Originally published here
In recent weeks, the NRO has released two letters in support of AFRINIC, the Regional Internet address Registry for Africa. This was prompted by the recent series of challenges to AFRINIC, entailing some 40 different legal actions which have included a lengthy injunction suspending AFRINIC’s bank accounts, lawsuits against individual staff and directors, and a widely reported damages claim for USD $1.8 billion.
At APNIC we believe that this situation has seriously challenged the stability of AFRINIC, and in fact threatened its very existence. As an RIR, AFRINIC plays an extremely important role in the global management of the Internet, and these threats to the organisation also threaten the Internet in Africa, and elsewhere. This is of vital concern to the NRO and to APNIC, and we believe to all members of the RIR communities.
(Free access, no subscription required)
The NRO’s first letter appealed to the African community to come together in support of its RIR, AFRINIC; affirming that “the regional activities and policy process of an RIR are solely in the hands of [the AFRINIC] community, but the health of those processes is of paramount importance to the global Internet community.”
In the second letter, the NRO addressed the Government of Mauritius, at AFRINIC’s request, to draw attention to the seriousness of the current situation. With this letter, the NRO felt that it was essential to highlight the risk of disproportionate damage to the Internet which may be caused, inadvertently or not, by individuals pursuing private interests through legal processes (whether or not they are entitled to do so). We also felt it was appropriate and necessary to reiterate the reasons for AFRINIC’s original choice of Mauritius as its operational base.
We respect and understand that RIR Members may sometimes have disputes with the decisions or governance of their RIR; and also, that there may be concerns with governance and operational decisions of any RIR which may legitimately result in legal actions. While those processes must of course be resolved through established mechanisms, we felt strongly obliged to highlight the current risks and try to have them better understood.