Application Comment Details

1. The TLD “.AMAZON” refers to the identity of the Amazon communities and the Amazon region. The English cognate “AMAZON” is internationally recognized as relating to the Amazon, as exemplified by its inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and the creation of the “Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization” (ACTO).

GAC´s Durban Communiqué (ICANN 47), recognized that the delegation of the TLD “.AMAZON” to a single private company would be “problematic, e.g., potentially violate national law”. The Abu Dhabi Communiqué (ICANN 60) recognized the need for a solution acceptable to the Amazon countries as an indispensable condition for the delegation of the top-level domain name “.AMAZON”.

2. The proposed PIC sets out that the company will not use terms “that have a primary and well-recognized significance to the Culture and Heritage specific to the Amazonia Region”. However, the company indicates that this reference only includes six (6) specific words (“OTCA”, “culture”, “heritage”, “forest”, “river”, “rainforest”), and the names of indigenous groups and national symbols.

Therefore, no protection is afforded to a vast number of terms, which may cause confusion or mislead the public. This includes:

- mountains, valleys, rivers, streams, islands, or other geographical features in the Amazon;

- animals, plants, medicinal herbs and other botanical products, or any other expressions of the Amazon biodiversity;

- cities, towns, villages or any other human settlements in the Amazon;

- general economic, political or cultural activities, such as industry, hotel, tourism, ecotourism, travel, trip, government, education, university, study, research, party, and any other words employed to identify some broad spectrum of socio-economic and political practices or sectors;

- popular festivals, folkloric manifestations, beliefs or religiosity of the Amazon populations, including entities, real or mythological beings related to these activities or manifestations,

3. The proposed commitment by the applicant company to “sharing the use” of the .AMAZON TLDs does not ensure the actual sharing of responsibility for the domain name space with the Amazon countries and communities.

4. Dialogue towards a mutually acceptable solution was unilaterally broken up, to the regret of Brazil and others. We were working constructively towards a compromise based on the principle of shared responsibility whem consultations were interrupted.

Consistent with the positions previously expressed by the GAC and ACTO countries, Brazil requests that the ICANN Board either refer the proposed PIC back to the applicant company for work with the Amazon countries, or determine not to delegate the corresponding TLDs.

We reiterate our commitment to working towards a consensus solution that allows the applicant company to pursue its legitimate commercial interests without undue limitations, while safeguarding the public policy concerns and principles outlined above. We recall, in particular, the PIC proposed by ACTO countries on April 18, 2019 to the applicant company.

We consider, furthermore, that the terms and conditions under which the .AMAZON applications will be resolved may constitute an important precedent, either positive or negative, for the governance of the Internet, as it will demonstrate whether current governance structures are able or not to articulate public concerns and private interests in a constructive manner.