[members-discuss] NRO letter to Mauritian Government

Dear Sander, all,

The RIPE NCC is part of the NRO, together with the other four RIRs. This body has a very clear mission to actively contribute to an open, stable and secure Internet. Where joint action or a common voice among the RIRs is needed, the NRO provides the platform that allows that to happen. Through the NRO, we, along with the other RIRs, have been supporting the efforts to maintain a stable Internet presence in Africa. And this letter from the NRO is part of those supporting efforts:
https://www.nro.net/nro-letter-to-mauritius-government/ 

The NRO’s letter was a joint effort by the legal teams of the five RIRs, after AFRINIC requested our support in the matter. We firmly believe it was important to add our name alongside the other RIRs and collectively put our weight behind AFRINIC’s request to the Mauritian government. 

I understand that not everyone will agree with this approach. I and my fellow NRO EC members are committed, however, to being as transparent as possible about any such communications to governments and welcome any discussions in our communities. This is how it should be. I believe you are aware that the RIPE NCC and all the RIRs regularly deal with governments when they believe it is necessary to protect the Internet number registry system. Indeed, we regularly communicate with the Dutch government in relation to sanctions, and we have published much of our correspondence with other governments, in line with our commitment to be transparent in these matters. If, as the RIPE NCC, we felt that such interactions with governments could be helped by adding the weight of the NRO, I hope the other RIRs would consider lending their voice to such matters.

Finally, the RIR system is bigger than any of its individual RIRs, so I will reiterate what the NRO stated in its recent message asking the AFRINIC community to come together to solve issues with its RIR: “The regional activities and policy process of an RIR are solely in the hands of that community, but the health of those processes is of paramount importance to the global Internet community.” 
https://www.nro.net/rirs-message-to-the-afrinic-community/

This is why the NRO was willing to support AFRINIC in its requests to the Mauritian government - while it is up to each RIR community to address issues with their own RIR, it is up to all RIRs to address issues that can impact the overall system. To not do so would constitute inadequate governance on the part of the RIRs. I understand that you do not agree with the approach taken here, but I hope you will understand why the RIPE NCC and its Board feels it is important that we stand together on this matter.

Regards,

Hans Petter Holen			Christian Kaufmann
Managing Director 			Chairman
RIPE NCC				RIPE NCC Executive Board


> On 13 Jul 2022, at 11:57, Sander Steffann <sander at steffann.nl> wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> I just read the message from the NRO (co-signed by Hans Petter Holen on behalf of the RIPE NCC) to the Mauritian Government: https://www.nro.net/nro-letter-to-mauritius-government/ and I must say I was shocked.
> 
> The letter is about the lawsuits of Cloud Innovation Ltd (Lu Heng) against AFRINIC. The NRO is urging the government to recognise AFRINIC as an international organisation "that if granted, it might lead to more appropriate outcomes”. So basically the NRO is urging the Mauritian government’s executive branch to intervene in its judicial branch. Asking a government is to violate their separation of powers is NOT OK™.
> 
> Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t like Lu Heng and the way he does business, but not all his lawsuits are without merit, so this is something for the Mauritian court to decide. The NRO pushing the government to intervene goes against the basis of the democratic system.
> 
> The letter even does more than urging. It basically threatens/insults Mauritius:
> 
> """
> To successfully operate a continental wide entity such as AFRINIC, the African Internet community deliberately chose to locate its headquarters in Mauritius in order to obtain the benefit of a stable and consistent legal system.
> [...]
> It would be very unfortunate for the African regional community if the above situation proves that the designation of Mauritius as the place to locate AFRINIC has been wrong.
> """
> 
> This letter has raised some eyebrows around the world (and as I understand it in Brussels) to say the least. I would like a response from the RIPE NCC and its board on how they have dared to write such a letter.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Sander Steffann
> 
> 
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