Re: Response to the Appeal by JFC Morfin dated 2006-02-17

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Hi,

I do not wish to enter the substance of this appeal for i am qualified neither by position nor training to adjudicate on the justice of an appeal.

But I do want to question one paragraph that has been published on behalf of the leadership of this organization. This questioning is not in relation to the appeal itself, but rather to the acceptability of the statement in itself.

On 10 jul 2006, at 14.05, IESG Secretary wrote:

Secondly, the IESG believes that the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights does not apply to the IETF's internal rules.
IETF participants are assumed to be aware of IETF process rules
before choosing to participate, and their participation is voluntary.


Without making any personal judgement about the correctness of such a hypothetical claim, I could understand an IESG decision that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) did not apply in this particular case. I do not, however, understand a categorical statement to the effect that the IETF, with its rules, is not subject to the UDHR because it is a voluntary association.

While the IETF itself is not a signatory to the UDHR, most, if not all, of the nations in which the IESG members live are signatories and the host country of the ISOC corporation, the IETF umbrella, is also a signatory. I believe that in all things we do, we are always subject to the UDHR. And I worry about an organization, especially one I believe in, making a categorical claim that human rights, as defined by the UDHR, do not apply within this organization. We may be here to do technical work, but we should, in my opinion, never leave the responsibilities of humanity at the door. To claim that something so fundamental as human rights do not apply within the confines of the IETF is too all encompassing a statement, and one I don't feel can be allowed to stand without at least a little protest.

To quote Eleanor Roosevelt "The destiny of human rights is in the hands of all our citizens in all our communities" . I think this applies to the IETF community as much as it does to any other community. I hope that the IAB, whatever it may decide on the merits of the appeal in question, will see fit to repudiate the claim that the UDHR does apply to the IETF or its rules.

a.



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