21 July 2020

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[...] [Public Interest Registry] PIR takes frameworks and international standards such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Core Conventions of the International Labour Organization so seriously. These include, but are not limited to, foundational principles involving freedom of expression, access to information, and access to effective remedy. [...]

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Based on our policy review and discussions with the Article 19 and [Danish Institute for Human Rights] DIHR analysts, we have identified a few areas for improvement and are working to address them. In particular, PIR intends to:

• Incorporate an explicit commitment to international human rights in our existing policies. While our standards and processes already reflect such support, taking such an affirmative step will underscore our commitment to human rights.
• Publish a new Appeal Mechanism for registrants of PIR-managed domain names. We will establish a process that creates a right for registrants to have a suspension of their domain name under the PIR Anti-Abuse Policy reviewed by a neutral third party. That will strengthen the principles at the foundation of our anti-abuse efforts, in particular the observation of due process.
• Publicize a new Vendor Standards of Behavior document. This will set out our expectations of those who provide us goods and services. PIR always has set high standards for the way we conduct business. In turn, we’ll make clear in writing that we expect our vendors to conduct business responsibly, transparently, and with integrity.
• Ensure our Annual Report includes data with a human rights focus. PIR already reports take-down statistics and law enforcement requests for information. In the future we’ll also highlight internal procedural adjustments that better reflect accepted human rights standards and/or to address any negative impacts of our practices.

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