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class="touch-button mobile-submenu"><i class="navicon fa fa-caret-down"></i></span></div></nav></div></header><main class="u-fullWidth" id="main-content"><section class="Hero Hero--ombudsman Home-ombudsman" style="background-image: url(/uploads/header_banner/image/11/ombud-banner-16oct23.jpg);"><div class="Hero-content"><div class="Hero-contentContainer"><h1>The ICANN Ombuds</h1><p>The ICANN Ombuds' job is to make sure that ICANN community members are treated fairly. Acting as an impartial mediator, the Ombuds helps resolve disputes on issues involving the ICANN Board, staff, or supporting organizations. The Ombuds is here to help you!</p><a class="button" href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e38c8e819687908e828da38a80828d8dcd8c9184">Ask the Ombuds a Question</a></div></div></section><div class="MainContent--withHero"><div class="Home-content l-Home-content"><div class="Home-sidebar l-Home-sidebar"><section class="about_president"><header><h1>About Ombuds</h1><hr /></header><a class="Profile-pic" size="80" href="/profiles/200317"><img class="img-circle-80 Profile-pic" alt="Profile image for Elizabeth Oluoch" src="/uploads/profile/avatar/200317/elizabeth-field-100x100.jpg" /></a><p><p>Elizabeth Field was appointed as ICANN Ombuds, effective 7 October 2024. She reports directly to the ICANN Board. She is available to support and advise ICANN community members to promote a community of inclusion and respect and address concerns about fairness, conflict and disagreement. She will also evaluate and resolve complaints from the ICANN community who believe that ICANN staff, Board or an ICANN constituent body has treated them unfairly. Elizabeth is a conflict resolution and organizational development practitioner with two decades international experience. She is a member of the International Ombuds Association and is a mediator, facilitator, conflict coach and restorative practitioner. She is based in Geneva and speaks English and French.</p> <p><a href="/resources/pages/about-2012-02-25-en">Learn More</a></p> <ul class="Profile-socialLinks"><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://twitter.com/IcannOmbudsman"><i class="fa-brands fa-x-twitter"></i></a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/ICANNOmbudsman"><i class="fa-brands fa-facebook-f"></i></a></li></ul></p></section></div><div class="Home-main l-Home-main"><h1><strong>How the Office of Ombuds Can Help </strong></h1> <h2><a href="https://omb.icann.org/"><img alt="" height="45" src="/uploads/ckeditor/REPORT_HARASSMENT.jpg" style="float:right" width="300" /></a></h2> <p>This is a page with practical information as to how and when the Ombuds can help. Under the <a href="/resources/pages/governance/bylaws-en/#article5">ICANN Bylaws</a>, the Ombuds has a specific mandate and there are some things that the Ombuds cannot handle or investigate, such internal administrative matters, personnel matters, issues relating to membership on the Board or issues related to vendor and supplier relations.</p> <h3>How the Ombuds Works</h3> <p>The ICANN Ombuds is independent, reporting directly to the ICANN Board. The Ombuds is neutral and impartial. This means that the Ombuds does not take sides nor is the Ombuds aligned with any single part of ICANN. The Ombuds instead is an advocate for fairness in ICANN and advocates equally for all parties participating in a process to be treated justly and with dignity.</p> <h3>Informal Dispute Resolution and Advice on Conflict</h3> <p>The Ombuds' function is to act as an informal dispute resolution office for the ICANN community. The Ombuds promotes continous learning and improvement and is available to provide confidential support, advice and guidance to address conflict and group or inter-personal relationships in the community.</p> <h3>Preventing and Responding to Harassment</h3> <p>Under the Community Anti-Harassment Policy, the Ombuds is responsible for not only investigating complaints of harassment, but also supporting the community with activities that help to prevent harassment from occuring.</p> <h3>Complaints About Fair Treatment</h3> <p>The Ombuds provides an independent and internal evaluation of complaints from ICANN community members who believe that the ICANN staff or Board, or an ICANN constituent body, has treated them unfairly. The Ombuds also has a role to play in <a href="/resources/pages/governance/bylaws-en/#article4">Requests for Reconsideration</a>. The purpose of the office is to ensure that the members of the ICANN community have been treated fairly and have a safe avenue to voice their thoughts and concerns about fair treatment, inclusion and behavior.</p> <p>The Ombuds will attempt to resolve complaints about unfair treatment, and where appropriate, use techniques like mediation, conflict coaching, conciliation, dialogue, shuttle diplomacy and where required, formal investigation or evaluation of complaint.</p> <h3>Confidentiality</h3> <p>Issues raised by community members with the Ombuds are completely confidential, although anonymous upward feedback is provided on themes raised with the Ombuds. The fact that someone has made a complaint is not disclosed unless the community member(s) raising the complaint waive confidentiality.</p> <h3>Jurisdiction</h3> <p>The Ombuds cannot make, change, or set aside a policy, administrative or Board or staff decision, act, or omission, but to the extent a member of the ICANN community complains that such a decision, act or omission results in unfair treatment of that community member, the Ombuds may investigate, and use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques to help resolve any unfairness and make recommendations as to changes to that end.</p> <p>The Ombuds can neither investigate issues between a domain name registrar and a domain name holder, nor can the Office help with website content, spam, or malware issues. However, the Ombuds will try to find the best place to help with these issues and refer the visitor.</p> <h3>How the Ombuds Can Support Community Members</h3> <p>The Ombuds helps support the ICANN community in a number of important ways, such as:</p> <ul style="margin-left: 2em;"> <li style="list-style: disc;">Addressing concerns related and advising community on conflict or working relationships between or amoung community members</li> <li style="list-style: disc;">Offering guidance and support on conflict or working relationships between or amoung community members; facilitate and mediate disputes and conflict</li> <li style="list-style: disc;">Providing support and assistance regarding incidents of harassment, including sexual harassment, and investigating complaints</li> <li style="list-style: disc;">Promoting prevention of sexual harassment, bullying, mobbing, and other forms of anti-social or harmful behavior, and acting as a resource when such behaviors occur</li> <li style="list-style: disc;">Assisting in resolving delays within ICANN and the community</li> <li style="list-style: disc;">Addressing problems with unfair procedure in ICANN and the community</li> <li style="list-style: disc;">Standing as an ally and additional resource for all occurrences of marginalization or exclusion related to identity</li> </ul> <h3>Get in Touch</h3> <p>The Ombuds welcomes all contact with the community and wants to hear how the Office can be helpful. Contact the Ombuds at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7a1517180f1e093a13191b14145415081d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0966646b7c6d7a49606a68676727667b6e">[email protected]</span></a>; <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5f3a3336253e3d2b377139363a333b1f363c3e313171302d38"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="086d646172696a7c60266e616d646c48616b69666626677a6f">[email protected]</span></a> or by completing the form at <a href="https://omb.icann.org/">https://omb.icann.org</a></p> <h3>Conditions to Participation in ICANN's Multistakeholder Model</h3> <p>ICANN is a unique multistakeholder environment. The ICANN community is comprised of participants from numerous and varied backgrounds, societal values, and cultural norms. A guiding goal of ICANN's requirements for participation is to emphasize, encourage, and promote the spirit of mutual respect expected within the ICANN community. As a condition of participation, those who take part in ICANN's multistakeholder model, are expected to understand and follow the <a href="/resources/pages/expected-standards-2016-06-28-en">ICANN's Expected Standards of Behavior</a> and the <a href="/resources/pages/community-anti-harassment-policy-2017-03-24-en">ICANN Community Anti-Harassment Policy and Terms of Participation and Complaint Procedure</a>.</p> <p>ICANN's requirements for participation in the multistakeholder environment are not intended to impede or inhibit free speech.</p> <ul style="margin-left: 2em;"> <li style="list-style: disc;">Resources (COMING SOON)</li> <li style="list-style: disc;"><a href="/en/blogs?page=1&author=b8f1a920-76ef-42d6-8d69-620af9b62812">Ombuds Blogs</a></li> <li style="list-style: disc;"><a href="/resources/work-stream-2-implementation/improving-ombudsman-en">Work Stream 2 – Recommendations for Improving the ICANN Office of the Ombuds</a></li> <li style="list-style: disc;"><a href="/resources/pages/framework-2012-02-25-en">Ombuds Framework</a></li> <li style="list-style: disc;"><a href="/resources/pages/reports-96-2012-02-25-en">Reports</a></li> <li style="list-style: disc;"><a href="/resources/pages/speeches-2012-02-25-en">Ombuds Speeches and Presentations</a></li> <li style="list-style: disc;"><a href="/resources/pages/questions-2012-02-25-en">Questions</a></li> <li style="list-style: disc;"><a href="/resources/pages/ombuds-archive-2025-02-26-en">Ombuds Archive</a></li> </ul> <section class="media_with_president" style="margin-top: 15px !important;"><header><h1 class="u-marginAn">Media with the Ombuds</h1><hr /></header><section class="NewsPreviewBlock--multimedia"><section class="NewsPreviewBlock-sectionEntry"><div class="NewsPreviewBlock-embeddedMedia"><a href="/news/multimedia/2367"><div class="multimedia-thumbnail"><img src="https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000192544700-b50siv-t500x500.jpg" /><div class="media-overlay"><i class="audio"></i></div></div></a></div><div class="NewsPreviewBlock-embeddedMediaCaption"><h2><a href="/news/multimedia/2367">Meet Herb Waye ICANN's New Ombudsman</a></h2><p>ICANN's James Cole interviews ICANN's new Ombudsman, Herb Waye during ICANN57.</p><p class="NewsPreviewBlock-metadata"><time datetime="2016-11-07T16:21:01-08:00">07 Nov 2016</time></p></div></section><section class="NewsPreviewBlock-sectionEntry"><div class="NewsPreviewBlock-embeddedMedia"><a href="/news/multimedia/2369"><div class="multimedia-thumbnail"><img src="https://i1.ytimg.com/vi/EV5cF6GFTaM/0.jpg" /><div class="media-overlay"><i class="video"></i></div></div></a></div><div class="NewsPreviewBlock-embeddedMediaCaption"><h2><a href="/news/multimedia/2369">Meet Herb Waye, ICANN's New Ombudsman</a></h2><p>ICANN's James Cole interviews ICANN's new Ombudsman, Herb Waye during ICANN57.</p><p class="NewsPreviewBlock-metadata"><time datetime="2016-11-07T16:00:25-08:00">07 Nov 2016</time></p></div></section><section class="NewsPreviewBlock-sectionEntry"><div class="NewsPreviewBlock-embeddedMedia"><a href="/news/multimedia/1041"><div class="multimedia-thumbnail"><img src="https://i1.ytimg.com/vi/w3gOWJA63II/0.jpg" /><div class="media-overlay"><i class="video"></i></div></div></a></div><div class="NewsPreviewBlock-embeddedMediaCaption"><h2><a href="/news/multimedia/1041">Chris LaHatte, ICANN Ombudsman | 2 Apr 2013</a></h2><p>Chris LaHatte, ICANN Ombudsman | 2 Apr 2013</p><p class="NewsPreviewBlock-metadata"><time datetime="2013-04-03T09:56:03-07:00">03 Apr 2013</time></p></div></section></section></section></div></div></div></main><footer class="MainFooter" external_links="" id="main_footer"><section class="FooterDisclaimer" style="display: none">ICANN is not responsible for profile content or verification of user details.</section><section class="FooterSocial"><ul><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/icannnews"><i class="fa-brands 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src="/assets/application-8ed45bf72fd6cd126948eea999721de19b3fcd2cc80521f694b544d621b3107f.js"></script><script src="/glossary_terms.js"></script><div class="acronym-helper"><div class="wrapper"><div class="acronym-helper-term">Domain Name System</div><div class="acronym-helper-definition">Internationalized Domain Name ,IDN,"IDNs are domain names that include characters used in the local representation of languages that are not written with the twenty-six letters of the basic Latin alphabet ""a-z"". An IDN can contain Latin letters with diacritical marks, as required by many European languages, or may consist of characters from non-Latin scripts such as Arabic or Chinese. Many languages also use other types of digits than the European ""0-9"". The basic Latin alphabet together with the European-Arabic digits are, for the purpose of domain names, termed ""ASCII characters"" (ASCII = American Standard Code for Information Interchange). These are also included in the broader range of ""Unicode characters"" that provides the basis for IDNs. The ""hostname rule"" requires that all domain names of the type under consideration here are stored in the DNS using only the ASCII characters listed above, with the one further addition of the hyphen ""-"". The Unicode form of an IDN therefore requires special encoding before it is entered into the DNS. The following terminology is used when distinguishing between these forms: A domain name consists of a series of ""labels"" (separated by ""dots""). The ASCII form of an IDN label is termed an ""A-label"". All operations defined in the DNS protocol use A-labels exclusively. The Unicode form, which a user expects to be displayed, is termed a ""U-label"". The difference may be illustrated with the Hindi word for ""test"" — परीका — appearing here as a U-label would (in the Devanagari script). A special form of ""ASCII compatible encoding"" (abbreviated ACE) is applied to this to produce the corresponding A-label: xn--11b5bs1di. A domain name that only includes ASCII letters, digits, and hyphens is termed an ""LDH label"". Although the definitions of A-labels and LDH-labels overlap, a name consisting exclusively of LDH labels, such as""icann.org"" is not an IDN."</div></div></div><script>$(document).ready(function(){ $(".youku").addClass('youkublue') $(".youku").hover(function() { $(this).addClass('youkuwhite') $(this).removeClass('youkublue') }); $("a.youku-toggle").on("mouseover", function() { $(".youku").addClass('youkuwhite'); $(".youku").removeClass('youkublue'); }).on("mouseout", function() { $(".youku").addClass('youkublue'); $(".youku").removeClass('youkuwhite'); }); }); </script><script>(function(){function c(){var b=a.contentDocument||a.contentWindow.document;if(b){var d=b.createElement('script');d.innerHTML="window.__CF$cv$params={r:'92095e1b9ba19f8c',t:'MTc0MjAxMzk5My4wMDAwMDA='};var a=document.createElement('script');a.nonce='';a.src='/cdn-cgi/challenge-platform/scripts/jsd/main.js';document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(a);";b.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(d)}}if(document.body){var a=document.createElement('iframe');a.height=1;a.width=1;a.style.position='absolute';a.style.top=0;a.style.left=0;a.style.border='none';a.style.visibility='hidden';document.body.appendChild(a);if('loading'!==document.readyState)c();else if(window.addEventListener)document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded',c);else{var e=document.onreadystatechange||function(){};document.onreadystatechange=function(b){e(b);'loading'!==document.readyState&&(document.onreadystatechange=e,c())}}}})();</script></body></html>