On Sunday, 27th July, ministers responsible for Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) convened in an meeting to deliberate on the future of AFRINIC, the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Africa. AFRINIC is currently embroiled in a protracted legal battle that threatens both its institutional survival and the continent’s digital sovereignty.
The meeting, convened by the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) under the leadership of Hon. Sid Ali Zerrouki, Chair of the ATU Conference of Plenipotentiaries and Algeria’s Minister of Post and Telecommunications, culminated in the adoption of a Ministerial Declaration on Sustaining AFRINIC’s Operations and Africa’s Internet Stability.
AFRINIC, since its accreditation in 2005, has served as the continent’s agent for distributing Internet Protocol (IP) resources—IPv4, IPv6, and Autonomous System Numbers to Internet Service Providers (ISPs), governments, academic institutions, and infrastructure providers across Africa. Its paralysis risks compromising the operational backbone of Africa’s digital ecosystem.
Recent months have seen an intensification of legal risks, particularly a liquidation petition of AFRINIC filed by Seychelles registered Cloud Innovation Limited in the Supreme Court of Mauritius. This has amplified long-standing governance disputes, placed AFRINIC under receivership, and raised alarm across Africa and beyond. If AFRINIC were to collapse, Africa would become the only region without a functioning RIR, rolling back decades of progress and potentially exposing African internet assets to external control.
In their declaration, the Ministers reaffirmed their collective resolve to preserve AFRINIC’s stability and operational continuity, recognizing its role as indispensable to Africa’s digital transformation and regional autonomy in Internet governance. They pledged to support an inclusive and constructive resolution to the current governance challenges, while fully respecting the independence of the Mauritian judiciary. The Ministers further emphasized that decisions concerning AFRINIC’s future must reflect Africa’s shared interests and be anchored in broad-based, multistakeholder dialogue.
The Ministers also called upon the court appointed receiver to conduct transparent elections to restore AFRINIC’s governance structures. Additionally, African governments were urged to sensitize domestic AFRINIC members to actively participate in upcoming elections and to elect candidates of proven competence and integrity.
Hon. Sid Ali Zerrouki emphasized that, “We are not here to prejudge the legal process—but to preserve a continental asset. Our objective is not to protect any institution uncritically, but to ensure Africa retains institutional capacity to manage its Internet resources in a credible, inclusive, and accountable manner.”
The meeting featured contributions from key stakeholders including the African Union Commission (AUC), Smart Africa Alliance, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), and the Internet Society (ISOC). Each reiterated the essential role of AFRINIC in the global Internet architecture and reaffirmed support for reforms that ensure accountability, resilience, and transparency in its governance.
ICANN, in particular, underscored its continued recognition of AFRINIC as the RIR for Africa and confirmed that it had filed applications in court to affirm that the IP resources managed by AFRINIC constitute public trust assets, not subject to liquidation.
The declaration further mandates the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) to monitor developments and present progress to the next Ordinary Session of the AU Summit.
John Omo, Secretary General of the African Telecommunications Union, said: “The Internet is too important a resource, and AFRINIC too critical an institution, for us to look the other way. Our success in this matter firmly depends on leveraging our unity and committing ourselves to trust-building measures.”