AFRINIC Emerges from Crisis as Regional Internet Registry Rebuilds Governance

The African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC), one of the world's five regional internet registries responsible for managing IP address allocation across Africa, has emerged from a multi-year crisis that left the organization unable to perform basic governance functions. At the Asia Pacific Regional Internet Conference on Operational Technologies (APRICOT) in Jakarta this week, AFRINIC's head of capacity building Mukom Tamon announced that the organization is weeks away from finalizing a budget and action plan, signaling a return to operational normalcy after years of dysfunction.

AFRINIC's troubles began in 2022 when a complex set of legal issues prevented the organization from electing a board or carrying out many of its core functions. The registry remained largely dormant through 2024, raising concerns within the internet governance community about the stability of the RIR system. The situation became particularly acute because existing policies governing regional internet registries, specifically the ICP-2 policy, lacked provisions for addressing dysfunction within an RIR.

Tamon's appearance at APRICOT marked a significant milestone, as AFRINIC had been largely absent from major internet governance events for several years. "We were extremely concerned that if we did not have some good news out of 2025, 2026 would be the year in which our death just continues in a very silent way," Tamon told the conference audience, drawing spontaneous and enthusiastic applause – a rare response at an event typically attended by network engineers and internet governance specialists.

The turnaround has been swift since AFRINIC elected a new board. Tamon outlined several concrete steps the organization has taken to rebuild its operations. The board has appointed interim management personnel, including Tamon himself to oversee technology infrastructure and strategy, a finance officer, and another executive dedicated to stakeholder engagement. Most significantly, AFRINIC has developed both a budget and an action plan that will be finalized within the next two weeks.

"That is a sign we are out of the quagmire," Tamon declared, before making a bold prediction: "This year, the phoenix rises from the ashes." Looking further ahead, he revealed that AFRINIC's board is already working on a formal strategy covering the years 2027 to 2030, which he described as "how we get back to governance normalcy."

Beyond governance restructuring, Tamon highlighted AFRINIC's technical assets, noting that the organization maintains a pool of 773,376 unallocated IPv4 addresses. His comment that he "can't wait for that to be zero, so we can start talking about what really matters: IPv6" drew laughter from the APRICOT crowd, reflecting the broader internet community's recognition that IPv6 adoption remains a critical priority for the region.

The AFRINIC crisis has had broader implications for internet governance globally. The organization's inability to function properly exposed a significant gap in the policies governing regional internet registries. The ICP-2 policy, which defines how RIRs are created and operate, did not include provisions for what happens when an RIR becomes dysfunctional or how the community should respond to such situations.

In response to AFRINIC's troubles, the internet governance community has undertaken a comprehensive revision of the ICP-2 policy. The Number Resource Organization (NRO), the peak body representing the five RIRs, has led this effort to strengthen governance frameworks. A second round of community consultation on the revised ICP-2 took place in late 2025, and the NRO recently published summaries of the feedback received.

Akinori Maemura, a member of the NRO's governing council, provided an update on the revision process at APRICOT. He explained that while some work remains to more clearly define certain elements of the policy, the revised ICP-2 is nearing its final form. Maemura indicated that the document should be ready for a vote by the end of 2026, with ICANN likely to approve it later this year.

The revised policy will establish a complete lifecycle for RIRs, including provisions for how the five registries can assist each other during crises and, crucially, mechanisms for derecognizing an RIR that fails to meet governance standards. This represents a significant strengthening of the RIR system's resilience and accountability.

The timing of these developments is particularly noteworthy given the United Nations' recent decision to embrace bottom-up multistakeholder processes for internet governance. The RIR community's response to the AFRINIC crisis demonstrates how these processes can effectively address governance challenges and strengthen institutional frameworks.

For the broader internet community, the stabilization of AFRINIC and the strengthening of RIR governance policies are significant developments. IP address allocation and management affect virtually every aspect of internet infrastructure and service delivery. The assurance that regional internet registries have robust governance frameworks and can recover from crises provides important stability for the global internet ecosystem.

AFRINIC's journey from dysfunction to renewed governance serves as both a cautionary tale and a model for institutional resilience. The organization's ability to rebuild its board, appoint interim management, develop strategic plans, and re-engage with the global internet governance community demonstrates that even deeply troubled institutions can recover with appropriate leadership and community support. As Tamon suggested, the phoenix appears to be rising from the ashes, and the African internet community may soon see the benefits of a fully functional regional internet registry.

The developments at AFRINIC and the ongoing revision of ICP-2 policies represent critical steps in ensuring the long-term stability and effectiveness of the regional internet registry system. As the internet continues to evolve and expand, particularly in developing regions, having robust governance frameworks in place becomes increasingly important. The lessons learned from AFRINIC's crisis and the community's response will likely inform governance practices across the broader internet ecosystem for years to come.