GEOGRAPHIC NAMES IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (2023)

GEOGRAPHIC NAMES IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Prepared by Dr. Saif S. Al-Qaydi

Unit of Government, Policies and Urban Studies

College of Humanities and Social Science

UAE University

Introduction:

The history of geographical names in the United Arab Emirates

(UAE) dated back to the pre-Islamic era. At the end of the 1800s J.J.

Lorimar visited the area and listed several geographic names in the

country and gathered some data about people, farms and animals of this

land.

The UAE is a federation of seven emirates; Abu Dhabi, Dubai,

Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah, and Fujairah. Abu

Dhabi is the name of the Emirate as well as the city which is the federal

capital. The UAE covers approx 83,000 square kilometer with a total

population of 3,7 million.

Background:

The majority of people in the UAE reside in three major cities:

Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah. As a result of expanding of these cities,

and the increase demand on data and geographical names, geographical

information systems become one of the major tools used in most planning

department in the UAE. In recent years, most of local municipalities in

the UAE Federation utilize laboratory equipment with the latest

technology for the purpose of mapping production. Most of these

laboratories used for adding and removing as well as creating new

geographical names without consulting or obtaining permission from the

Federal agencies.

It’s worth noting that each Emirate has its own local municipality

which deals with its geographical names. In some Emirates, there are

town planning departments in charge of developing maps as well as

geographical names. Those two entities are working to develop names

pertaining to roads, industrial zones, farmlands, residential, and

commercial areas. Each municipality has the right to add and remove any

geographical names without referring to any party. In some cases, the

local municipality announces some of these changes, and adds them to

the road signs. Some town planning departments establish special

committees to deal with some changed names. Most of the members of

these committees are old people from the same area.

Geographical Names Activities

There were some attempts to gather data about the geographical

names in the country. These efforts came from the UAE University and

other agencies. At the beginning of the 1990s the UAE University project

was one of pioneer attempt to establish a unit to structure the geographic

names in the whole UAE lands. The committee has had the chance to

count more than 7000 geographic names, out of more than approx 35,000

names, after dividing the country into several geographical regions. The

process of gathering materials about the geographical names required

designing special forms to help in collecting the data. By the end of 1999s

the unit completed a small data project on Al-Ain Region as a sample.

Then, special teams were assigned to collect data from other regions in

the UAE. However, this process has been postponed as a result of the

limited resources.

On year 2002, the UAE Army Force (Survey) called for a national

meeting for all parties in charge of geographical structuring to discuss the

future projects on this mater. More than 60 representatives including

UAE University committee attended this meeting in Abu Dhabi. This

meetin g resulted on appointing a new committee, where its member

represented UAE University, UAE Army

(Survey), Ministry of

Information as well as other agencies. This committee met in year 2003

and set its goals and objectives as well as proposed a budget for this

national project. The meeting concluded with some suggestions to be

submitted to the UAE Cabinet for approval.

Main Agencies Working On Geographical Names in the UAE

There are several agencies working on the definition of

geographical names in the UAE. The main agencies are the UAE Army

Force (Survey), local municipalities and town planning in major UAE

cities (table below). Most geographical names are retrieved from old

maps and most of these names are referring to places or people of the

UAE. As a result, more cooperation between these agencies is needed to

organize adding and removing the geographical names in the country.

Also, there must be certain rules in constructing these names and some

restrictions should be applied in terms of spelling or publication of these

names. Most of these agencies lack clear standards in documenting these

names (e.g., using transliteration and the right spelling for each name).

Main Agencies Working On Constructing

Of Geographical Names In The UAE In 2004

Emirate

Municipality

Town Planning

Abu Dhabi

Dubai

Sharjah

Ajman

Umm al-Qaiwain

Ras al-Khaimah

Fujairah

Al-Ain

Conclusion

As a result of the world recent developments in general and the UAE in

particular on all aspects of lif e e.g. economic, politic and social life.

Geographical names became a demanding issue in the UAE. It is strongly

recommended that the UAE government establish a national authority on

geographical names in order to coordinate between the different agencies

and to deal with standardization of geographical names in the whole

country.

TOPONYMIC FACT FILE

United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.)

Country name

United Arab Emirates¹

State title

United Arab Emirates

Citizen of the United Arab Emirates (or informally

Name of citizen

Emirati)

Official language(s)

Arabic (ara)²

Country name in Arabic (Romanized in

ةدحتملا ةيبرعلا تارامﻹا

brackets)

(Al Imārāt al ʻArabīyah al Muttaḩidah)³

ةدحتملا ةيبرعلا تارامﻹا

State title in official language

(Al Imārāt al ʻArabīyah al Muttaḩidah)

Script

Arabic

Romanization System

BGN/PCGN 1956 System for Arabic

ISO-3166 code (alpha-2/alpha-3)

AR/ARE⁴

Capital

Abu Dhabi

Capital in in Arabic (Romanized in

يبظ وبا (Abū Ẓaby)

brackets)

Area

83,600km²

Approx. 9.5 million⁵ (only 12% of which are native

Population

Emirati)

Introduction

The United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) is a country in the Middle East, located on the Arabian Peninsula.

It is a federation of seven emirates. In 1971, following independence from the United Kingdom, six

emirates (Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, and Umm Al Quwain) merged to form the

United Arab Emirates. They were joined in 1972 by Ras Al Khaimah⁶.

¹ The English name is a translation of the Arabic name. There is no official short form of the country name but

in English the name is often abbreviated to the Emirates or U.A.E.

² ISO 639 language codes are provided for languages mentioned in this Factfile.

³ There is no official Arabic short form of the country name, but it is often abbreviated in Arabic to تارامﻹا (Al

Imārāt), meanting the Emirates. The long-form name ةدحتملا ةيبرعلا تارامﻹا (Dawlat al Imārāt al ʻArabīyah al

Muttaḩidah), meaning the State of the United Arab Emirates is sometimes applied to the country.

⁴ Although the abbreviation U.A.E. is widely used to refer to the country, the ISO 3-letter country code is ARE.

⁵ UN data:

https://data.un.org/_Docs/SYB/PDFs/SYB65_1_202209_Population,%20Surface%20Area%20and%20Density

.pdf

⁶ See below for details of the individual emirates and their names.

TOPONYMIC FACT FILE

The U.A.E. has a long coastline on the Persian Gulf⁷, a much shorter coastline on the Gulf of Oman

and land boundaries with Oman and Saudi Arabia. Much of the country is low-lying desert, with arid

mountains in the north-east. Abu Dhabi is the capital, although Dubai has a larger population. As with

some other small oil-rich Gulf states, a large majority of the population are non-citizen expatriates.

The name of the country dates from independence from the UK in 1971. “Emirate” is an anglicised

version of Arabic imārah, an area ruled by an amīr or emir (sometimes translated as “prince” in other

contexts). Prior to independence, the area was known as the Trucial States, Trucial Coast or Trucial

Oman (all regarded as shortened versions of “Trucial States of the Coast of Oman”); these names

deriving from treaties which the individual emirates had signed with the UK at various times during

the 19^th century. At times, this term was understood to include Qatar and even Bahrain, but these

states did not join the U.A.E.

Geographical names policy

Geographical names in the U.A.E. are found written in Arabic, which is the country’s official language.

Where possible, Arabic-script names should be taken from official Emirati sources and romanized

using the BGN/PCGN 1956 Arabic Romanization System.

Tourist and military mapping were formerly produced by Military Survey of U.A.E. More recently this

was spun off as a commercial organisation (Bayanat for Mapping & Surveying). Some links to

geodata can be found on their website: https://bayanat.ae/en/. More recent mapping tends to have

been produced for the municipal governments by commercial organisations. For example, Dubai has

been collaborating with the UK’s Ordnance Survey⁸. The U.A.E. is now more focused on digital

geospatial data, found on websites such as https://geostat.fcsa.gov.ae/gisportal/home/.

It should be noted that Roman-script forms may be encountered which differ from those arising from

the application of the BGN/PCGN System for Arabic⁹. Some features have conventional English-

language names which can be used in English-language text and should be shown in brackets after

the romanized Arabic name on cartographic products. Examples include the names of several of the

emirates, e.g. Abū Zaby (Abu Dhabi), Ash Shāriqah (Sharjah) and Dubayy (Dubai), as well as man-

made features such as the artificial islands: Nakhlat Jabal ‘Alī (Palm Jebel Ali), Nakhlat Jumayrah

(Palm Jumeirah) and Juzur al ‘Ālam (The World Islands).

Language

The official language of the U.A.E. is Arabic, which is a Semitic language written from right-to-left in

Arabic script. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is used for official written purposes. The Emirati dialect

of Arabic is a variant of Gulf Arabic¹⁰ (afb) (also spoken in eastern Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states

such as Qatar and Kuwait), but with pronunciation and/or vocabulary influences from inter alia

Persian, English, and some Indian languages. There are few specifically “Emirati” dialect features.

English is widely used in both government and education and is commonly spoken as a second

language.

Gulf Arabic dialects are not so far removed from MSA as, for example, the Maghrebi Arabic dialects

of North Africa. Below are listed some significant features of the dialect that may influence the

pronunciation of Emirati toponyms, and consequently the non-standard Roman-script spellings of

these toponyms that might be encountered. These features are also found in some other Gulf Arabic

dialects:

⁷ See below for use of the name Persian Gulf.

⁸ https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/news/making-the-city-of-dubai-work-for-the-citizen-with-location-data

⁹ See ‘Language’ section for details of potential variations.

¹⁰ Known in Arabic as Khalījī.

TOPONYMIC FACT FILE

 The Arabic letter ق (qāf), which is romanized in the BGN/PCGN Romanization System for

Arabic as ‘q’ (in MSA it is pronounced as a voiceless uvular plosive (IPA: /q/)), is pronounced

in some Gulf contexts as the ‘g’ in ‘get’ and may sometimes be seen spelt with ‘g’ rather than

‘q’ in Roman script. For example, the district of Sharjah, known as Abu Shagara (BGN/PCGN

Romanization: Abū Shaqārah. The qāf may also be seen represented as ‘j’ in Roman-script

forms, e.g. Sharjah (BGN/PCGN romanization: Ash Shāriqah).

 The Arabic letter ج (jīm), which is romanized in the BGN/PCGN Romanization System for

Arabic as ‘j’, and pronounced in MSA as the ‘j’ in ‘jug’ (IPA: /dʒ/) is sometimes in Kuwait

pronounced as the ‘y’ in ‘may’. For example, the male personal name Mājid might be

pronounced ‘Mayid’. This pronunciation trait is less often transferred to Roman-script

spellings than is the abovementioned q-to-g change.

 The Arabic letters ظ (zā’) and ض

(ḑād), romanized in the BGN/PCGN Romanization

System for Arabic as z and ḑ respectively may both be seen represented in non-standard

Roman script as ‘d’, ‘dh’ or ‘z’. An example of this phenomenon in the U.A.E. is the

conventional name Abu Dhabi (BGN/PCGN romanization: Abū Zaby).

 The definite article لا is romanized in the BGN/PCGN Romanization System for Arabic as

‘Al’ or assimilated if followed by one of the ‘sun’ letters, e.g. Al Qamar, Ash Shams. In Gulf

Arabic pronunciation, the initial alif, ‘a’ sound is commonly dropped. Nevertheless, the ‘a’ is

usually retained in Emirati Arabic- and Roman-script spellings. An example of this

phenomenon is the local pronunciation of the Arabic country name of Kuwait, which is li-

kweet, however it is still usually seen romanized as Al Kuwayt or Al Kuwait.¹¹

¹¹ For further details on the romanization of the definite article see the BGN/PCGN Romanization System for

Arabic.

TOPONYMIC FACT FILE

Inventory of characters (and their Unicode encodings¹²):

The BGN/PCGN Romanization System for Arabic contains the following letter-diacritic

combinations in addition to the unmodified letters of the basic Roman script¹³:

Upper case

Unicode encoding

Lower case

Unicode encoding

00C1

00E1

0100

0101

Ḑ

1E10

ḑ

1E11

Ḩ

1E28

ḩ

1E29

012A

012B

015E

015F

0162

0163

016A

016B

005A+0327*

007A+0327*

‘

2018 or 02BB

2019 or 02BC

*Note, the z + cedilla is not available as a single encoding.

Boundaries and toponymic disputes

The U.A.E. has international land boundaries with Oman and Saudi Arabia. Oman includes the

Musandam peninsula, which is separated from the rest of the country by U.A.E. territory. The Omani

exclave of Madḩā’ is completely surrounded by U.A.E. territory. Within Madḩā’ is An Naḩwah, a

village that belongs to the U.A.E. (administratively part of Sharjah Emirate).

Gulf Islands

The territory of the U.A.E. includes several islands. Iran administers three islands in the Persian Gulf

which are claimed by the United Arab Emirates. PCGN recommends using the Conventional names

for these islands on UK products and mapping. The Arabic and Persian names are provided in the

table below for reference.

Conventional

Arabic Language

Persian Language

Location

Name

25° 52' 30" N

Abu Musa

Jazīrat Abū Mūsá

Jazīreh-ye Abū Mūsá

055° 01' 48" E

Jazīreh-ye Tonb-e

26° 15' 50" N

Greater Tunb

Jazīrat Ţunb al Kubrá

Bozorg

055° 18' 18" E

Jazīreh-ye Tonb-e

26° 14' 31" N

Lesser Tunb

Jazīrat Ţunb aş Şughrá

Kūchak

055° 08' 50" E

¹² See www.unicode.org

¹³ Characters can be manually input into Microsoft Word documents by typing in these character codes and then

holding down the ALT key and pressing /x/. The code will change to the required character. The letter can be

copied and pasted into other programmes if required. Alternatively, the ‘Insert - Symbol’ command can be used;

the code can be entered into the ‘Character code’ box which will show the corresponding letter.

A GeoNames Soft-Copy Keyboard can be downloaded from the NGA website and used to enter the required

letter-diacritic combinations for a particular region: http://geonames.nga.mil/gns/html/gns_services.html.

TOPONYMIC FACT FILE

Persian Gulf

PCGN recommends using the name Persian Gulf on UK products, as this has long been considered

the English-language conventional name for this body of water, which is a high seas feature,

extending beyond the territorial limits of any recognized sovereignty. The Arabian Gulf is an English-

language version of the name applied by Arabs to this body of water and should not be used.¹⁴ In UK

English this feature is often referred to as The Gulf and this more neutral name can be used when it

is clear that it refers to this body of water.¹⁵

Administrative structure

The seven emirates, which make up the U.A.E. constitute the first-order administrative divisions

(ADM1) of the country. The seven emirates are listed below. In all cases the built-up area/populated

place of the same name as the emirate functions as the administrative centre of the emirate. Each

emirate has a conventional/anglicised spelling of its name that is widely used in Roman-script

contexts, both in U.A.E. and abroad. PCGN recommends that the conventional English-language

names which can be used in English-language text and should be shown in brackets after the

romanized Arabic name on cartographic products.

The Seven Emirates (ADM1s) of United Arab Emirates

BGN/PCGN

Name in

ISO 3166-2

Conventional

romanized

Arabic

Variant names

subdivision

Location

name

Arabic name

script

code

23° 40' 00" N,

Abū Zaby

Abu Dhabi

يبﻇ

وبأ

AE-AZ

054° 00' 00" E

25° 23' 00" N,

‘Ajmān

Ajman

نامجع

AE-AJ

055° 31' 00" E

25° 00' 00" N,

Dubayy

Dubai

يبد

AE-DU

055° 20' 00" E

Fujaira,

25° 08' 00" N,

Al Fujayrah

Fujairah

ةريجفلا

Fujayrah,

AE-FU

056° 15' 00" E

Fujeira

Ra’s al

Ras Al

25° 40' 00" N,

ةميخلا

سأر

Ras al Khaima

AE-RK

Khaymah

Khaimah

056° 00' 00" E

Shargah,

25° 00' 00" N,

Ash Shāriqah

Sharjah

ةقراشلا

AE-SH

Shārijah, Shaja

055° 45' 00" E

Umm al

Umm Al

Qaiwain, Um al

25° 30' 00" N,

نيويقلا

مأ

AE-UQ

Qaywayn

Quwain

Qawain, Umm al

055° 45' 00" E

Qiwain

Other Significant Locations

PCGN

Name in

Conventional

Variant

Feature

Recommended

Native

Location

Name

Names/Spellings

Type

Name

Script

Nakhlat Jabal

يلع ﻞﺒﺟ ةلخﻧ

Palm Jebel

Nakhla Jabal Ali

25°00′N

Artificial

‘Alī

Ali

54°59′E

island

Nakhlat

ةريمﺟ ةلخﻧ

Palm

Naklah Jumayra,

25°07′00″N

Artificial

Jumayrah

Jumeirah

Palm Jumeira

55°08′00″E

island

¹⁴ The Arabic language name for this body of water is Al Khalīj al ‘Arabī (يبرعلا جيلخلا) and the Persian

language name is Khalīj-e Fārs (سراف جيلخ).

¹⁵ In North America the term “The Gulf” may also be used to refer to the Gulf of Mexico.

TOPONYMIC FACT FILE

PCGN

Name in

Conventional

Variant

Feature

Recommended

Native

Location

Name

Names/Spellings

Type

Name

Script

Juzur al ‘Ālam

ملاعلارزﺟ

The World

25°13′00″N

Artificial

Islands

55°10′00″E

island

Gulf of Oman

نامع جيلخ

Gulf of Oman

Sea of Oman,

(Khalīj

Baḩr ‘Umān

25°N 58°E

Gulf

‘Umān)

Strait of

زمره قيضم

Strait of

Bāb-e Hormuz,

Hormuz

(Maḑīq

Hormuz

Bab-e Hormoz,

26°37′00″N

Hurmuz)

Maḑīq Hurmūz,

Strait

56°30′00″E

Tangeh-ye

Hormoz

Abū al Abyaḑ

Abul Abyad, Abul

ضيبﻷا وبأ

24°12′29″N

Island

Abyadh

53°48′36″E

(Jazīrat)

Sīr Banī Yās

ساي يﻧب ريس

Al Yas, Jezirat

Yas, Sir Banias,

24°19′33″N

Island

Sir Beni Yas, Yas,

52°36′05″E

(Jazīrat)

Yas Island

Dās

ساد

25°09′00″N

Island

52°53′00″E

(Jazīrat)

Zirkūh

هوكرز

Az Zarqā’, Zarkā,

24°53′03″N

Island

Zīrkū, Zirko

53°04′20″E

(Jazīrat)

Dalmā

املد

Dalmah

24°30′40″N

Island

52°18′32″E

(Jazīrat)

Al Qaffāy

يافقلا

Al Qaffay, Al

Qafāy, Gaffai,

24°35′07″N

Island

Kafāi, Kafāy,

51°43′22″E

(Jazīrat)

Qaffai

As Sila‘

علسلا

Al Sil‘, As Sil‘, Sila

24°01′29″N

Populated

51°45′54″E

place

Ar Ruways

سيورلا

Ruwais; Ar

Ru’ays; Ar

24°06′37″N

Populated

Ruwways,

52°43′50″E

place

Ruweis

Al ‘Ayn

نيعلا

Al Ain, El Ain, ‘Ain

24°11′57″N

Populated

55°46′19″E

place

Kalbā

ابلك

Kalbah

25°04′29″N

Populated

56°21′20″E

place

Khawr Fakkān

ناكف روخ

Khor Fakkan,

Khor al Fakkan,

Populated

25°19′53″N

Khorfakan, Khor

place/Port

56°20′31″E

Fakhan, Khor al

& Bay

Fakhan

Yās

ساي

ةريزﺟ

Yas Island

24°30′N

Leisure

(Jazīrat Yās)

54°36′E

Island

TOPONYMIC FACT FILE

Useful references

 Abu Dhabi Spatial Data Infrastructure: https://sdi.gov.abudhabi/sdi/

 BBC Country Profile: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14703998

 BGN/PCGN Arabic Romanization System:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_d

ata/file/1119536/ROMANIZATION_OF_ARABIC_-_Nov_22.pdf

 CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-arab-

emirates/

 Languages: www.ethnologue.com, www.omniglot.com

 International Organization for Standardization (ISO): www.iso.org

 ISO Online Browsing Platform: https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#search

 PCGN Country Names list: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/country-names

 Unicode: www.unicode.org

 United Nations Data: https://data.un.org/

 US Board on Geographic Names GEOnet Names Server:

https://geonames.nga.mil/geonames/GNSHome/index.html

Compiled by PCGN

info@pcgn.org.uk

www.gov.uk/pcgn

September 2023

SCT/41/6

ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

DATE: FEBRUARY 15, 2019

Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs

and Geographical Indications

Forty-First Session

Geneva, April 8 to 11, 2019

PROPOSAL BY THE DELEGATIONS OF GEORGIA, ICELAND, INDONESIA,

JAMAICA, LIECHTENSTEIN, MALAYSIA, MEXICO, MONACO, PERU, SENEGAL,

SWITZERLAND AND THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Document prepared by the Secretariat

In a communication dated February 8, 2019, the Delegations of Georgia, Iceland, Indonesia,

Jamaica, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Peru, Senegal, Switzerland and the United

Arab Emirates transmitted to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property

Organization (WIPO) the proposal contained in the Annex to the present document.

[Annex follows]

SCT/41/6

ANNEX

THE DELEGATIONS OF GEORGIA, ICELAND, INDONESIA, JAMAICA, LIECHTENSTEIN,

MALAYSIA, MEXICO, MONACO, PERU, SENEGAL, SWITZERLAND

AND THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

REQUEST

the SCT to invite the WIPO General Assembly to adopt the following

PROPOSAL

CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF COUNTRY NAMES AND GEOGRAPHICAL

NAMES OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE IN THE DNS

A. OBJECTIVES AND RATIONALE

In the Domain Name System (DNS), once assigned, a top-level domain is unique. Allowing

private companies to register geographic names as a top-level domain results in the

monopolisation of these names, thereby depriving the concerned community from the possibility

of using such names.

Country names and geographical names of national significance shall be protected against their

delegation as top-level domain names in the DNS if the sign consists exclusively of such

names.

At the second level, geographical names do not benefit adequately from the current rights

protection mechanisms. In particular, the UDRP applies only to trademarks, whereas the

geographical names protected by an IP title should also benefit from this protection mechanism.

B. PROTECTION OF COUNTRY NAMES AND GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES OF NATIONAL

SIGNIFICANCE

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is planning to open a

second round of registration for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs)¹ which is expected to

take place in 2020.

Two working groups were set up at ICANN to evaluate the conditions of protection for country

names and geographical names within the scope of this second round of top-level domains

registration².

Within the ICANN’s decision-making process, the interests of the countries are expressed

through the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC). The GAC’s role is to provide advice and

recommendations to ICANN’s board. The board, however, is not bound by the GAC’s

recommendations. Therefore states have very limited means to safeguard their legitimate

interests at ICANN.

SCT/41/6

Annex, page 2

In March 2007, the GAC issued advice intended to inform ICANN’s board of the views of the

GAC regarding public policy issues. This advice concerned new gTLDs and recommended that

the inherently sensitive nature of terms with national, cultural, geographic and religious

significance be respected. It also recommended that country, territory or place names, and in

addition country, territory or regional language groups or descriptions of peoples, unless

otherwise agreed upon by the relevant governments or public authorities, should not be allowed

in the gTLD space³. The GAC has consistently reiterated these principles⁴, with limited effect,

given its purely advisory role.

The adoption of the present proposal by the WIPO General Assembly would safeguard, at the

top level within the DNS, countries’ sovereign rights to protect their identities and reputations as

well as their legitimate public policy interests.

C. PROPOSED SOLUTION: PROTECTING NAMES ON EXISTING LISTS

In the early 2000s, at the request of several member states, WIPO launched a consultation

process on internet domain names, in particular, the issue of registration of domain names that

infringe upon indications of source and geographical names. Within this framework, the SCT

held two special sessions in December 2001 and May 2002 and adopted the Second Special

Sessions Report (“Report”, SCT/S2/8) that recommends some form of protection for country

names against registration or use by persons unconnected with the constitutional authorities of

the country in question⁵. The Report also gave concrete guidance and established principles for

the recommended protection⁶. A large majority of delegations approved these

recommendations⁷. This strong support has also been noted at the WIPO General Assembly

during its autumn session in 2002⁸. This recommendation was transmitted to the ICANN

in 2003⁹.

The present proposal builds on the recommendations of the Report that were already supported

by the SCT in 2002 and puts forward the following principles for the protection of country

names:

(i)

The names of countries protected are those listed on the list established by the

United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN)¹⁰, as well as

on the standard ISO 3166-1¹¹ (alpha 2 codes and alpha 3 codes).

(ii)

Both the long or formal names and the short names of countries are protected.

(iii)

Protection covers the exact names and, in order to include misleading variations, the

former name of a country, its common name, the translation and transliteration of

that name, as well as the name in a short or adjectival form.

(iv)

Each country name should be protected in the official language(s) of the country

concerned and in the six official languages of the United Nations.

As regards the geographical names of national significance, the present proposal also protects

them based mainly on existing lists, namely:

(i)

The ISO 3166-2 list concerning regions.

(ii)

The list of sites forming part of the cultural and natural heritage (“World Heritage

List”) which fall under the scope of the Convention concerning the Protection of the

World Cultural and Natural Heritage¹².

(iii)

The names of capitals as listed in the UNGEGN Geographical Names Database

shall also be protected as names of national significance.

SCT/41/6

Annex, page 3

In order to give each state the possibility to obtain protection for geographical names that are

not capitals, nor listed on the ISO 3166-2 list or on the World Heritage List, the present

proposition suggests that each country can, within a timeframe of 18 months, notify to the WIPO

Secretariat a list of geographical names with national significance according to its relevant

public policy or applicable national law. This list will be published on the WIPO website.

D. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER ONGOING WORK ON GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES IN THE DNS

During the SCT’s thirty-first session, the delegations of the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary,

Italy, Republic of Moldova and Switzerland tabled the Proposal SCT31/8 Rev. 8 (“Joint

Proposal”) on the protection of geographical indications and country names in the DNS. The

delegations of Bulgaria, France, Iceland, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain subsequently

signed up as co-sponsors of the proposal.

The Joint Proposal addresses the necessity to re-examine and extend to geographical

indications and country names the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP)

principles, which are currently limited to trademarks.

In 2011 a decision was taken by ICANN’s Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) to

review the rights protection mechanisms¹. The revision process regarding the UDRP has not

started yet. It would therefore be appropriate from a time point of view to share with ICANN the

concerns of WIPO members so that participants in these review mechanisms can take these

claims into account during the UDRP review process.

* * *

See SCT/40/4 (September 17, 2018), Update on Trademark Related Aspects of the Domain Name System,

Document prepared by the Secretariat

SCT/41/6

Annex, page 4

On the basis of the above

Acknowledging the importance of country names and geographical names of national

significance and the potential of misappropriation of these names by private entities.

Recognizing that in the Domain Name System (DNS), once assigned, a top-level domain is

unique.

Recognizing that the registration by private entities of geographical names as a top-level

domain results in the monopolisation of these names, thereby depriving the concerned

community from the possibility of using such names.

Noting that the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN)

establishes regularly a list of formal and short country names, that the alpha 2 codes and

alpha 3 country codes are listed in the standard ISO 3166-1 and that the names of regions

such as states in federal countries, provinces and departments are listed in the standard

ISO 3166-2.

Noting that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is planning

to open new rounds of registration for new generic top-level domains (gTLD), the first being

expected to take place in 2020.

Recalling that the SCT held two special sessions in December 2001 and May 2002 and

adopted the Second Special Sessions Report (SCT/S2/8) in which most of the delegations

recommended to protect country names against registration as top-level domain.

Noting that ICANN’s Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) is about to start a

review of the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) principles and that

it is timely appropriate to transmit members concerns regarding the protection of

geographical indications and country names before or during this review.

Recalling the Proposal SCT31/8 Rev.8, supported by several member states, on the

protection of geographical indications and country names in the DNS at the second level.

The WIPO General Assembly recommends:

to protect the country names and geographical names of national significance against

their delegation as top-level domain names in the DNS, except if the delegation application

counts with the explicit support or non-objection of the relevant public authority concerned.

II.

The list of country names and geographical names of national significance includes:

the formal and short country names as well as their capital cities in all language

versions contained in the most recent United Nations Group of Experts on

Geographical Names (UNGEGN), including translations and transliterations into the

national language(s) of the country where a distinctive sign is registered, and for top-

level domains, into national languages of all countries, as well as in adjectival form in

the six official languages of the United Nations and the concerned country’s national

language(s);

the former or alternative name of a country names listed under III.1. in the six

official languages of the United Nations and the concerned country’s national

language(s);

the names of regions such as states in federal countries, provinces and

departments as listed in the standard ISO 3166-2;

the alpha 2 codes and alpha 3 codes as listed in the standard ISO 3166-1;

SCT/41/6

Annex, page 5

the geographical names of national significance, inter alia the names of the

UNESCO regions listed as World Heritage Sites; other geographical names with

national significance according to the concerned country’s relevant public policy or

applicable national law. WIPO member states may notify a list of such names to the

WIPO Secretariat within a deadline of 18 months following the adoption of this

proposal. The list will be published by the WIPO.

III.

to grant a rights protection mechanism at the second level of the DNS for geographical

indications and country names.

[End of Annex and of document]

A first round of registrations of new gTLDs took place in spring 2012. Within this framework, ICANN adopted

allocation rules for its new gTLD names gathered in the gTLD Applicant Guidebook (AGB 2012).

AGB 2012 can be found here : https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/agb

The “GNSO New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Policy Development Process (New gTLD Subsequent

Procedures Policy PDP)” and the “Cross-Community Working Group on Use of Names of Countries and Territories

as Top Level Domains (CWG-UCTN)”.

GAC PRINCIPLES REGARDING NEW gTLDs, Presented by the Government al Advisory Committee in

March 28, 2007. Can be consulted here: https://archive.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/gac-principles-regarding-new-

gtlds-28mar07-en.pdf

Nairobi Communique in 2010, Durban Communique in 2013, Helsinki Communique in 2016 and

Johannesburg Communique in 2017.

Document SCT/S2/8, Para 210.

Document SCT/S2/8. The Report recommended the following protection for Country Name domain names:

“(1) A list of Country Names should be made, using both the United Nations Terminology Bulleting 347/Rev. 1 and, as

necessary, ISO Standard 3166, including both formal names and the short names of countries and any additional

names by which countries are commonly know; (2) protection should cover both the exact names and misleading

variations; (3) the Country Names should be protected in the official language (s) of the country concerned and in the

six official languages of the United Nations; (4) the protection should be extended to all top-level domains, both

gTLDs and ccTLDs; and (5) the protection should be operative against the registration or use of a domain name

which is identical or misleadingly similar to a country name, where the domain name holder has no right or legitimate

interest in the name and the domain name is of a nature that is likely to mislead users into believing that there is an

association between the domain name holder and the constitutional authorities of the country in question.” Para 210.

Document SCT/S2/8: “The Chair concluded that most delegations favored some form of protection for country

names against registration or use by persons unconnected with the constitutional authorities of the country in

question.” “The Delegations of Australia, Canada and the United States of America dissociated themselves from this

recommendation”.Para 210.

Document WO/GA/28/7, para. 80.

Letter to ICANN, dated February 21, 2003. “The SCT […] adopted a decision that the short and long names of

States, as set out in the United Nations Terminology Bulletin, should be protected against identical and misleadingly

similar registrations as domain names by persons unconnected with the constitutional authorities of the States

concerned. It was recommended that this protection should be implemented through an amendment of the UDRP

and should apply to all future registrations of domain names in the gTLDs”. “The decision on the protection of country

names was supported by all Member States of WIPO, with the exception of Australia, Canada and the United States

of America, which dissociated themselves from the decision. Japan also expressed certain reservations, which are

recorded in the text of the decision.”

In 2002, the SCT recommended to base the listing of countries or areas in the six official languages of the

United Nations on the Terminology Bulletin No. 347/Rev.1, prepared by the Department of General Assembly Affairs

and Conference Services of the United Nations Secretariat (available here:

http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=ST/CS/SER.F/347/Rev.1). This document is no more

accurate. This proposition is based on the most recent lists of country names established by the UNGEGN Working

Group on Country Names as approved at the UN Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names. This

conference takes place every 5 years. The most recent list of country names has been approved at the Eleventh

Conference in August 2017. It is available as E/CONF.105/13 here:

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/11th-uncsgn-

docs/E_Conf.105_13_CRP.13_15_UNGEGN%20WG%20Country%20Names%20Document.pdf.

ISO 3166 is the International Standard for country codes and codes for their subdivisions established by the

International Organization for Standardization (available at https://www.iso.org/iso-3166-country-codes.html).

[Endnote continued on next page]

SCT/41/6

Annex, page 6

[Endnote continued from previous page]

Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage adopted on 23

November, 1972, under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO). The WIPO considered this list as a useful instrument in this regard in its Final Report of the Second

WIPO Internet Name Process. The World Heritage List as well as the ISO list have served as the basis for the

allocation of rules in the AGB2012.

UNITED NATIONS GROUP OF EXPERTS

WORKING PAPER

ON GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

NO. 31/4/Rev.1

Twenty-ninth session

Bangkok, Thailand, 25 - 29 April 2016

English

Item 4 of the Provisional Agenda

Report of the Divisions

The Arab Division of Experts on Geographical Names

Submitted by the Arabic Division *

______________________

*Prepared by Dr. Eng. Awnni Moh’d Kasawneh, Chair of the Arab Division of Experts on Geographical Names

The Arab Division of Experts on Geographical Names

Abstract

Achievements of the Arab Division of Experts on Geographical Names

During the last two years 2014/2015

Dr. Eng. Awni Moh'd KHasawneh

Chair of the Arab Division of Experts on Geographical Names

Amman - Jordan

E-mail: kawni@yahoo.com

Phone: 00962 777745204

00962 772009800

Fax

: 00962 6 5340371

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Arab Division of Experts on Geographical Names

Permanent Headquarter

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan - Amman

www.adegn.net

Tel. : 00962 6 5338521

fax.

: 00962 6 5338675

E-mail: info@adegn.net

INTRODUCTION:

The Arab Division of Experts on Geographical Names is composed of

Arab experts in Geographical Names assigned by their countries to

collect, check, standardize and process names of places and natural

landmarks in all Arab countries. It includes experts from the following 22

Arab countries members in this Division: Jordan, United Arab Emirates,

Bahrain, Tunisia, Algeria, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sudan, Somalia,

Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman,

Palestine, Qatar, Comoros Islands and Yemen.

Following are the achievements of Arab countries which already

provided reports in the field of Geographical Names to the office of the

Arab Division of Experts on Geographical Names:

1) Achievements of Jordan:



The 7^th Arab Conference of Arab Experts was convened in Jordan-

Amman2014, in which the most important goal of the conference

was to activate the joint Arab work in the field of Geographical

Names. Many decisions and recommendations were adopted, and a

4 years Governing Board was elected.



The 1^st Conference on Survey and Geographical Names was

convened in Amman 2013. This Conference aimed to activate the

Arab joint work, many decisions and recommendations were

adopted.



Participation in the International Forum on the Names of

Landmarks in the Arab World and Countries of the Sahel, which

was convened in Constantine/Algeria from

1-3/2/2016. Papers

were submitted by the Chair of the Arab Division and Jordanian

delegation.



Offices of the Arab Division in the permanent headquarter: Jordan

has rented offices for the Arab Division in Amman equipped with

all needed devices and materials.



Arab Division Website: Jordan launched the Arab Division

Website (www.adegn. net) in both Arabic and English. It includes

a lot of information about the Arab Division.

 Geographical Names Magazine: Jordan had issued periodic

magazine for the Arab Division which considered the first of its

kind on the Arab level. (Attach.1)

 Maps & Charts: Many maps of various scales were produced for

different areas in Jordan for various purposes.

 Atlases, glossaries and indexes.

 Publications and brochures. (Attach.2)

 Participation in conferences and workshops.

2) Achievements of Qatar:

In 1996, the GIS Center conducted a project for collecting and

documenting geographical names through a geographical survey

for the whole area of Qatar for

18months. Various groups

registered geographical coordinates of geographical names sites,

coordinated work with the information resources by GPS devices

and determining the names of these sites on the map.

The GIS Center also provided integrated information about

geographical names through various digital and paper products

such as: Geographical Names Guide Booklet, Advisor Guide,

Electronic Sites Guide Program, Geo Portal Program on Center's

Web site, Guide Program works on the iPhone and iPad, "Al

Furjan" Book, in addition to digital maps scale 1:200,000 and

1:100,000 include the correct geographical names in Arabic and

English.

3) Achievements of Oman:

The National Survey Authority in Oman has established the

Geographical Names Section. Its mission the Arabization all kinds

of Omani maps, revision and field checking of all Omani

geographical names, locating and determining sites of all Omani

geographical names not available in the National Survey Authority,

preserving and standardizing the identity of the Omani

geographical name with the necessity of transforming it to foreign

languages, providing Omani Geographical Names Data base

includes information about the geographical name, kind of

phenomena, coordinates, administrative division and transliteration

to Latin by using the

(Standardized Arab System of

Transliteration), in addition to mention the accredited authority of

the name with reference to the related documents. This Data Base

includes more than (9000) approved geographical names. Also the

NSA participated in various conferences, meetings and scientific

workshops about geographical names.

4) Achievements of Egypt:

 Collecting, documenting and standardization names of Egyptian

sites in Geographical Data Base for the maps project of population

and housing Census.

 Participating in related international conferences.

 Participating in working groups of the UNEGN.

 Participating in technical committees of the Arab Division of

Experts on Geographical Names.

 Participating in the related international working committees.

 Participating in the semi-annual information bulletins of the

Experts team.

 Updating the world data base related with geographical names.

 Awareness of geographical names.

5) Achievementsof Saudi Arabia:

Establishing the National Committee of Geographical Names on

2014 in King Abdel Aziz Foundation to include all relevant

authorities and aims to serve the names of the sites in Saudi Arabia.

This Foundation prepared the Sites Names Encyclopedia in Saudi

Arabia, the Gazetteer of countries and tribes in the Arabian

Peninsula, Iraq, South Jordan and Sina'a. Also many consultative

studies were accomplished for the Ministry of Transport, preparing

the Roads Guide in the Arabian Peninsula and the Gazetteer of

Geographical Names in the Dead Sea. The Public Survey

Authority, the Public Authority of Tourism and National Heritage,

Public Authority of Statistics, the National Center of Documents

and Archives accomplished many achievements in the field of

geographical names.

6) Achievements of Algeria:

The Ministry of Culture/ the National Center of Researches on

Prehistoric Age, Anthropology and History organized the

International Forum about the Names of Landmarks in Arab world/

Standardization Policy/ Cultural Interests which was hosted by the

Arabian Cultural Capital of 2015 Constantine City in the People's

Democratic Republic of Algeria during the period 1-3 Feb. 2016.

Many Arab countries and Sahel countries in Africa participated in

this Forum in addition to the president of the UNEGN and many

scientists and experts in the field of geographical names. Many

papers were presented in this field and many recommendations and

suggestion were approved.

7) Achievements of United Arab Emirates:

United Arab Emirates is considered one of the pioneering Arab

countries in the field of geographical names applications of spatial

connotations and every day uses of geographical names in a way

that makes the daily life of UAE citizens and visitors easy.

The specialized geographical names authorities in UAE were able

to collect and document most of the geographical names and work

is going on now to complete and update data bases of all

geographical names in the country. Those institutions in charge of

geographical and spatial names, through the smart applications

and the intensive use of advanced techniques, were able to reduce

some of environment and modern problems that face developing

societies.

Also the attendance and participation of delegations and experts of

our country in the related international meetings about

geographical names especially those held by UNGEGN and the

Arab Division of Experts on Geographical Names, played a great

role in being fully aware and continuous consultation with Experts

to develop the infrastructure of geographical names in UAE. Also

there is coordination between local institutions and municipalities

of UAE such as: Department of Municipal Affairs in Abu Dhabi,

and working committees of the Higher Committee of

Geographical Names in Abu Dhabi, the Executive Committee for

Approving Geographical Names in Abu Dhabi and also

municipalities of Dubai, Sharjah, Ra'as Al Khaima, Al Fujaira,

Ajman and Um Al Qewein. Those authorities were able to develop

their infrastructure to collect and document geographical names by

using the most advanced techniques.

Geographical Names are included in the directions of the UAE

government to use Arabic language and UAE heritage in new

names either according to address systems or spatial guidance and

balance in using these modern names, preserving the national

identity and the heritage of this country.

8) Achievements of Tunisia:



Participating in the

3^rd High Level Forum about the Global

Geographical Information Management in Beijing- China during

the period 22-24 October 2014.



Representing the UN Experts of Geographical Names in the

meeting of the UN-GGIM Africa which was held in Tunisia during

the period 10-12 Dec. 2014.



Organizing a workshop about Geographical Names for the

Members of the National Committee on Geographical Names

during the period 12-16 Jan. 2015.



Participating in the 1^st Meeting of GGIM- Arab States which was

held in Riyadh - Saudi Arabia during the period 24-25 Feb. 2015.



Participating in the Working Groups Meeting on Publicity/

Funding and Implementation/Evaluation, as well as the Working

Groups Meeting on Cultural Heritage held during the period 10-12

Sep. 2015 in Copenhagen/ Denmark.



Participating in an International Symposium ,held in Tunisia during

the period 12-14 Nov. 2015.



Participating in 48 Edition of the UN Experts on Geographical

Names Magazine.

Activities and future ambitions of the Arab Division:

The presidency of the Arab Division seeks to achieve the expected level

and match the progressed division through achieving the following:

- Convening the 8^th Conference of Experts on Geographical Names.

- The Permanent headquarter of the Division.

- Including the Geographical Names subject in the educational

curriculum.

- Activating the Committees of the Arab Division.

- Establishing national authorities and committees concerned with

geographical names.

- Preparing the Arab Standardized Gazetteer and the Arab Atlas.

- Establishing a Data base for Arabic Geographical Names.

- Convening an international conference about the Judiazation of

geographical names in Palestine.

- Providing the financial support for the Arab Division.

Chair of the Arab Division of Experts on

Geographical Names

Dr. Eng. Awni Moh'd KHasawneh

//////////////////////////////////////////