[urn] Proposal: Activation of RFC 8141 Section 5.1 Reserve d NIDs via a Territorial URN Framework

Dear URN community and IANA,

I am writing to formally propose a framework for the activation and
standardized use of the *ISO 3166-1 Alpha-2 reserved NIDs*, as
specified in *Section
5.1 of RFC 8141*.

Currently, two-letter NIDs are reserved to avoid conflicts with country
codes. My proposal is to move beyond mere reservation by defining a
standard structure for their *Namespace Specific String (NSS)*, allowing
these NIDs to function as a globally consistent system for territorial
identifiers (National IDs, Tax IDs, etc.).
1. Running Code & Implementation Architecture

I have developed a modular implementation in Python that demonstrates this
"Delegated Validation" pattern:

   -

   *Core (international-urns):* Acts as a dispatcher and syntax validator
   according to RFC 8141. It treats the 2-letter ISO code as the NID.
   -

   *Regional Plugins (e.g., international-urns-es):* Implements the
   specific business logic and checksum validation for a particular
   jurisdiction (e.g., Spanish DNI, NIE, CIF).

*Format Example:* urn:es:dni:12345678X

   -

   *NID:* es (ISO 3166-1 reserved space)
   -

   *NSS:* dni:12345678X (Type-prefixed identifier)

2. Technical Merits of the Direct NID approach

   -

   *Optimized Resolution:* By using the ISO code as the NID, we eliminate
   the need for an "umbrella" NID (like urn:iso:es...), reducing the MTU
   overhead in high-frequency environments like distributed ledgers
   (Blockchain) or IoT telemetry.
   -

   *Semantic Directness:* The jurisdiction is immediately identifiable at
   the first level of the URN, which is critical for unindexed text searches
   and log analysis.
   -

   *Standardized NSS Pattern:* My implementation promotes a <type>:<value>
   pattern within the NSS, providing a predictable structure for future
   country-specific registrations.

3. Addressing Persistence and Governance

In alignment with RFC 8141's persistence requirement:

   -

   *Historical Continuity:* If a country code is retired by ISO, the URN
   remains a valid persistent identifier for historical records.
   -

   *Decentralized Maintenance:* While the NID space is governed by
   ISO/IANA, the internal validation logic for the NSS can be maintained by
   community-driven or state-driven plugins, as shown in my
   international-urns-es project.

4. Proposed Next Steps

Instead of multiple individual NID registrations, I suggest the community
evaluates a *"Template-based Registration"* for the ISO 3166-1 Alpha-2
range. This would provide a clear path for any jurisdiction to utilize
their reserved NID under a common NSS structural standard.

I look forward to your feedback on whether this approach could be
formalized as an Informational RFC or a Best Current Practice (BCP).

Best regards,

Jesús Alonso Abad
https://pypi.org/project/international-urns/
https://pypi.org/project/international-urns-es/

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