First Plenary Meeting
The first plenary meeting took place on the afternoon of Wednesday 25 May, with a very busy agenda.
ITU 150
Issah Yahaya from Ghana presented the final report of the Council Committee on the preparations for ITU's 150th anniversary (C16/13) summarizing the overall preparatory work, as well as the activities and events held by the Secretariat, the Sectors and ITU membership throughout the anniversary year and particularly during the 150th celebration in Geneva.
An interactive 150th Anniversary e-book, already available online, was presented by the Secretariat. The Chair expressed her appreciation and encouraged Councillors to share it with their administrations as a nice souvenir for future generations. Several Councillors took the floor to commend the work of the Council Committee and the ITU. Council approved the final report with a round of applause, marking also the Committee's abrogation.
WTISD
The Secretariat presented document
C16/17 summarizing the celebration of WTISD-16 (Res 68) which was held on 17 May with the theme "ICT entrepreneurship for social impact". Drawing on the potential of Big Data for sustainable development, the theme of 'Big Data for Big Impact' was proposed as the theme for WTISD-17; this was approved by Council.
RA-15 & WRC-15
Mario Maniewicz, Deputy Director of BR, presented documents
C16/62 and
C16/26, reporting on the organization and summarizing the main results of RA-15 and WRC-15
(R 1343). Both reports were noted by Council.
Mr Maniewicz drew Council's attention to a proposal in the report of the WRC-15 Budget Control Committee to introduce a 3-week deadline (as opposed to the current 2-weeks) for the submission of documents and proposals to World Radiocommunication Conferences, in order to allow ample time for translation and document production. As the deadline for the submission of contributions to ITU conferences is ruled by a PP Resolution, it was agreed that Member States could reflect on this proposal until the next PP in 2018.
An additional document (C16/61) was presented on the financial implications of the WRC-15 decisions; Council endorsed the proposed measures.
Official languages
The Vice-Chair of the CWG on Languages, Vladimir Minkin, presented document
C16/12, focusing on ITU's efforts in the implementation of Resolution 154 on the equal use of ITU's six official languages (as outlined in Secretary-General's report
CWG-LANG/6/2) and the CWG's respective recommendations. Councillors endorsed the report, encouraging the continuation of ITU's efforts.
Contribution
C16/73, submitted by Spain, France and Switzerland, was presented by Switzerland, proposing amendments to Res. 1372, with the aim of ensuring the simultaneous publication of new/modified web pages in the six official languages, as well as their equal functionality and navigation. The contribution received wide support from a number of Councillors. The Deputy Secretary-General and Secretary-General supported the intention of the proposal, but noted the practical and budgetary implications of such an amendment. Switzerland was invited to set up and chair an Ad Hoc Group to examine the issue further and report back to Council.
Official
Free online access
The Secretariat presented document
C16/21 on the Sales of ITU Publications, relating to 'Free online access to ITU publications' (Res 66, Dec 12, D 571, D 574). Sales amounted to CHF 16.72 million in 2015, exceeding the bi-annual 2014-15 budget by CHF 2.56 million. Councillors congratulated the sales team for its efforts, especially acknowledging the positive impact of free online access to several publications.
Following a proposal by the United States, Council agreed to include WTSA's outputs into the list of free online accessible publications. A suggestion made by Bulgaria, with regard to defining specific criteria on free vs paid publications, was noted for potential future elaboration and review by CWG-FHR.
ITU Telecom
The Secretariat presented document
C16/19R1 on ITU Telecom events (Res 11, R 1292), noting the success of ITU Telecom World 2015, with special thanks to Hungary as the host, and to the ITU members and sector members that supported the event, especially through their national pavilions.
Saudi Arabia presented contribution
C16/97, providing suggestions for future ITU Telecom events, including expanding ITU Telecom World award categories, and merging the location of workshops with pavilions and exhibitions.
Looking to the future, the Secretariat provided information on the preparation of ITU Telecom World 2016, which will take place from 14-17 November in Bangkok, Thailand, and updated Councillors on future elements and plans.
Further discussion on ITU Telecom, including the presentation of document
C16/63, covering the revised model host country agreement, continued in the second plenary session (see below).
WTDC-17
Yushi Torigoe, Deputy Director of BDT, presented document
C16/56 on the preparations for WTDC-17, including regional preparatory meetings. The proposed theme for WTDC-17 is 'ICT for the Sustainable Development Goals' (ICT4SDGs), sending a clear message to the world about ITU's alignment with the SDG Agenda. Council was informed about the invitation received from Argentina to host WTDC-17 in Buenos Aires from 9 to 20 October 2017. Argentina took the floor to present its host country candidacy, which was warmly welcomed by Councillors. Council approved the proposal, as well as the draft agenda annexed to the document.
Special session on the WeLead mentoring programme
After the end of the plenary session on Wednesday afternoon, a special session was held on the WeLead mentoring programme, sponsored by the United States delegation. The programme was first launched at WRC-15 at the end of last year, and proved a tremendous success, with almost 100 women from 24 countries taking part and joining a growing community of practice. The C16 WeLead programme kicked off with a lively session led by US delegate Kathy O'Brien, herself a woman leader in the field of ICTs.
ITU Council 2016 represents a special occasion for mentors (experienced women with previous ITU Council or other related expertise) to share their knowledge with mentees (women who are newer to the ITU Council) and help them blossom in their careers.
Second Plenary Meeting
The second plenary meeting took place on the morning of Thursday 26 May.
ITU Telecom
Discussions on ITU Telecom continued in the second plenary session, with the presentation of the Revised Model Host Country Agreement (HCA) for ITU Telecom Events (C16/63).
Many Councillors expressed congratulations on the success of ITU Telecom World 2015, which focused on the role of SMEs in driving growth in ICTs. India proposed developing an online platform for information-sharing and matching among SMEs.
In the discussion that followed, a number of Councillors sought clarification concerning the Model HCA, and the inclusion – or not – of certain terms and definitions. The Secretariat noted that some terms could not easily be included, as they have different meanings in different legal jurisdictions. Questions were raised concerning the non-inclusion of captioning as a pre-requisite, and the availability of support services and accommodation for ITU staff. The Secretariat noted that the Model HCA is a framework for agreement and that items will be revised according to consultation with each host country.
An Ad Hoc Drafting Group was established, chaired by the Philippines, to propose modifications.
Council endorsed
C16/19R1 and
C16/97 and looks forward to further discussions concerning
C16/63 on Tuesday 31 May.
Joint Inspection Unit (JIU)
Inspector Tarasov (Vice Chair, JIU) presented the major findings from the JIU examination,
C16/49, noting that the JIU is pleased to see ITU management accepting the recommendations. Various recommendations were highlighted, including recommendations to reduce expenditure and increase revenue, enhance coordination within ITU, including the framework of management committees and enhancement of the impact and activities of the Inter-Sectoral Coordination Task Force.
The JIU recognizes that ITU's current funding model is marked by uncertainty and acknowledges ITU's efficiency measures. The JIU has requested that the Secretary-General produce a comprehensive strategy, including exploring new sources of revenue. The JIU also calls for a consistent harmonization and alignment of HR policies with good practices from other UN agencies, as well as better gender balance and regional representation of staff within ITU. The JIU found little appetite among major stakeholders to engage in another round of review of improvements to ITU's internal structure.
Malcolm Johnson, the Deputy-Secretary-General, presented the Secretariat's response (C16/67). He welcomed the report's findings and expressed appreciation for the comprehensive review. ITU is committed to implementing the JIU recommendations, and is already working to develop an Action Plan to implement the formal and informal recommendations within the recommended timescale, subject to resource availability, and will provide a detailed and comprehensive report to next year's Council session.
Many Councillors welcomed the JIU report and the Secretariat's response. After further discussion, Council endorsed the report and its recommendations, and instructed the Secretary-General to implement all of its recommendations and to report back to Council 2017.
CWG-FHR report
On behalf of the Chair of CWG-FHR, Switzerland presented an overview of the CWG's report (C16/50). The CWG discussed various modifications, the criteria for the selection of Chairs and Vice-Chairs of CWGs, the report following up the recommendations of the External Auditor, risk management, information document access policy, ITU involvement in MoUs, the Independent Management Advisory Committee (IMAC), a new membership category of SMEs, an experimental trial for international numbers, and the framework agreement between ITU and the DONA Foundation. Council transmitted the document to ADM for discussion, with agreement to hold an additional information session on ITU's work with the DONA Foundation.
The Council Highlights are provided as a service to ITU Member State Administrations. They are not official documents, and do not provide a substitute for the Summary Record; we nonetheless hope that Member State Administrations will find them useful and informative.
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