RESOLUTION 1196

(approved at the fourteenth Plenary Meeting)

ITU PREPARATIONS FOR WSIS

The Council,

recalling

Resolution 73 of Plenipotentiary Conference (Minneapolis, 1998) about the role of the ITU in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) implementation, as well as Resolution 1158 of Council 2000 and Resolution 1179 of Council 01,

considering

a)         that the United Nations General Assembly, taking note of the action plan presented by the Secretary General of the ITU to the Administrative Committee on Coordination, in December 2001 adopted Resolution 56/183 concerning WSIS implementation, and welcomed the Resolution 1179 of Council 01 in which the Council endorsed the proposal of the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union to hold the Summit at the highest possible level in two phases, the first in Geneva from 10 to 12 December 2003 and the second in Tunis in 2005, pursuant to Resolution 73 (Minneapolis, 1998) of the Plenipotentiary Conference of the ITU;

b)         that this UNGA Resolution considers that the Summit is to be convened under the patronage of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and invites the International Telecommunication Union to assume the leading managerial role in the executive secretariat of the Summit and its preparatory process, in cooperation with interested United Nations agencies and other intergovernmental agencies and the host countries;

c)         that the UNGA recommends that the preparation for the Summit take place through an open-ended intergovernmental preparatory committee (PrepCom), which would define the agenda of the Summit, finalize both the draft declaration and the draft plan of action, and decide on the modalities of the participation of other stakeholders in the Summit,

d)         that the UN Administrative Committee on Coordination created a High-Level Summit Organizing Committee (HLSOC), chaired by the Secretary-General of the ITU and consisting of the heads of those United Nations and other international organizations interested in participating in the process leading to the Summit,

considering further

a)         the work already carried out by ITU Council, notably in Resolutions 1158 and 1179;

b)         that WTDC-02 has adopted a special resolution on the preparation for WSIS, emphasizing participation of developing countries, in particular the Least Developed Countries, and has adopted the Istanbul Action Plan, which contains concrete measures to address the digital divide;

c)         that the first meeting of the WSIS Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) will be held on 1‑5 July, 2002 in Geneva and two other meetings following in 2003;

having examined

a)         the report of the Secretary General on developments since the last Council in connection with the preparation of the World Summit on the Information Society, contained in Document C02/26;

b)         the report of the Chairman of the WSIS Liaison Committee on the activities with regard to WSIS preparations, contained in Documents C02/52 and C02/41.

recognising

a)         that the WSIS is a major event for the ITU, which can significantly contribute to the strengthening of the ITU role in the Information Society, and that the participation of ITU Member States in the preparation of the Summit is of paramount importance, and that provision should be made for supporting effective participation by the developing countries, in particular the Least Developed Countries;

b)         that the participation of ITU Sector Members in the preparation of the Summit is of great interest and should be reflected within the framework of the conclusions of PrepCom on the participation of NGOs and Civil Society;

resolves

to convert the WSIS Liaison Committee of the Council into a WSIS Working Group, open to all Member States and Sector Members, with the following terms of reference:

a)                  to provide to the membership a detailed framework for the substantive contribution of ITU to the Summit, initially for discussion at PP-02;

b)         to review the preparatory activities of ITU in preparation for the Summit,

c)         to develop, with the assistance of the Secretary-General and Directors of the Bureaux, an information document to be transmitted to the PrepCom on the functions of ITU based on the draft ITU Strategic Plan, 2003‑07, the Istanbul Action Plan, and the activities of the ITU in relation to the Summit.

d)         to consider ITU’s contribution to the work of the PrepCom in defining the themes relevant to the substance of WSIS, giving special attention to Resolution 73 (Minneapolis, 73) and to the various Resolutions adopted by Plenipotentiary Conference, by the Council, on matters directly related to the Information Society, as well as UNGA Resolutions 53/70 (1998); 54/49 (1999); 55/28(2000); 56/19 (2001) relating to developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security,

instructs the Secretary General

1.                  to prepare a report for the Plenipotentiary Conference, 2002, and for the subsequent Plenipotentiary Conference, concerning the ITU activities in preparation for the WSIS,

2.                  to provide information to the Council and ITU membership on a regular basis concerning ITU activities relating to the preparation and conducting of WSIS, as well as activities in this respect of other agencies of the United Nations and other concerned entities,

invites Member States and Sector Members

to participate actively in the ITU preparations for the WSIS.