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Issue No. 3 Wednesday, 6 October 2010
 

Conference approves report of Council on the activities of the Union 2007-2010

On 6 October 2010, the conference approved the report of the Council on the activities of the Union for the period 2007-2010 (see Document PP-10/20). This report gives an overview of the main activities of the Union since the last Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya in 2006, and summarizes progress in the implementation of the Strategic Plan for the years 2008-2011.
 
Presenting the report, this year’s Chairman of the Council, R.N. Jha of India, summarized its structure:

  • Part I: Key trends in ITU Membership and the present status of ratification of the basic instruments of the Union.
  • Part II: Activities of the Council in its ordinary and extraordinary sessions and Council working groups since 2006.
  • Part III: Overview of progress in ITU’s work to implement the Strategic Plan 2008-2011, including the work of all three Sectors and the General Secretariat in meeting their objectives under Resolution 71 (Antalya, 2006).
  • Part IV: Progress in the specific Decisions, Resolutions and Recommendations on which ITU is required to report to the Plenipotentiary Conference.
  • Annex I: List of all ITU Member States and Sector Members and contributory units.
  • Annex II: List of recommended possible actions, proposed by the secretariat, to be taken by PP-10 in respect of ITU decisions, resolutions and recommendations.


Mr Jha recalled that the Council, at its session in April this year, had already approved Parts I to IV, and noted Annex II.
 
Chile, the only country to make a comment on the report, underlined the importance of strengthening ITU’s regional presence, citing a reference to this topic in the report. The delegation commended the ITU Area Office in Santiago de Chile for its work in the region, especially during recent natural disasters that hit the country. With those comments, the report was approved, and the Council was praised for a job well done!

 

WSIS is focus of first meeting of Working Group of the Plenary


The Working Group of the Plenary took up two challenging issues to face the ITU since the gavel came down on the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in 2005.  Those issues being a review of ITU’s role and activities in implementing WSIS outcomes and the future of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). 

 

WSIS – Five years on
ITU’s role in implementing WSIS outcomes is governed by Resolution 140 (Antalya, 2006), which resolves that ITU should play a leading role in the WSIS implementation process, along with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as outlined in the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society.
 
The United States proposed that an editorial update of the resolution was due since it was adopted in 2006. The USA emphasized the need for UN agencies to work within their respective competencies and according to their governing bodies.  Canada and Norway (speaking on behalf of the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations or CEPT) aligned themselves with this position, with both stressing the need for multi-stakeholder partnerships as a vital principle of the WSIS process and outcomes.
 
The Arab Group, supported by South Africa and China, noted however that many changes have taken place in the telecommunication environment since 2006 – especially the importance of the Internet – and that these changes should be reflected in any review of the resolution. It also called for ITU to continue to play a “pioneering role” in the WSIS outcome and follow-up process.   
 
The Russian Federation proposed that an ad hoc group be set up to examine the various issues and conflicting perspectives on Resolution 140, which outlines ITU’s role in the follow-up to WSIS. The proposal was accepted by all, as was the suggestion that Dr Vladimir Minkin of the Russian Federation act as Chairman of the ad hoc group.


WSIS Forum meets Internet Governance Forum

A proposal by the Russian Federation was put forward to consider whether the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) should become part of the WSIS Forum, as it was suggested that all WSIS outcomes, which include the IGF, should be dealt with in the WSIS Forum.

Delegates from Norway

 Delegates from Norway

The United States and Norway (on behalf of CEPT) suggested that the IGF should be kept as an independent body and that it retain its “unique” non-binding, bottom-up, non-decisional, multi-stakeholder status.
 
Egypt questioned the rationale for folding the IGF into the WSIS Forum and noted that the authorities responsible for the future of the IGF are the UN General Assembly, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD).
 
The Chairman of the Working Group of the Plenary concluded that the proposal from the Russian Federation was not relevant to the outcome of PP-10 and that it should be presented to the appropriate bodies of the UN system.
 
In fact, the future of the Internet Governance Forum is scheduled for review by the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly and that review will be completed before the end of the year.



Policy statements continued...

 

This box lists policy statements made in Plenary on Wednesday, 6 October 2010. Those submitted in writing are available at: http://www.itu.int/plenipotentiary/2010/statements/list.html, others will be posted as and when the final versions become available. Watch this space!  

 

  • Indonesia’s Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Tifatul Sembiring

  • Kenya’s  Minister of Information and Communications, Samuel Lesuron Poghisio

  • Islamic Republic of  Iran’s  Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Reza Taghi-Pour

  • Côte d'Ivoire’s  Director of Cabinet, Ministère des Nouvelles Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication, N'Datien Séverin Guibessongui

  • Micronesia’s Secretary (Minister), Department of Transportation, Communication and Infrastructure, Francis I. Itimai

  • Lesotho’s  Minister of Communications, Science and Technology, Mothetjoa Metsing

  • Brazil’s  President of the National Telecommunications Agency (ANATEL), Ambassador Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg

  • Lebanon’s Minister of Telecommunications, Charbel Nahas

  • Comoros  Minister, Ministère des Postes et Télécommunications, chargé de la Promotion des Nouvelles Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication, Hodhoaer Inzouddine

  • Cuba’s Viceministro Primero, Ministerio de la Informática y las Comunicaciones,  Ramón Linares Torres

  • United Kingdom’s  Ambassador to Mexico, Ms Judith Macgregor

  • Canada’s Assistant Deputy Minister, Spectrum, Information Technologies and Telecommunications, International Telecommunications Policy & Coordination, Industry Canada, Ms Helen Mcdonald

  • Georgia’s Head of Communications, IT and Innovations Department, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development,  Irakli Kashibadze

  • Greece’s  Director, Certification Directorate, Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks, Nissim Benmayor

  • Romania’s President  of the  National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications, Catalin Marinescu

  • Nepal’s  Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communications, Sushil Ghimire

  • Marshall Islands  Minister of Transportation and Communications, Kenneth Kedi

  • The Republic of Congo’s Minister, Ministère des Postes, des Télécommunications et des Nouvelles Technologies de la Communication, Thierry Moungalla

  • Burkina Faso’s Minister, Ministère des Postes et des Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication,  Noël Kabore

  • Papua New Guinea’s Minister  of Communication and Information, Patrick Tammur

  • Kiribati’s Minister of Communications Transport and Tourism Development, Temate Ereateiti Kateintenang

  • Gambia’s Minister of Information and Communication Infrastructure, Alhaji Abdoulie Cham

  • Angola’s Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technologies, José Carvalho da Rocha

  • Gabon’s Minister, Ministere de la Communication, de la Poste et de l'Economie Numérique,  Ms Laure Olga Gondjout

  • Sierra Leone’s  Minister  of Information and Communications,  Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo

  • Ethiopia’s  State Minister of Transport and Communications, Peter Gatkuoth Gey

  • Burundi’s Minister, Ministère des TIC,  Ms Concilie Nibigira

  • Iraq’s Deputy Minister of Communications, Khadr Amir

  • Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Transport and Communication,  Valter Marutyan

  • Paraguay’s Presidente, Comision Nacional de Telecomunicaciones, Jorge Antonio Seall Sasiain

  • Poland’s Undersecretary of State responsible for telecommunication in the  Ministry of Infrastructure, Ms Magdalena Gaj

  • Ukraine’s First Deputy Chairman, State Administration of Communications, Ministry of Transport and Communications, Ms Olena Dovgalenko

  • Portugal’s Adviser, Ministério das Obras Públicas, Transportes e Comunicações, Mário Franco

  • Mexico’s Comisionado, Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones (COFETEL), Gonzalo Martínez Pous