5 July – Council in plenary
WSIS: Towards 2015... and looking for a vision beyond

WSIS+10 review process

The Council has set up an ad hoc group under the chairmanship of Professor Vladimir Minkin of the Russian Federation to update its Resolution 1334 on the ITU role in the overall review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+10). This decision was reached following discussion of two reports: “Report of the Council Working Group on ITU's role on implementing the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society” (Document C12/55), presented by the group’s Chairman Professor Minkin, and the “Follow-up to the ITU Council Resolution 1334 on the ITU role in the overall review of the implementation of the outcomes of WSIS (WSIS+10)” (Document C12/55), presented by Jaroslaw Ponder.

Council Working Group on WSIS charts next steps

Professor Minkin’s report summarizes the main decisions and recommendations made during the 18th meeting of the Council Working Group on ITU's role on implementing the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WG-WSIS), held from 6-7 June 2012. He reported to the Council that WG-WSIS had noted with appreciation the outcomes of WSIS Forum 2012, as well as the preparations towards WSIS Forum 2013 on 13-17 May. WG-WSIS had also recognized the efforts of the ITU Secretary-General in response to Resolution 172 on the overall review of implementation of the outcomes of WSIS (Guadalajara Plenipotentiary Conference, 2010) and to Council Resolution 1334. Apart from the proposal to update Resolution 1334, WG-WSIS had also expressed the need to:

• request the ITU secretariat to update road maps for Action Lines C2, C5 and C6, as well as for other Action Lines and WSIS tasks, related to ITU, including indications for a vision beyond 2015;
• include, as appropriate, any actions relevant to the WSIS+10 Overall Review in the ITU Operational Plans for 2013-2016;
• request the ITU Secretary-General to undertake necessary actions directed towards involvement of all ITU Member States in the preparations to the overall review of implementation of the WSIS outcomes and a vision beyond 2015 using templates for the national self-evaluation reporting on the implementation of WSIS goals;
•  assess the efforts to be dedicated towards preparations of a high-level event on the Overall Review (WSIS+10), to be held in 2014 in conjunction with the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-14);
• consider inviting the membership to contribute proposals to the next WG-WSIS meeting regarding emerging trends in the information society and their vision beyond 2015, and to request the ITU secretariat to provide information on the emerging trends.

Councillors fine-tune the process for moving forward

Saudi Arabia considered that WSIS+10 and its preparatory process should be similar to the original WSIS Summit Process. In other words, those engaged in developing the WSIS action lines should also be engaged in the review. ITU’s role as the overall facilitator of WSIS activities and WSIS +10 should be retained. Modalities for the review process should be decided at the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Algeria welcomed the diversity of themes discussed at WSIS Forums and stressed that ITU should play a central role in the Commission on Science and Technology for Development and in all WSIS review processes, adding that the nature of the 2014 high-level event and its expected results should be defined.

Canada called for an analysis of the cost implications to be carried out in time for next year’s Council, particularly in regard to the Hyderabad Action Plan and activities related to WSIS +10.

Switzerland, as the host of WSIS 2003, is obviously interested in WSIS+10 and Stocktaking. Switzerland recognized ITU’s pioneering role, but noted that a number of organizations are involved in the implementation and therefore urged the Council to look at the United Nations process very carefully — the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, ECOSOC, the General Assembly — underlining that implementation of WSIS+10 must be done in coordination with the entire United Nations system.

Kenya expressed support for ITU’s lead managerial role, while Tunisia called for ITU to play a central role in the WSIS+10 review, in collaboration with the Commission on Science and Technology for Development and other United Nations agencies.

The secretariat reassured councillors that there was good coordination between ITU and the Commission on Science and Technology for Development as well as other United Nations agencies in the WSIS review process.

International public policy of the Internet — a hot issue

The Council set up an ad hoc group under the chairmanship of Ghana’s Minister for Communications, Haruna Iddrisu, to draft the modalities of open consultation within the Council Working Group on International Internet-related public policy issues (CWG-Internet). This decision was reached following a long discussion sparked by the presentation of various documents reflecting different points of view.

Council working group sets out the options

Majed Al Mazyed (Saudi Arabia), Chairman of CWG-Internet, presented the group’s report (Document C12/50). This report summarizes the main results of the group’s first meeting, held on 8 and 11 June 2012, in line with Resolutions 102 and 140 (Rev. Guadalajara 2010) on “ITU’s role with regard to international public policy issues pertaining to the Internet and the management of Internet resources, including domain names and addresses”, and on “ITU’s role in implementing the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society”, and Council Resolutions 1282 (Mod. 2008), 1305 (2009) and 1336 (2011).

Two options on the modality of the open consultations were discussed at the June meeting of CWG-Internet: online consultations or online consultations combined with a physical meeting. But there was no consensus on either option.

Some Member States proposed that all CWG-Internet documents should be made available without passwords to all stakeholders. Other Member States were of the view that the dissemination of output is clearly described in instructs the Secretary-General of Council Resolution 1336 (Council Working Group on international Internet-related public policy issues) and that the matter of making ITU documents available without passwords is outside the scope of CWG-Internet.

Some Member States also proposed that all written contributions from the open consultation process should be made available to the CWG-Internet as information documents. Other Member States said that Council Resolution 1336 covered the provision of inputs, and proposed that the secretariat should collate written contributions and post the compilation on the CWG-Internet website.

The Council was invited to take note of the report of CWG-Internet and to provide further guidance.

Councillors air their diverging views

Contributions from Sweden (C12/65) and the United States (C12/69) call for online + physical open consultations, opening up of all documents without passwords, written contributions from the open consultation process as information documents to CWG-Internet, and presence of all stakeholders as observers in CWG-Internet meetings.

Contributions from the United Arab Emirates (C12/70) and Saudi Arabia (C12/74) call for online open consultations only (initiated by the group and only on issues identified by the group), no opening up of CWG-Internet documents, and no formal status for the output documents from the open consultations.

Sweden underlined the multi-stakeholder model, arguing that being more transparent and interactive with all stakeholders would prevent ITU from being perceived as outdated and closed, with things to hide.

Looking to the ad hoc group to propose a compromise

The ad hoc group, which met on 5 July and will meet again on 9 July (evening), will consider the contributions, discuss the matter and make a proposal to the plenary. The Council Chairman clarified that the Terms of Reference of CWG-Internet (specified in Resolution 1336) should not be changed. The chairman of the ad hoc group affirmed his commitment to guide the group towards resolving the matter.

6 July – Council in plenary

What is ITU doing about climate change?

Doreen Bogdan-Martin presented Document C12/15+Add.1, outlining ITU’s activities being implemented in line with Resolution 182 (Guadalajara, 2010) on the “role of telecommunications/information and communication technologies on climate change and the protection of the environment". She highlighted progress made in the past 12 months.

Climate monitoring: The World Radiocommuication Conference (WRC-12), held earlier this year, recognized the importance of Earth observation radiocommunication applications, allocating new spectrum to promote oceanographic radars, meteorological-satellite services and Earth exploration satellite services. A new activity in this area was the work conducted by ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), together with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on the use of submarine cables for climate monitoring and disaster warning.

Mitigation: ITU-T Study Group 5 continued work on a set of standard methodologies to assess the environmental footprint of the ICT sector as well as the contribution of the ICT sector to reducing carbon emissions from other sectors. Recommendations ITU-T L.1410, ITU-T L.1420 and ITU-T L.1300 (Best practices for green data centres) were approved, and Resolution ITU-R 60 (RA-12), which instructs ITU-R study groups to initiate work on reducing the energy consumption of radiocommunication services, was adopted.

Adaptation: ITU-T Study Group 5 Question 23/5 is developing “Best Practices to help countries and ICT sector to adapt to the effect of climate change”. In addition, ITU-D Study Group 1 Question 24/1 and ITU-T Study Group 5 Question 22/5 are advancing the work in this area.

Capacity building: ITU organized the 6th and 7th ITU Symposium on ICTs, the Environment and Climate Change, in Accra, Ghana (July 2011) and Montreal, Canada (May 2012), respectively. The Accra Symposium concluded with the “Accra Call to Action” addressing climate change and sustainability, while the Montreal Symposium endorsed the “Montreal Declaration”, which identifies possible goals, commitments and modalities of ICT sector commitments to be developed in the process leading to WTSA-12 and following the Rio+20 conference. Other related activities held during 2011 included the first ITU Green Standards Week, held in Rome (Italy) on 5-9 September 2011. The second Green Standards Week will take place from 17-21 September 2012 in Paris, France.

E-waste: Key activities included a dedicated session organized by ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) during the 2011 Global Symposium for Regulators, a joint survey on e-waste, launched with ITU, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations University (UNU), SteP, CEDARE and the Secretariat of the Basel Convention, and the approval by ITU-T Study Group 5 of Recommendation ITU–T L.1100, which details best practices for recycling of ICT rare metal components. A toolkit on end-of-life management of ICT equipment is being developed by ITU-T together with over 40 partners.

Implementation of WSIS Action Line C7 e-environment: ITU continued to facilitate the implementation of WSIS Action Line C7, e-environment, together with WMO, UNEP and the Basel Convention. A key activity of this action line was the organization of a series of workshops at WSIS Forum 2012 on areas such as e-waste, energy efficiency and sustainability.

ITU and the United Nations: ITU has continued advocating recognition of the role of ICT in addressing climate change in the negotiations of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). ITU participated actively in the 2011 UN Climate Change Conference (held in Durban, South Africa). Together with the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), ITU established the Coalition on ICTs and Climate Change, an informal group of organizations that worked to include references to ICT in the outcomes and decisions adopted by the conference. Another collaboration in the United Nations context was the publication of the new report “The Broadband Bridge: linking ICTs with climate action for a low-carbon economy” produced by the working group on climate change of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, a joint ITU-UNESCO initiative.

Council takes note

Tunisia asked for the document to be updated to reflect the outcomes of the Rio+20 Conference. Rio+20 will be discussed further when Document C12/75 is presented on Thursday, 12 July.

Italy praised the progress achieved by ITU in implementing Resolution 182, and encouraged the membership to bring the matter forward at upcoming ITU conferences, in particular WTSA-12, focusing on the future challenges and opportunities in this domain.

Council welcomed and noted the document.

Cybersecurity

ITU’s role in building confidence and security in the use of information and communication technologies.

Alex Ntoko introduced Document C12/29, summarizing ITU’s activities and initiatives in relation to Resolution 130 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) on strengthening the role of ITU in building confidence and security in the use of information and communication technologies. Also spotlighted were ITU’s role as sole facilitator for WSIS Action Line C5, and other decisions by the membership on strengthening the role of ITU in building confidence and security in the use of ICT.

Algeria recalled that the outcomes of the implementation of Resolution 174 on ITU’s role with regard to international public policy issues relating to the risk of illicit use of information and communication technologies Guadalajara, 2010) had been discussed during WSIS Forum 2012. Algeria encouraged Member States to continue that discussion at the next Plenipotentiary Conference in 2014.

Numerous councillors endorsed that statement and supported the work of the ITU in promoting international cooperation through partnerships, for example, ITU-IMPACT and the Child Online Protection initiative, as well as events such as regional forums dedicated to cybersecurity.

Council noted Document C12/29.

Indonesia suggests strengthening cybersecurity measures

Indonesia proposed that all ITU Member States should engage in formulating a global legal platform for cybersecurity. A convention would make countries take greater responsibility for national and international cybersecurity, and would assist in combating cybercrime.

Numerous councillors took the floor to highlight the scale of the global cybersecurity problem, and welcomed ITU's activities in that regard. Several countries supported Indonesia’s proposal, while others said that the scope of existing international instruments should not be duplicated.

The Secretary-General assured the Council that ITU would not duplicate work, and proposed that cybersecurity should be discussed at the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12), while the Internet-related aspects should be discussed at the World Telecommunication/Information and Communication Technology Policy Forum (WTPF-13). The results of those discussions would be brought to the Council in 2013
The Council accepted the Secretary-General’s proposal.

Protecting children online

The Vice-Chairman of the Council Working Group on child online protection, Ambassador Sylvia Poll, introducing the report on the work done at the group’s fourth and fifth meetings (Document C12/51), emphasized the importance of coordinating and exchanging information with other groups such as ITU-T Study Group 17, the newly established Joint Coordination Activity on Child Online Protection initiative, and with other regional initiatives and international organizations working in areas related to child online protection. She said that ITU’s statistical framework and indicators would help in collecting internationally comparable data.

Councillors emphasized the priority that their countries accorded to child online protection and welcomed the assistance that ITU could provide in that regard.

The Secretary-General thanked Laura Chinchilla, President of Costa Rica and patron of ITU’s Child Online Protection initiative, for her sustained efforts in bringing child online protection to the attention of world leaders.

Conformance and interoperability – as interesting as ever

Conformance and interoperability (C&I) has received again considerable attention at this Council meeting. The C&I programme approved by the Guadalajara Plenipotentiary Conference in 2010 consists of four pillars:

1. Conformity assessment programme
2.  Interoperability events
3.  capacity building
4.  establishment of test centres in developing countries.

The Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) leads pillars 1 and 2, and the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) leads 3 and 4. An internal C&I Task Force (the “three musketeers” Paolo Rosa of TSB, Riccardo Passerini of BDT and Nelson Malaguti of the Radiocommunication Bureau) coordinates all C&I issues.

As you may recall, Resolution 177 (Guadalajara, 2010) instructs the Director TSB “to prepare a business plan for the long-term implementation of this resolution”. A call for tender was issued (Council-11 INF/14), and KPMG, a consultancy, with excellent credentials in business plan preparation, was selected. KPMG’s entire business plan (140 pages) was published as information document C12/INF/7. The Executive Summary of this business plan is contained in Document C12/37.

The Council meeting on C&I started with KPMG making a presentation of their findings, followed by presentations of the United States (Document C12/73), Canada (Document C12/67) and the Russian Federation (Document C12/63). Reinhard Scholl (TSB) then presented the draft C&I action plan contained in Document C12/48.

There were numerous interventions from councillors (Brazil, Italy, Germany, Tunisia, Nigeria, Poland, China, Ghana, Egypt, France, as well as the Director TSB and the Chairman of the Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group –TSAG).

The Chairman of the Council concluded that there was strong support to go forward with the proposed C&I action plan (Document C12/48). In particular, he highlighted the following:

• The secretariat’s analysis that for the implementation of the C&I programme in 2012 and 2013, no additional resources would be necessary, so any financial implications regarding human resources of the ITU secretariat would be for Council 2013 to decide.
• Germany said it was happy to see that the proposed action plan by the secretariat was quite focused, and that the study groups and the market would play a decisive role in shaping the programme.
• The United States has suggested a number of constructive ways forward, which have received support and which would be included in the action plan.
• As for a further market study, the secretariat has announced that there was a request from industry players to run a conformance assessment programme regarding an ITU-T Recommendation, so that could be the first testing ground for ITU-T to get data into the ITU conformity database. It is a market-driven initiative, so this is also a good testing ground for a possible market study. The TSB Director would report to next year’s Council session on how successful this trial has been. In any case, it would be for Council 2013 to decide if funding was needed for a further market analysis. A preliminary estimate of the cost of a market study is at least CHF 500, 000.
• Regarding the ITU Mark, a decision concerning the implementation of such a mark would be postponed until pillar 1, conformity assessment, has reached a more mature stage of development.
• The Council also welcomed the news that the secretariat would shortly issue a report on counterfeiting. Counterfeiting was frequently mentioned in discussions on C&I.
• Regarding Mutual Recognition Agreements, the secretariat clarified that ITU would have no role in negotiating these but would only facilitate them through guidance documents, taking into account international and regional best practices when developing these guidelines.
• Technical issues in the Business Plan (such as whether to pursue route 4 or not) would be for discussion in ITU-T and that the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA) should be requested to identify a suitable forum for this discussion to take place.
  
  

Global Symposium for Regulators

The councillor from Sri Lanka extended an invitation to Member States of the Council to attend the 12th Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR), to be held in Colombo on 2-4 October 2012. Sri Lanka, the councillor said “is a beautiful island in the Indian ocean, and with peace returning to the country three years ago, it is again drawing tourists on a large scale,” and they are “delighted to enjoy the natural scenic attractions in Sri Lanka at affordable rates.”

Telecommunications in Sri Lanka, as in most other countries, enjoy high priority at State level. “Sri Lanka has been an active member of the ITU for a long time and continues to engage in ITU related activities to this day with unstinted commitment and dedication,” the councillor stated.

Meanwhile, Ms Magdalena Gaj, President of the Polish Office of Electronic Communications announced that Poland would be hosting the Global Symposium for Regulators in 2013.

5 July – Standing Committee on Administration and Management (ADM)

 
Successful cost-recovery for the processing of satellite network filings

A status report (Document C12/22), presented by the secretariat, on the implementation of cost recovery for satellite network filings under Council Decision 482 shows that almost 99 per cent of the invoices issued in 2010-2011 have been paid.

ADM Committee recommends that Council take note of the implementation of Decision 482 (modified 2008).

Arrears fall

A status report on arrears and special arrears accounts (Document C12/4(Rev.1)), presented by the secretariat, shows a drop from CHF 68 million at 31 December 2004 to CHF 61.5 million at 31 December 2011.

The secretariat also reported on actions taken by the Secretary-General to reduce outstanding amounts, including special reminders and informal contacts during conferences and meetings, as well as efforts through the Union’s regional offices.

A councillor expressed concern that automatically writing-off interest on arrears would remove any incentive to pay. The Union should not continue writing-off interest, and debtors should be encouraged to renegotiate payment schedules.

The secretariat assured the ADM Committee that arrears are written-off only when companies have fully complied with the agreed repayment schedule or in case of bankruptcy when there is no possibility of debt recovery. In some cases, writing-off interest is the only means of recovering the payment of capital.

The ADM Committee recommends that the Council take note of the document and authorize the Secretary-General to write off CHF 2,626,738.70 of interest on arrears and irrecoverable debts.

Sector Members, Associates and Academia: suspending non-payers

Sector Members and Associates who have not paid their annual contributions within six months after the due date are suspended from participation in ITU, in accordance with Resolution 152 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010).

After three months, in the absence of an agreed repayment schedule or of payment of contributions, these members are supposed to be removed. As explained in Document C12/5(Rev.1), however, ITU management does not want to lose members and so, as of January 2011, has not been automatically removing them.

One councillor expressed concern about the financial impact on ITU activities of delays in payment of contributions from members. The secretariat acknowledged that such delays in payment caused problems of cash flow, and thanked several councillors for facilitating the payments received from 10 members in June 2012.

The ADM Committee recommended that the Council take note of the suspension measures taken by the Secretary-General.

Recovering ITU expenses from Sector Members and Associates

Resolution 152 (Guadalajara, 2010) instructed the Secretary-General to report to the Council on the management and follow-up of the defrayal of ITU expenses by Sector Members and Associates.

In Document C12/10, the secretariat reported on the positive results obtained after Council 2011 granted the Secretary-General flexibility with regard to application of Resolution 152 in recovery of arrears, negotiation of payment conditions, and special terms and conditions for acquisitions. These measures resulted in better collection rate and significant reduction in the debt of Sector Members and Associates.

The ADM Committee recommends that the Council take note of the document and endorse the recommendations in paragraph 4.

Annual review of revenue and expenses

The secretariat presented the key elements of the 2012-2013 budget implementation (Document C12/9(Rev.1)):

•  Revenue and expenses forecast for 2012
• WRC-12 outcomes and their financial implications
• Reserve Account
• Budgetary adjustments.

A number of councillors asked about the status of the Reserve Account. The secretariat confirmed that only CHF 3.62 million was withdrawn in 2010-2011, despite Council authorizing up to CHF 10.1 million. The Reserve Account balance at 31 December 2011 amounted to CHF 33.88 million or 20.3 per cent of the 2012 Budget (compared with the required minimum of 6 per cent).

One councillor commended the Secretary-General for managing the budget in such an excellent manner. Another councillor warned about a possible loss in revenue from providing free downloads of some ITU information materials. The secretariat hopes to compensate this loss by increasing sales of other products.

A number of councillors supported the draft resolution (Annex 2 of the document), but one requested further clarity regarding the text, which includes giving the Secretary-General flexibility in the management of the funds of the Union for 2012-2013.

The secretariat emphasized that such flexibility is needed to off-set the forecast deficit for the General Secretariat. Staff had been budgeted in 2012-2013 at 95 per cent on the basis of a projected vacancy rate. However, vacancies did not materialize in some departments. The secretariat added that IPSAS required the annual closing of accounts.

Discussion of Document C12/9 (Rev.1) will continue during the next ADM Committee meeting in the second week of the Council.

6 July – Standing Committee on Administration and Management (ADM)

External Audit of the Union’s Accounts

The External Auditor presented his reports of the ITU’s 2011 accounts (Document C12/7 and its annexes) in accordance with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). These reports cover the 2011 audited accounts for: financial statements for 2011; ITU Staff Superannuation and Benevolent Funds; and IT audit of the management of access rights in respect of the SAP SRM and ECC modules.

The External Auditor’s reports confirm that the organization’s financial statements for 2011 are IPSAS-compliant and that the accounting data in the above-mentioned financial statements reconcile with ITU’s accounts.p>

A number of recommendations were put forward by the External Auditor with corresponding comments from the Secretary-General. The External Auditor joined councillors in congratulating ITU on obtaining IPSAS compliance for the second year despite the challenges faced.

Some councillors raised concerns regarding infrastructure maintenance, the pension fund, and the After-Service Health Insurance plan. The secretariat confirmed that ITU’s immediate short-term financial health is not at risk.

Several councillors and the secretariat thanked the outgoing External Auditor (Switzerland), whose mandate ended in June 2012, for helping ITU to maintain sound financial health. The secretariat joined councillors in welcoming the new External Auditor (Italy).

The ADM Committee recommends that the Council approve the accounts as audited, and take note of the ITU audit of the management of access rights in respect of the SAP SRM and ECC modules.

External Audit of the Union’s Accounts on ITU TELECOM WORLD 2011

The External Auditor gave a satisfactory report on the audit of ITU TELECOM WORLD 2011 accounts (Document C12/8). As a result of ITU’s rigorous financial management, the deficit for ITU TELECOM WORLD 2011 was limited to CHF 2 million, while the cumulative deficit of the last three events totalled CHF 11.5 million. The outcome of the business model referred to in Resolution 11 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) remains to be seen.

Referring to the accounts of ITU TELECOM WORLD 2011 presented by the secretariat in Document C12/6 (Rev.1), one councillor asked about the main reason for the deficit. The secretariat explained that core expenses for ITU TELECOM WORLD 2011 were high because there had been no event in 2010 and the 2010 secretariat costs had therefore been charged to ITU TELECOM WORLD 2011. Future events were expected to generate break-even or positive results, with the yearly frequency of events as well as the new diversified revenue sources, new forum platform approach and new revenue-generating partners.

Another councillor asked why the ITU TELECOM WORLD 2011 registration system (amounting to CHF 260,000) had been outsourced, recalling that the service had previously been provided internally. The secretariat replied that outsourcing had been necessary to ensure the timely delivery of a high quality registration system.

The ADM Committee recommends that the Council approve the accounts as audited.

Financial Operating Report for the Financial Year 2011

The secretariat presented its Financial Operating Report as at 31 December 2011 (Document C12/3), covering the audited accounts for the 2011 financial year of the budget of the Union and the status of TELECOM accounts for 2011, and the audited accounts for 2011 for technical cooperation projects, voluntary contributions and the ITU Staff Superannuation and Benevolent Funds.

Discussion of this voluminous document will continue during the next ADM Committee meeting.

Not an official document – For information only.