Additional Plenipotentiary Conference (APP-92)

Opening Address by
Pekka Tarjanne
Secretary-General
Geneva, 7 December 1992


Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies
Distinguished Delegates,

On behalf of the ITU Secretariat, it is my pleasure to welcome you to 
Geneva and to the opening session of this special, Additional 
Plenipotentiary Conference, APP-92.
The APP is a historic conference for several reasons:

	To begin with, it is the first "additional" Plenipotentiary 
Conference to be held in the 127-year history of the ITU;

	Second, at this conference, delegates will be asked to consider 
proposals for fundamental changes in the structure and 
functioning of the ITU.  These are the most extensive changes to 
be proposed in 45 years, since the creation of the current ITU 
at the Atlantic City Conference in 1947.   So we are really 
talking about a conference to create a new ITU.

	Third, delegates will have only 12 working days, from today 
until December 22, to consider these complex proposals, making 
APP-92 the shortest Plenipotentiary Conference ever held by the 
ITU.    So I agree with you, Mr. Chairman, when you say that 
time is of the essence.

	If the Conference is to meet its objectives, it is going to have to be a 
working conference from the very beginning, as indeed it has already 
been.
	By my count, there are some 80 subjects we must address, on the 
basis of the legal texts proposed by the Drafting Group for a 
new Constitution and Convention for the ITU.

	As well, the Conference has to consider a number of resolutions 
and other proposals from Members on matters falling outside of 
the scope of the legal texts.

	Finally, the Conference will have to conduct two important 
elections - one to select the first Director for the 
Telecommunication Development Sector, the other to fill the 
vacant seat on the Council for Region C.

	If the number of hours available to us between now and December 22 is 
divided by the number of subjects to be dealt with, and if we take into 
consideration all the steps required to produce Final Acts, it is 
obvious that we have very little time to deal with the complex proposals 
before us.   The precise figure will of course depend on how we decide 
to structure the work of the Conference, and how much overtime we are 
prepared to do.

	Under normal circumstances, it might be thought impossible for any 
international organization to deal with proposals of this magnitude and 
complexity in so short a time - and certainly not in the period just 
before the holiday season, when there are so many distractions!  
However, I am very optimistic that the Conference's goals are attainable  
and I am optimistic that all the  delegations have the will to achieve 
them.

	In the long history of the ITU, I am sure there has never been a 
Plenipotentiary Conference as well-prepared as APP-92.  That of course 
has to do with the fact that it has a restricted agenda, so that it has 
also been easier to prepare.

	As you know, work on the proposals you are to consider began 
some four years ago, prior to the Nice Plenipotentiary 
Conference, when my predecessor Richard Butler established a 
commission of experts to prepare a report on the implications 
for the ITU of the changing telecommunications environment.
	
On the basis of this report and other considerations, the Nice 
Plenipotentiaries decided to establish a High Level Committee, 
composed of representatives of 21 members, to develop proposals 
for transforming the structure and functioning of the Union, so 
that it would be able to adapt to this changing environment.

	After considering the 96 recommendations made by the High Level 
Committee in its report, the 46th session of the Administrative 
Council approved the implementation of all the proposals that 
were within the scope of its mandate, and scheduled this 
Additional Plenipotentiary Conference to consider proposals 
requiring amendments to the Constitution and Convention which 
had been adopted at Nice.

	A Drafting Group composed of representatives from 32 countries 
was established to prepare the legal texts which will form a 
basis for the work of this Conference.  These texts were 
distributed in May of this year, so that Members would have 
plenty of time to study them prior to this Conference.

	In addition, members of the High Level Committee held four 
regional information sessions to explain these proposals: in 
Acapulco, Geneva, Marrakech, and Yogykarta, to which all Members 
of the Union were invited.

	After all this preparatory work, there should therefore be no surprises!  
I trust that all delegations have arrived well prepared, and ready to 
get down to business.

	I would like at this time to pay tribute to all the members of the High 
Level Committee and the Drafting Group, and to thank them for the 
efforts they have made over the past three years on behalf of the Union.  
A very special word of thanks must go to Gaby Warren, who not only 
chaired both the HLC and the Drafting Group, but who also took part in 
all the regional information sessions.  Gaby's dedication to the best 
interests of the Union and his perseverance should serve as an 
inspiration to us all.

	In so far as the High Level Committee's proposals are concerned, I would 
like to make my position crystal clear.  As I have said many times 
before, I am 100% in favour of the changes proposed by the HLC.
This does not mean that I think the proposals are perfect, or that the 
legal texts proposed by the Drafting Group cannot be improved.  On the 
contrary. I think that many of the amendments to these texts which 
Members have proposed are useful and constructive improvements.

	I also fully support the spirit of the resolutions which some Members 
have proposed with a view to achieving rapid implementation of the new 
structures and working methods.

	We cannot afford to postpone the decisions you will be asked to make 
regarding the structure of the Union to Kyoto, or beyond.  Nor can we 
afford to wait two years to begin putting in place new working methods 
for the standardization, radiocommunication, and telecommunication 
development sectors.  The world simply will not wait for the ITU to take 
another two or more years to make up its mind.

	My unreserved support for the HLC proposals also does not mean that I 
think they are the final word, and that nothing further will have to be 
done for another 45 years.  On the contrary, as I have repeatedly said 
in public fora and in private meetings, I think that these proposals  
are only the beginning, the first steps in a process that must be 
ongoing and continuously seek to adapt the ITU to its changing 
environment.

	In this respect, I hope that we will be able to make substantial 
progress here and in Kyoto on the details of how to increase 
participation by entities other than administrations in the work of the 
Union.  As well, the hoped for  breakthrough in trade negotiations makes 
it imperative that we formally define our role in relation to GATT and 
other key international organizations so that the ITU will continue to 
play, in the words of the HLC, a "leading" and "catalytic" role in the 
global information economy.

	In this connection, I would also like to draw your attention to a 
visionary paper by the World Telecommunications Advisory Council, the 
body of world telecommunications leaders which I established pursuant to 
HLC Recommendation 12 to advise me on ITU strategies and plans.  In this 
paper, to be published in the very near future, this distinguished group 
of business and government leaders sets out their vision for the role 
which the Union should play as we move toward the twenty-first century.

	In conclusion, distinguished Delegates, I am convinced that the HLC 
proposals are the right steps to take at this time, the best achievable 
compromise  between the past and the future, and between the interests 
of the various members of the Union.

	If, in addition to approving the HLC proposals, this Conference is able 
to provide guidance on the direction of future reform, we will truly 
have done our work well.

	I cannot stress strongly enough, once more,  my view that the future of 
the ITU is in your hands.  To put it as bluntly as I can, the ITU may 
not have a future at all, unless you recognize the need for change and 
accept the proposals before you as a reasonable first step.
As delegates to this Plenipotentiary Conference, you, dear friends,  
bear an enormous responsibility  to this institution, and to the ideal 
of universal telecommunication which provides its raison d'être.  If, 
over the next two weeks, you are willing to put aside all concerns which 
distract from the main business of this Conference, and if you are able 
to work hard, efficiently and in good faith toward the goals of this 
conference, you will have risen to our common challenges.
As I said at the outset, I am an optimist.  I am confident we will 
achieve our goals.  But let us never forget that this is a historic 
event.  History will judge whether all of us - the Conference 
leadership, the delegates and the Secretariat - were ready and able to 
confront the challenges before us, whether we were willing and capable 
of ensuring the continuing vitality of this remarkable institution of 
ours, the International Telecommunication Union.

I thank you for your attention.


***