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Abstract :
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As the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies, the ITU is mandated by Article 1 of its Constitution to coordinate global radio spectrum, develop international telecommunications standards, ensure network interoperability, and promote the advancement of telecommunications technologies worldwide.
However, the ITU's Regular Budget increasingly supports activities only marginally related to these core functions. This trend diverts limited resources, dilutes specialized expertise, and creates duplication with other UN agencies and industry organizations. Underfunding core areas weakens the ITU's effectiveness and responsiveness, underscoring the need for strict "back-to-basics" budgetary guidelines.
The proposal calls for a comprehensive program evaluation and mandate compliance review to realign resources with the ITU's core mandate and drive actionable reforms. The objective is to strategically refocus the ITU on its core comparative advantages and non-reducible core activities, including:
- International coordination, radio-frequency spectrum management and satellite orbit coordination (ITU-R, WRC, RA)
- Global ICT interoperability standards (ITU-T, WTSA)
- Affordable connectivity, enabling policy and regulatory environment, telecom infrastructure and narrowly defined regulatory capacity-building (ITU-D, WTDC).
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