The Council

considering

Resolution 2 of the Plenipotentiary Conference (Kyoto 1994) on the establishment of a forum to discuss strategies and policies in the changing telecommunication environment;

noting

the results of the Secretary-General's consultations contained in Council document C95/39, contributions contained in Council documents C95/54 and C95/76, and the provisions of the 1996-97 budget for the Union;

considering further

a) that a number of global mobile personal communication systems will be brought into use in the near future; and

b) that it is desirable to make such systems available to users worldwide as speedily as possible;

recalling

Resolution 70 of the World Administrative Radio Conference (Malaga-Torremolinos, 1992) relating to studies to be carried out by the ITU Sectors for the introduction and operation of low earth orbit satellite systems;

resolves

1. to convene the first World Telecommunication Policy Forum in Geneva, from 21-23 October 1996, immediately after the World Telecommunication Standardization Conference to discuss the theme 'Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite' with the agenda set out below:

To discuss and exchange views and information on the following policy and regulatory issues raised by the introduction of global mobile personal communications systems and services by satellite:

a) the resulting globalization of telecommunication services and the scope for international cooperation in this context;

b) the role of such systems in the provision of basic telecommunication services in developing countries, LDCs, and in rural and remote areas ;

c) measures necessary to achieve transborder use of such mobile terminals,

d) policy and regulatory issues relevant to such systems and services, in particular those relating to interconnection, with a view to achieving equitable and standard conditions of access;

and to draw up a report, and if possible opinions, for consideration by the Members and relevant ITU meetings;

2. that Forum meetings should be conducted in line with the draft Rules of Procedure set out in Annex 1;

3. that participation will be open to Members and members of the Union. The Forum will also be open, in line with CV 465 and to the extent practicable, to attendance, but not direct participation, by the public;

instructs the Secretary-General

1. to invite Members and members of the Union to make contributions to be incorporated in a report which he shall prepare and which will serve as the sole document of the Forum;

2. to circulate this report in draft to contributors and to modify it in accordance with their comments;

3. to process any information or publicity documents which participants may wish to submit to the Forum at those participants' own expense;

4. to encourage Members and members of the Union and other interested parties to help defray the cost of the Forum through voluntary contributions and also to make voluntary contributions to aid the attendance of the LDCs;

5. to make the documentation available to the public against payment of an appropriate fee designed to recover the costs associated with their attendance.

BACKGROUND

1. In its Resolution 2, the Plenipotentiary Conference (Kyoto, 1994) resolved that "the world telecommunication policy forum shall adopt its own Rules of Procedure, based on a draft by the Secretary-General which will be examined by the Council".

2. In preparing draft Rules of Procedure for the world telecommunication policy forum, due regard has to be given to the operative paragraphs of Resolution 2 of the Plenipotentiary Conference (Kyoto, 1994), according to which, in particular:

• the forum is established to discuss and exchange views and information on telecommunication policy and regulatory matters;
• it shall neither produce prescriptive regulatory outcomes nor outputs with binding force;
• it is open to all Members and entities and organizations covered by Article 19 of the Convention (Geneva, 1992);
• participation in some sessions may be restricted to Members only.

3. Accordingly, these preliminary draft Rules of Procedure, although based on the rules governing Union conferences and meetings, do not include some of the traditional provisions concerning such matters as establishment of committees, the conduct of debates or the right to vote.

4. On the other hand, despite their restrictive nature which does not fully concord with the flexibility which may be expected from an "exchange of views", some rules for debates have been retained. This would seem to be a wise precaution given the duration of the forum and the need to organize the discussion.

PRELIMINARY DRAFT RULES OF PROCEDURE

SESSIONS

The forum shall be convened once or twice in the interval between two Plenipotentiary Conferences by decision of the Council, which shall set the date, duration and venue.

AGENDA AND THEMES

The agenda and themes of the world telecommunication policy forum shall be set by the Council on the basis of a report by the Secretary-General, including input from any conference, assembly or meeting of the Union, and on contributions from Members and organizations and entities covered by Article 19 of the Convention (Geneva, 1992).

COMPOSITION

The world telecommunication policy forum shall be open to all Members and entities and organizations authorized to participate in the activities of the Union under Article 19 of the Convention (Geneva, 1992). In line with CV 465, with the agreement of the Chairman of the forum and with practical arrangements made by the Secretary-General, the public and press representatives may attend all or part of a forum.

The Council will wish to consider the question of attendance of the press and public.

If the forum deems appropriate, it may in some cases restrict some sessions to Members only. At the request of any delegation, and supported by one other, and by decisions of the majority of delegations, a session of the forum may be restricted to Members only.

The Council will probably wish to specify such cases and the procedures for such a restriction. Could it be instigated by a delegation, a majority of the delegations or the Chairman of the forum?

ORDER OF SEATING

At meetings of the forum, delegations shall be seated in the alphabetical order of the French names of the members represented.

CHAIRMAN AND VICE-CHAIRMAN

The forum shall select a Chairman and, where appropriate, a Vice-Chairman on the basis of consultations conducted by the Secretary-General

The wording of this article reflects the desire to avoid devoting too much time to an election, given the forum's duration. It also means that the Chairman will have the opportunity to be closely associated with preparatory work for the forum.

POWERS OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE FORUM

The Chairman shall ensure that the Rules of Procedure are applied. He shall open and close the meetings of the Plenary Meeting. He shall direct the deliberations and give the floor to speakers.

He shall ensure that order is maintained at Plenary Meetings and it shall be his duty to protect the right of each delegation to express its opinion freely and fully on the point at issue.

He shall ensure that discussion is limited to the point at issue, and he may interrupt any speaker who departs therefrom and request him to confine his remarks to the subject under discussion.

ORGANIZATION OF DEBATES

As a general rule, the work of the world telecommunication policy forum shall be carried out in Plenary Meeting.

The aim of this wording is to ensure effective participation by all delegations and to avoid the inevitable budgetary implications of meetings held in parallel.

Discussions at the world telecommunication policy forum shall be based on contributions from Members and organizations and entities covered by Article 19 of the Convention (Geneva, 1992), the report of the Secretary-General and the views expressed by the participants.

RULES FOR DEBATES

Persons desiring to speak must first obtain the consent of the Chairman. As a general rule, they shall begin by announcing in what capacity they speak.

The Plenary Meeting may, if necessary, decide how many speeches any one delegation may make on any one particular point, and how long they may last.

When a delegation has exceeded the time allowed, the Chairman may request it to conclude its remarks briefly. Outputs of the forum

The world telecommunication policy forum shall neither produce prescriptive regulatory outcomes nor produce outputs with binding force. It shall prepare reports, and, where appropriate, opinions for consideration by Members and relevant ITU meetings.

APPROVAL OF REPORTS AND OPINIONS

The texts of reports and, where appropriate, opinions of the world telecommunication policy forum shall be considered as final after their adoption by the Plenary Meeting.

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