Framing the policy and legal issues: thrust of proposals

Work in Committee 5 on policy and legal matters got under way today, with presentations of proposals from individual countries or common proposals from regional groups. Committee 5 has the mandate to consider reports and proposals related to ITU policy matters, including reports submitted by the Council on the Union’s activities. It will recommend appropriate decisions to the plenary of the conference with respect to the activities of the General Secretariat and the three Sectors of the Union: Radiocommunication, Standardization and Development. It will examine proposals for amending the Constitution, Convention, General Rules and Optional Protocol and recommend all appropriate actions to the Plenary. It will also consider any other matters of a legal nature raised during the conference.

The work of Committee 5 is guided by Document DT/4 and its Addendum 1. These documents contain a consolidated list, by subject matter, of all proposals to be examined by the Committee. 
 

Should the way ITU’s top management is chosen be reformed?

Unlike other United Nations agencies, ITU elects five top officials: Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General and Directors for each of its three Bureaux dealing with radiocommunications, standardization and development. All five are elected at Plenipotentiary Conferences. Some ITU members are now questioning whether the Union’s leadership should continue to be chosen in this way.

Calling for change

The European common proposals were presented as a package by Portugal on behalf of 22 countries. One of the proposals calls for “the appointment rather than election of the Directors of Bureaux”. It states that “the large number of elected officials in ITU, in contrast to most UN agencies, adds complexity to the management of the Union and compromises its efficiency”. According to the proposal “the existing arrangement of five elected officials politicizes the management of the organization, and creates a lack of clarity as to who is accountable for resolving problems of concern to Member States.” Presented along with the proposal is a draft resolution that says that these officials “should be appointed according to usual United Nations practice,” and that “the Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General should be the only officials elected.”

While recognizing that methods for selecting the Directors of Bureaux, duration of their tenure and other matters would need to be resolved, the European proposal stresses that “appointments should be made on the basis of fair tendering for jobs, with candidates selected on merit and taking into account the desirability of equitable geographic representation.” They believe that the appointment approach would have “many advantages,” including clarification of the responsibilities of the Secretary-General regarding the management of the Union. As a way forward, they propose that a group of Member States and Sector Members should be set up to consider the process by which the Directors of the Bureaux could be selected and appointed. Such a group, they say, would report its conclusions in time for preparations for the 2010 Plenipotentiary Conference.

Keeping the status quo

The United States underlined the need for no change to the current federal structure of the Union, stressing that keeping five elected officials should be maintained to allow for the most democratic participation in the administration and management of ITU matters.
Senegal, on behalf of fourteen African countries, stated that they too were in favour of retaining “the current federal structure of five elected officials of the Union”. They say that the current structure “gives a fair opportunity for geographical regional representation” and that it “does not concentrate power in one office of the Union.”
A similar position is expressed by 11 countries in the Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications (RCC). They say the existing ITU structure and number of elected officials should remain unchanged, arguing that it “ensures the necessary balance, including in geographical terms, and democracy in the management and direction of the Union”. According to these countries, “the existing provisions of the Constitution and Convention on the ITU structure afford both the Secretary-General and the Sectors sufficient flexibility to improve their working methods and procedures.”

Exploring the possibilities

Looking at these divergent views on how to select ITU’s top management, countries in the Asia-Pacific region suggest that all options should be studied by a group of experts open to ITU Member States. Like the European proposal, the Asia-Pacific countries want such a group to report its findings in time for preparations for the 2010 Plenipotentiary Conference.

Coordination Committee: To abolish it or not to abolish it

Another European proposal says that the Coordination Committee should be abolished, and “the authority of the Secretary-General over the management of the Union be made more evident.” ITU’s Coordination Committee is comprised of the Union’s five elected officials. The European proposal says that “coordination activities would be more efficient if there was greater clarity with respect to the roles of the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General and the Directors of the three Bureaux.” They stress that abolishing the Coordination Committee “would not, in any way, prevent the five elected officials from working together closely.”

Status quo

A group of African countries want the Coordination on Committee to be retained and strengthened. The United States supports this view. The group of African countries also suggests that, if necessary, the ITU Council should be associated with some meetings of the Coordination Committee. However, they say it should be clearly stated that “the Secretary-General be accountable for the overall management of the Union to avoid any contradiction.” As regards the work of the committee, the African proposals say that there must be greater focus on “the implementation of the strategic mission and purposes of the Union,” and that the committee “must place particular emphasis on enhancing ITU’s financial and administrative functions.”

The International Telecommunication Regulations

Several proposals were presented to Committee 5 on the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITR).These Regulations have formed one of the primary foundations of ITU’s work. Their purpose is to make sure that telecommunication services and infrastructure can be interconnected across the globe, and that harmonious development takes place in the interest of people everywhere. They were agreed in Melbourne in 1988, and obviously, there have been enormous changes since then in telecommunications technology, services and the business environment (including widespread liberalization). The last Plenipotentiary Conference (at Marrakesh in 2002) agreed that in 2007 or 2008, the ITR should be updated at a World Conference on Telecommunications (WCIT). This is the only body which can legally alter the ITR. The working group of the ITU Council that was set up after Marrakesh has said that there are three possible ways to deal with the ITR:

• Leave them unchanged

• Amend them, including new provisions, or

• Abolish them, transferring certain provisions to other legal instruments of the Union.
   

Those calling for abolition

During Committee 5 today, the United Kingdom presented the European proposal on what to do about the ITR. Speaking on behalf of 33 European countries, the UK delegate said that the ITR in their present form no longer served the purpose for which they were designed. The European countries also state, however, that holding a WCIT would further strain “the already severely over-stretched resources of the Union” and place financial burdens on countries wanting to participate in the conference ― especially developing nations. Because of this, the European view is that any decision on WCIT should be postponed until 2010, but meanwhile the review process should be continued.

The European proposals recognize in the ITR “a distinction between high-level policy issues appropriate to treaty level statutes and those relating to detailed operational issues which are appropriate for lower-level instruments which are more easily and quickly amended.” The European nations say that ITU’s Standardization Sector (ITU-T) should identify the operational issues and develop Recommendations for approval at the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly scheduled for 2008. They say that obsolete or redundant regulations should be recommended for deletion, leaving only regulations with treaty-level status. These “are likely to constitute only a few,” according to the European nations, and so “it would be disproportionate for the ITR to be retained for such provisions.” Instead, they could be included in ITU’s Convention or Constitution, they say.

Not a matter for the Plenipotentiary Conference

The United States believes that the International Telecommunication Regulations continue to be relevant in today's world, as billions of dollars of international telecommunications traffic are successfully settled under its current provisions. Any attempts to terminate or modify such an important document must be assessed in the light of the benefits gained from the current treaty, according to the US proposal.The US delegate underlined that the ITR should not be confused with the fundamental instruments of the Union and in particular Article 8 of the Consitution which should remain unchanged.

Those calling for a WCIT

A group of Arab and African countries stressed that the ITR “have been, and continue to be, of crucial importance, particularly to developing countries.” However, because of the rapidly changing environment, the ITR need to be reviewed. This is the only way in which the regulations will be able to meet the concerns of developing countries, according to the joint African proposals, and the ITR might also need to be reviewed to reflect a broadening of ITU’s mandate following the World Summit on the Information Society.

The African nations propose that a WCIT be convened to review the ITR. They say that resources should be mobilized for the organization and preparation of “this important event.” The group of Arab countries backing this proposal would like a WCIT to be held in 2011.

Those seeking improvement

A proposal from a group of RCC countries states that the ITR “have for many years been an integral and inalienable component of the established and proven system of ITU legal instruments. Numerous intergovernmental agreements and international operating agreements are concluded on the basis of the ITR.”

The RCC common proposal concludes that “it would be ill-advised to terminate the ITR and transfer the provisions thereof to other texts of the Union.” Extending the legal scope of regulations by including them in ITU’s fundamental documents would be unsuitable because “issues regarding relations between administrations in the operation of technical facilities, the establishment of networks and services and the provision and supply of international telecommunication services do not belong in the Constitution and Convention,” says the RCC’s proposal. “Conversely, if provisions of a regulatory nature were transferred from the ITR to ITU Recommendations, they would become non-binding, and this would impair the proper regulation of international telecommunications.”

The RCC nations are in favour of maintaining the ITR as a separate regulatory instrument, and of updating the regulations. They envisage the updated ITR as providing “the legal foundation for new and future developments in international telecommunications,” which would “strengthen ITU's position in the regulation of international telecommunications.”

Wait and see

While agreeing that the ITR “are not appropriate for competitive, internationalized telecommunication markets,” countries from the Asia-Pacific region also believe that the ITR are beneficial to developing and least developed countries that have mainly public-sector telecommunication services. A group of 12 nations is presenting a common proposal which says that decisions about the future of the ITR should be postponed until the 2010 Plenipotentiary Conference. In the meantime, analysis should be undertaken by ITU-T and recommendations on changes should be made to the 2010 plenipotentiary via the WTSA in 2008.
 

Talks over financial issues start

CCommittee 6 of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference convened for its opening session in the afternoon of 8 November and decided that the final deadline to announce the class of contribution for Member States is Friday, 24 November. Sector Members will have to announce their decision within three months, latest by 24 February 2007.

A provisional upper limit on the contributory unit is expected to be set at the Plenary meeting of Thursday, 9 November. This figure will be used as the basis for reviewing the draft financial plan based on the revised level of expected income. The financial plan currently tabled was made on the basis of a total level of income of CHF628.9 million, based on a contributory unit of CHF 318’000 and a ratio payable by Sector Members set at 1/5 of that amount.

At the suggestion of the Iranian delegate, language will be found to accompany the provisional contributory unit to make it clear that this figure is not binding.

At the outset of the meeting, the Secretariat made a presentation on the salient features of the Draft Financial Plan. The overview took into account the objectives of the Plan, the calculation of the Contributing Unit along with a forecast for income and expenditure. The presentation made clear that in an era of rising expectations the declining resources of the Union would make it impossible to reach the aspirations of most of the Member States.

While Burkina Faso announced that it would double its contribution and the United Arab Emirates would triple it, several countries such as Denmark, Benin and Paraguay have already announced a decrease in their class of contribution. This overall picture shows that the contributory unit has declined from a high of 334 000 to 318 000 in the space of a decade. Expressed in real term values as of January 2006, this amounts to an erosion of 14 per cent over the ten-year period 1997-2007.

Under present circumstances, with the Contributory Unit at CHF 318 000 and the ratio payable by Sector Members set at 1/5 of this amount, the income level would be CHF 628.9 million. With an expenditure level at CHF 662.2 million, the shortage of income will amount to CHF 33.3 million or 5 per cent of expenditure. Should the contribution of Sector Members increase to ¼ of the Unit, the income level would be 650.2 million, bringing down the shortfall to CHF 12 million. On the other hand, if the Contributory Unit is increased to CHF 325 000 in keeping with zero real growth, but with the ratio set at 1/5 the deficit would be around CHF 22 million. If the ratio were to increase to ¼, the Union would just about break even. The break even figure of the Contributory Unit at a ratio of ¼ would be CHF 338 500.

For more details, see the media backgrounder on the ITU financial plan found at www.itu.int/plenipotentiary/2006/newsroom/background/budget/

Considering the workload imposed on the Union, particularly with the outcomes of WSIS and implementation of the Doha Action Plan, Indonesia proposed to fix the Contributory Unit at CHF 345 000. Bulgaria added its voice saying that Doha presented clear priorities in Resolution 30 for the Development Sector with the development of ICT infrastructure and cybersecurity ranking first. Moreover, WSIS has recognized ITU as the only actor and facilitator in this area. The delegate stated that the figures in the Financial Plan do not reflect these priorities. “We have difficulties in accepting that Human Resources Development is the Number 1 priority in terms of funds allocation, with regulatory reform second,” he said, adding that it was important that the outcome of previous conferences and in particular the WTDC held in Doha be taken into account.

While the Iranian delegate called for a consensus, other States expressed their uncertainty. The US said that since the Financial Plan document was not available, they could not assess the actual figures of expenditure and would consider the figure of 318 000 as the appropriate zero nominal growth level for 2008-09 while being open to consider an upper limit for the second biennium.

Germany said that the Draft Financial Plan indicated a potential for both savings and expenditure, but the consensus would be to follow the Council decision of retaining the figure of 318 000 as the Contributory Unit. France stated its position in line with the U.S. and Germany and, along with Japan, said that the ratio should not be changed from 1/5 to ¼. Earlier, Gabon stated that the budget should not be balanced by passing the burden to Sector Members.

The Canadian delegate brought perspective to the debate as Chairman of the Council. He said that the Council was obliged to fix the Contributory Unit at CHF 318 000 for planning purposes but emphasized that this did not imply any commitment. The current level did not preclude establishing a higher value. Even the principle of zero nominal growth was picked as a value solely for planning purposes.

Suriname chipped in to say that the amount should not be cut short, “otherwise we shall have four more years of misery without solving the problem.”

Policy statements continue

Malta

Malta reminded PP-06 that information is the very basis of democracy and is critical for improving quality of life, and for promoting sustainable development. The Minister said, “The exponential growth of mobile telephony has helped facilitate vital governance, business and socio-economic development and has provided market links for farmers and entrepreneurs; the internet has become crucial for the development of the educational and the health sectors. Computerization has enhanced productivity and participation.”

Pledging Malta’s full support to ITU in order to promote and strengthen the Union’s pre-eminent role among the UN specialized agencies and other International organizations, the Minister said, “At this conference we will elect the leadership at the helm of a 141 year-old organization, which has recently earned the distinction of one of the world’s 10 most enduring institutions. The future strategies and corresponding organizational changes will be defined to implement, amongst other challenges, the action lines laid out in the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society.”

Kiribati

The Minister of Kiribati said that recent technological developments had forced even the smallest countries like Kiribati to review their traditional telecommunications regulatory frameworks in line with the dramatic evolution in ICT. “Despite the technological developments and its capacity to deliver more cost effective telecommunications and information services to any country on the face of this planet, much of the coverage and footprints of the existing telecommunications and information connections still concentrate in lucrative markets,” said the Minister. “Smaller countries have to operate within the fringes of the connections and thus continue to bear the cost of the required telecommunications and information infrastructure. In addition, remote countries have to bear the expenses for the connections.”

Guinea

Guinea stated that ITU has made great strides since the last Plenipotentiary Conference to bridge the digital divide. He told delegates that the work of this conference will have the ability to influence and shape the evolution of information and communication technologies on which to build an inclusive information society. “Our developing nations have great hope that the priorities and strategies that will be adopted by this conference will help us join the information society”, he said. For Africa, he said, this conference must be the opportunity for changing the image of the continent which looks forward to better prospects and shows its determination to break the vicious circle of poverty affecting its populations”.

Burundi

Burundi outlined the achievements made in the development of ICT in the country. He recalled the efforts undertaken by the government to reform its telecommunication sector that led to the creation of a national regulatory agency. In the context of this reform, one public and three private companies are in operation for the fixed and mobile networks. Mobile telephony is now reaching 80 per cent of the national territory. With the fixed and mobile subscribers combined, Burundi enjoys 3 main lines per 100 inhabitants, far behind the teledensity of developed countries which range between 60 to 90. Concerning the internet, the market is shared among four operators. But the lack of IT equipment and the deficiency of the electrical grid are two major obstacles to the rapid growth and development of ICT.

To overcome this handicap, Burundi is implementing a GSM/WLL network in rural areas to offer voice telephony and access to the internet in multipurpose community telecentres. 

Japan

According to Japan, telecommunications have reached a clear turning point. Telephone networks, once based on switching equipment, are now being replaced with next-generation networks based on internet protocols. It is now ever more important for ITU to work together with industry to achieve standardization on a broad scale. Also, in order to ensure global connectivity, it is imperative to ensure the involvement of developing economies in this process and that developed economies work to make it easier for developing economies to participate. The Japanese delegate said, “For this reason it is crucial that ITU secure sufficient financial as well as human resources. Japan has already been supporting this global connectivity effort by providing a number of experts as the chairs and rapporteurs of study groups. We will continue contributing in this way.”

Brunei Darussalam

Following up on WSIS, Brunei Darussalam has given its highest priority towards the effort to create a people centred information society where everyone can create, access, utilize, share and exploit information and knowledge. The delegate said, “Since its formation in 1865, ITU has played a significant role in promoting a global forum where Member States can voice their views on significant issues concerning the development of the global ICT sector. Being one of the world’s oldest international organizations for telecommunications, ITU must be able to prove its ability to meet the targets set by its members. It should not just depend on its technical expertise but must also acquire the strength in its policy areas. In order to realize this objective, ITU has to be instrumental in adapting to the needs of a rapidly changing telecommunications sector, particularly with the advent of convergence in technology.”

Tanzania

Tanzania remarked that following WSIS ITU was mandated by the international community to spearhead development of the ICT sector. The delegate said, “PP-06 is an important conference which will give this gathering ample time to assess the outcome of WSIS and give proper policy direction to ITU on how the WSIS decisions can produce tangible results.” The delegate added that efforts are now underway, together with neighbouring countries, to develop a fibre cable: the Eastern and Southern African Submarine Cable System known as the EASSy Project. This will cover part of Africa from Mtunzini in South Africa to Djibouti and connect the region to the rest of the world. “This is one of Africa’s concerted efforts to bridge the digital divide and ease telecommunications cost,” the delegate said.

Viet Nam

“ITU is the ideal body to organize a worldwide transfer of knowledge and expertise in advanced information and communication technology,” said Viet Nam’s Minister of Posts and Telematics. In recent years, the Vietnamese Government had taken measures to accelerate ICT development, focusing on four important pillars, including giving priority to human resource development and fostering market liberalization. By the end of October 2006, the telephone penetration had reached 28 per cent and internet penetration (including broadband) 18 per cent. All the communities nationwide are served with telephone and internet service; 100 per cent of the high school and 70 per cent of primary and secondary schools can access the internet.

Suriname

In Surimane, the government acknowledges the vital role of information and communication technologies as a catalyst for social and economic development, for establishing closer integration with the regional and global society, and for connecting rural and underserved communities. “However, in order for us to adhere to these action plans we call upon ITU for support to respond to the rapid developments that take place within this sector,” said Suriname’s Minister of Transport, Communications and Tourism.

Indonesia

For Indonesia, the future of ITU depended on the magnitude and quality of the programmes it carried out for the benefit of its members. “The more we spend on the quality and magnitude of the programmes of the Union, the greater would be the benefits derived from them,”stated that country’s Minister of Communication and Information Technology. He added that the “question before the conference was whether ITU should be regarded as merely a spending and socializing group or one that brings social, economic as well as financial benefits to its members and stakeholders”. He urged all delegations to work together so that “ITU will become the kind of organization it was meant to be—one that benefits the global industry to which it belongs as well as the peoples of its Member States”.

Kenya

In Kenya, the communications sector is now the fastest growing industry of the country’s economy. “This is the result of a robust and vibrant policy and regulatory framework that has not only increased investment in the sector, but also guaranteed provision of quality and affordable services to consumers”, according to the country’s Minister for Information and Communications. He added that the Kenyan ICT sector was now fully liberalized with two — and soon to be four — mobile operators, three international gateways, 19 local loop operators, 20 public data network operators, and 51 internet service providers. However, at a penetration of only 20 per cent, huge opportunities still exist for investments in ICT in the country. The Kenyan Government was in the process of privatizing (Telkom Kenya), the State-owned telecommunication company to inject expertise to facilitate further growth. “We are taking these strides concurrently with the development of a nationwide broadband optical fibre infrastructure,” the Minister also said. He urged ITU to remain sensitive to the implications of multiple disparities between the rich and the poor, between rural and urban populations as well as within grass root communities. “Let us ask ourselves where ITU will be in 30, 40, 50 years from now and what role we will be playing. In short, let us be visionary,” he stressed.

Malawi

In Malawi, ICT for good governance, improved infrastructure and socio-economic development are an integral part of the country’s Development Growth Strategy, according to the Minister of Information and Tourism. Currently the country’s teledensity stood at 6 per cent, and about 40 000 internet users. While procuring off-the-shelf application software, the country was trying to develop local application software. Parallel to these efforts is the development of ICT skills, for instance training of public civil servants. To improve coordination and cooperation a national ICT for development policy had also been introduced. Malawi thanked ITU for assisting it in ICT development over the last three years, especially in capacity building, spectrum management and telecentre development. 

Thailand

Thailand’s ICT development is currently guided by two blueprints: The National IT Policy Framework, IT 2010 and Thailand ICT Master Plan 2002-2006. The goal of the IT 2010 policy framework is to transform the country, with the help of ICT, into a knowledge-based economy by the end of 2010. The current Master Plan emphasizes the use of ICT to enhance the quality of life of all Thai people. The Thai Head of Delegation underlined that it was his country’s “firm belief that ITU is the global forum where all Member States can equally voice their views on policy and other regulatory issues for improving the quality of life of humankind”.

Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, while the world witnessed digitization, the arrival of mobile communications and the internet, the Afghans witnessed war for 25 years and isolation. As a result, the people of Afghanistan remain as one of the most affected by the digital gap, said the country’s Minister of Communications. He added that Afghans were grateful for the international security and economic support they had received over the last four years.

“In 2002, there were almost no telecommunications and ICT in Afghanistan. Our people had to go the neighbouring countries to make or receive a phone call”, said the minister. Based on a policy that encouraged private investment, today there are four major telecommunication operators providing fixed and mobile phone services. A fifth operator was expected to enter the market soon. There are over 15 internet service providers offering services across the country. So far, the operators had invested over USD 600 million. This investment has resulted in over 40 000 direct and indirect jobs in the telecommunication sector. There are now over 2 million telephone users.

Australia

For Australia, as this was the fourteenth year since the 1992 Conference, it was worthwhile for the delegates to pause to consider their role as custodians of ITU’s treaty-level instruments and their responsibilities during a Plenipotentiary Conference. While the ITU Constitution and Convention have remained relatively stable over this period, the nature of the Plenipotentiary Conference has changed — the focus is increasingly on preparing the ITU for the next quadrennium. This conference will also be considering issues concerning the future mandate of ITU, the nature of the treaty-level instruments and the relationships between the ITU’s Sectors and with external organizations. In this context, the conference should seek to build a consensus in a number of key areas. These include: the key functions and achievements that justify a modern role for the ITU; those elements of the ITU functions that require specific government support at treaty-level — for example, the core issues of mutual obligation and resource coordination; the recognition that there were other functions that required a different process for negotiating change — particularly ITU’s broader standardization and capacity building activities; and the appropriate scope for State and Sector Member participation in these different areas of activity. “We believe that ITU would suffer if changes to its treaties were made without consensus,” he cautioned.

France

For France, ITU is confronted with many challenges: to adapt to the rapidly changing environment characterized by the growing role of the internet and by the convergence of networks and services; to open up to all stakeholders of the information society and in particular civil society. In this context, France commended the Secretary-General for launching the Connect the World initiative. France also called for a greater role of ITU in internet governance. It also expressed the hope that ITU would keep a dominant position in the standardization of electronic communications and in particular next-generation networks because it is the only international agency capable of developing world standards in e-communications on the basis of a partnership between government and private sector. “This conference should show realism and political will to respond to these challenges”, France said.

Benin

For Benin, WSIS marked a decisive turning point in telecommunication development and augured well for the fight to reduce poverty. And although the digital divide between the developed and developing countries was even wider today, there was a glimmer of hope that it would be bridged through the Union’s proven ability to meet new challenges and provide appropriate strategic directions to its Member States, stated Benin’s Minister of Communications and New Technologies.