In accordance with Article 31 of the ITU Convention – Credentials for Conferences - and Nos 324, 325, and 328 to 331 in particular, accreditation of delegations sent by Member States to Plenipotentiary Conferences shall be by means of instruments signed by the Head of State, by the Head of Government or by the Minister for Foreign Affairs

The credentials submitted shall, moreover, fulfil one of the following criteria:

  • confer full powers on the delegation;
  • authorize the delegation to represent its government, without restrictions;
  • give the delegation, or certain members thereof, the right to sign the Final Acts.

The original credentials document should be sent to the Secretary-General. Following established practice, credentials or transfers of power sent by fax or e-mail are considered as not being in order. Under No. 333 of the ITU Convention, a delegation whose credentials are found not to be in order by the Plenary Meeting shall not be entitled to exercise the right to vote or to sign the Final Acts until the situation has been rectified.

Attention is drawn to No. 338 of the ITU Convention which states that credentials and transfers of powers sent by telegram shall not be accepted. By analogy and in accordance with constant practice, credentials and transfers of powers sent by fax or e-mail shall neither be accepted.

To enable Member States to fully exercise their sovereign rights at PP-18, the competent authorities are invited to send the original credentials document to ITU headquarters in Geneva - accompanied, where necessary, by a certified translation in one of the official languages of the Union – before the opening of the Conference.

Member States in a position to deposit credentials before the opening of the Conference are invited to do so by registered letter, to the following address:

ITU Secretary-General PP-18 Credentials Committee secretariat - Office T.1216
International Telecommunication Union
Place des Nations
CH - 1211 GENEVA 20
Switzerland

Credentials may also be deposited with the PP-18 Credentials Committee secretariat at the Conference venue in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, as from 27 October 2018.

A model instrument of credentials for use by delegations which fulfils the criteria set out in the relevant provisions of the ITU Convention is available here

Circular letter CL-18/18, "Credentials for delegations participating in the Plenipotentiary Conference", is available here. A follow-up circular letter (CL-18/34) was sent on 16 July 2018 and is available here.