Looking forward to PP-14 in Busan...

Issue N°5, Geneva, 12 May 2014  

Update on preparations for the upcoming Plenipotentiary Conference in the Republic of Korea                    

Invitations and call for proposals/candidatures

• Conference invitations were sent to all ITU Member States and to observer organizations and ITU Sector Members on 21 October 2013.
• Circular letter 165 was sent to all ITU Member States from the Secretary-General on 21 October 2013, referring in particular to the proposals for the work of the Conference, documentation, and elections (call for candidatures).
• Proposals from Member States to amend the Constitution and/or the Convention were requested by 20 February 2014.
• A firm deadline of 7 October 2014 was set for the submission of all contributions.
• All Member States wishing to submit candidatures for the elections were requested to do so by 23.59 hours (Geneva time) on 22 September 2014.
• Circular letter 181 sent to Member States on 10 February 2014 introduced Member States to the Conference Proposals Interface (CPI), an electronic tool developed to facilitate the preparation and submission of proposals. (The secretariat strongly encourages delegations to use the online system to prepare their contributions as it will facilitate the processing and in particular the translation of the documents.)  
• Finally, Circular letter 185 referring to the procedure of submission of credentials was sent to Member States on 4 March 2014.

Proposed PP-14 structure

• Consider reports and proposals related to policy matters of the Union, including the reports submitted by the Council on the activities of the Union.
• Recommend appropriate decisions with respect to the activities of the General Secretariat and the three Sectors.
• Examine proposals for amending the Constitution, Convention, and General Rules and Optional Protocol.
• Taking into account relevant reports and recommendations from committee 6 and the plenary working group, recommend all appropriate actions to the plenary.
• Consider any other questions of a legal nature raised during the conference.
• Transmit to committee 6 matters having financial implications.
  
  
  Proposed terms of reference of committee 6:                           
• Consider the draft strategic plan and related reports and proposals.
• Examine relevant reports and proposals on the general management of the Union, in particular those relating to financial and human resources and relevant parts of the reports submitted by other committees and working groups; prepare draft financial policies and a draft financial plan for 2016-2019.
• Recommend to the plenary all appropriate decisions related to the management of the Union's activities.
• Transmit to committee 5 matters requiring amendments to the Constitution, Convention and General Rules.
   
  Proposed terms of reference of the plenary working group:                           
• Consider reports and proposals and recommend appropriate actions with regard to public policy-related issues, including the Internet, and other general matters.
• Transmit to committee 5 matters requiring amendments to the Constitution, Convention and General Rules.
• Transmit to committee 6 matters having financial implications.
• A number of countries requested that care should be taken to ensure equitable geographical representation in the proposed two committees and plenary working group.                                                            

Support to regional preparations

Webcasting and captioning

United Arab Emirates proposal on the entry into force of Constitutional amendments

Council praises ITU's experience with remote participation and calls for a report to PP-14 on the legal, technical and financial challenges…

ITU efforts to promote remote participation and electronic working methods were highly appreciated by some 20 Member States who took the floor, following a report on work undertaken since the last Council session in June 2013. A pilot project, now in its fourth phase, was launched in response to Plenipotentiary Resolution 167 (Guadalajara, 2010) on "Strengthening ITU capabilities for electronic meetings and means to advance the work of the Union".

The Council last year agreed that the remote participation pilot phase should continue. It further requested that a report on the financial, legal and technical aspects of remote participation in ITU meetings should be presented to its current session, along with case studies of remote participation, in particular involving developing countries.

Presenting the report, Anders Norsker, Chief of ITU's Information Service Department, highlighted how e-meetings and electronic working methods have helped advance the work of the Union, strengthening regional presence and allowing for wider participation and accessibility. The report also provides some statistics – for example, ITU provided more than 400 meeting sessions with interactive remote participation in 2013. Also, over 3500 remote participants from 87 countries and 354 cities participated remotely.

The report highlights the legal implications, which relate in particular to the difference in rights and legal status between remote and onsite participants. Mr Norsker underlined that "Should Member States wish that the status and rights of a remote participant be equal to the legal status and rights of an onsite participant, revision of the General Rules of Conferences, assemblies and meetings of the Union and, as appropriate, of the Rules of Procedures of the Council, would be necessary." Such a revision, he added, would have to be carried out by the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference and the Council. 

Finally, the report outlines the technical implications, explains the importance of security, what has been done to improve it, and what still needs to be done in the future.                              

General discussion

The secretariat responded to a number of questions, including on the issue of the use of the six official languages on an equal footing. There is currently work in progress in consolidating the multiple remote participation applications used in ITU – so far the applications for meetings held in multiple languages have been consolidated.  TSB alone conducted over 600 remote meetings in 2013, but most of these meetings were held in a single language (using a separate application) and are not included in the statistics presented in the report. 

ITU Deputy Secretary-General Houlin Zhao noted that today ITU is recognized as the lead organization within the UN system with respect to electronic working methods. These working methods have also improved inclusiveness in work of the Union.  

The Chairman of the Council noted that, while some delicate and difficult issues remain to be solved, such as the issue of equal rights between onsite and remote participants, it should be feasible to address them, especially for ITU.  

ITU should continue improving and increasing the remote participation service. The Council decided to request the secretariat to prepare a detailed report to PP-14 on the legal, technical and financial challenges.  PP-14 should debate the subject and decide on the direction for the future, considering the procedural changes that would be required for RP to be institutionalized. The report should also address issues related to the equal use of languages and access for participants with disabilities.

ITU activities on information and communication technologies, the environment and climate change

A report presented to the Council, highlights in its three sections:  ITU's activities on climate change and the protection of the environment; ITU's contribution to the United Nations environmental agenda, with a particular focus on the ongoing negotiations within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); and progress achieved by ITU as an organization in approaching climate neutrality. The report was presented by Ms Bogdan-Martin within the scope of Resolution 182 (Guadalajara, 2010) on "The role of telecommunications/information and communication technologies on climate change and the protection of the environment" and features the activities outlined below.

Climate monitoring: ITU-R has advanced in the adoption of the agenda for WRC-15, which includes a number of items covering climate change, particularly the primary allocation for the Earth exploration-satellite service to meet requirements of future missions and to consider an extension of the current worldwide allocation to the Earth exploration-satellite service to achieve high-resolution information. ITU-T has continued to investigate the potential of using submarine telecommunication cables for ocean and climate monitoring and disaster warning.

Mitigation: ITU-T Study Group 5 has approved new recommendations to assess the environmental footprint of the ICT sector as well as the sector's contribution to reduce emissions from other sectors. ITU-T has also initiated the new ITU-T Focus Group on Smart Sustainable Cities (FG-SSC), which acts as an open platform for all stakeholders to exchange knowledge in the interests of identifying the frameworks needed to support the integration of ICTs in smart cities.

Adaptation: ITU-D has continued to provide assistance to ITU Member States in in developing National Emergency Telecommunication Plans and Early Warning Systems.

Capacity building: ITU organized the 8th ITU Symposium on ICTs, the Environment and Climate Change, in Torino, Italy (May 2013), which concluded with the adoption of the Turin Roadmap: towards a planet of smart sustainable cities. Other events organized by ITU included the 3rd ITU Green Standards Week, which took place in Madrid, Spain on 16-20 September 2013, hosted by Telefonica.

On E-waste: ITU has continued working in the area of e-waste. Its work has ranged from organizing several workshops, approving new ITU-T Recommendations such as the environmentally friendly universal charger for laptops as well as other portable devices (ITU-T L.1002), green batteries for smart phones and other handheld ICT devices (ITU-T L.1010), to a standardized methodology for manufacturers to report the quantity of rare metals contained in their ICT devices (Recommendation ITU-T L.1101).

Cameroon urges Council to ensure effective implementation of measures in the treatment of electrical and electronic waste and in the protection of the environment

Cameroon presented its contribution calling for further action to reinforce Resolution 79 of the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-12) on "The role of telecommunications/ information and communication technology in handling and controlling e-waste from telecommunication and information technology equipment and methods of treating it".

According to Cameroon, "Resolution 79 deals only with the dispatch of used telecommunication/ICT equipment and products to the developing countries, and fails to take account of waste from other sources such as efforts to ensure the interoperability of networks, which generates the purchase of new equipment and increases the quantity of e-waste."

Cameroon also made the observation that the transition from analogue to digital television will result in a significant increase in the quantity of e-waste in all countries of the world, and in the developing countries in particular. "As Cameroon is one of those countries for which the treatment of e-waste is still at the embryonic, artisan stage, this situation will inevitably have a major impact on its environment if no measures are taken. Cameroon proposes that the Council ensure the effective implementation of the measures taken for the treatment of e-waste and protection of the environment."

Comments from the floor

Rwanda, Egypt, Mexico, Argentina, Mali, Italy, France, China and Bangladesh took the floor to express their appreciation for the work of the ITU General Secretariat and the three Sectors in regard to sustainability and climate change, as well as ITU's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the workplace. Member States lauded ITU's collaborative efforts on this topic both within the UN system and with other standards-developing organizations. Councillors mentioned the importance of continuing the Sectors' work on climate change and sustainability, emphasizing the significant contributions of the study groups. Some councillors shared their national and regional initiatives.

Rwanda, Egypt, Mali, Italy and France thanked Cameroon for its contribution and supported its proposal. Mexico requested the secretariat to share the statistics of the studies on the use of submarine cables for early warning of natural disasters. Furthermore, Mexico requested the ITU secretariat to share information on its collaborative efforts with the academic sector.

China said it was honoured to host the 4th meeting of the Green Standards Week in September 2014 in Beijing and extended an invitation to Council Member States to participate in the event.

The ITU secretariat took note of the interventions and invited Member States to make contributions in order to implement Resolution 182.

Strengthening ITU's regional presence

The Council saluted progress made by ITU since the last Plenipotentiary Conference in implementing Resolution 25 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) on strengthening its regional presence.

Following a report presented by Mario Maniewicz, Chief of the Department of Infrastructure, Enabling Environment and E-Applications, in ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT),
many councillors intervened to acknowledge the progress made over the past four years in strengthening ITU's regional presence. Countries hosting ITU regional or area offices reiterated their commitment to further support those offices and their activities (notably Thailand and Egypt).

Councillors expressed their appreciation for the new approach promoted by BDT Director, whereby the Regional Initiatives are considered the main deliverables of the BDT at country level. They also commended BDT Director for the new focus of regional development forums, now being used as tools to inform the membership about the activities carried out at the regional level and to get their feedback on the approach to be followed according to each region's needs and priorities.

Increased coordination with regional organizations, as well as the organization of joint activities with the other two ITU Bureaux were also appreciated by councillors. Several councillors expressed support to a contribution from Cameroon, calling upon further reinforcement of the regional presence.

BDT structure and workflow
The BDT structure was reviewed to provide a sound basis for a horizontal relationship between headquarters and the field for the implementation of activities and project delivery. The BDT workflow was reviewed to ensure that field offices play a proactive role in programme and project implementation under the consolidated regional initiatives, while headquarters is geared towards global activities. 

BDT procedures and working methods
In order to improve BDT work efficiency, processes have been reviewed with a view to bringing them into line with ISO general principles. A project has been developed to improve electronic working methods for regional and area offices.

Staffing
The standardization and rationalization of the grade structure as well as a review of the staffing table of the regional presence have been implemented in line with the Joint Inspection Unit's Recommendation 5.

All previous "one professional" offices (Barbados, Cameroon, Chile, Honduras, Indonesia and Zimbabwe) now have one P5 and one P3 staff member, in addition to an administrative assistant. Overall, ITU field offices now have a combined total of 58 staff members.

Implementation of Regional Initiatives
In order to better respond to the membership needs, a new approach has been put in place, where Regional Initiatives are considered the main deliverables of BDT at country level. This approach aligns operational planning activities and projects with the topics identified as Regional Initiatives under the Hyderabad Action Plan.

Quarterly Reports on achievements at the regional level
The main results of the implementation of the regional initiatives and the execution of field programmes, projects and activities carried out under the leadership of the regional and area offices are regularly reported to TDAG and the Council. As of last year, they can also be found in the quarterly reports, which have been introduced to set forth details on the implementation of the strategic, financial and operational plans, including at the regional level.

Strengthening cooperation with regional telecommunication organizations
Cooperation with regional organizations continues to improve. ITU has been increasingly involving regional organizations in joint events and activities.

For example, working as one ITU in coordination with the General Secretariat and the three Bureaux, regional offices provide the necessary support to ensure the effective preparation of ITU global meetings (for example, WRC, WTSA, WCIT, Connect Summits, etc.) in close cooperation with regional organizations.

Saudi Arabia acknowledged that the organization of six ITU regional preparatory meetings for WTDC-14 in close collaboration with regional telecommunication organizations proved to be extremely useful for the work of the conference and proposed that this be replicated for other ITU major conferences, notably the PP.  The United Arab Emirates added that interregional consultations should be carried out prior to PP-14. The Russian Federation reminded councillors about Resolution 58 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) on "Strengthening of relations between ITU and regional telecommunication organizations and regional preparations for the Plenipotentiary Conference", which specifically addresses the issue raised by Saudi Arabia. The secretariat mentioned that ITU is participating in the regional preparatory meetings organized by the regional organizations for the preparation of PP-14, but that it was not organizing specific ITU ones in view of budgetary constraints. Regarding the interregional consultations proposed by the United Arab Emirates, the secretariat informed the Council that an informal inter-regional PP-14 preparatory meeting will be held on 16 May in the afternoon. 
 
The Council noted the report (Document C14/25) with appreciation.

Standing Committee on Administration and Management presses on

• Annex C on cost allocation methodology – consensus for approval
• Annex B on proposed amendments to Decision 563 (CWG-FHR  terms of reference)
• Paragraphs 5 and 6 have been revised to reflect "annual basis" in lieu of "ongoing basis".
• The secretariat will furnish annual reports to the CWG-FHR on memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with financial implications.
• Annex 2 of Decision 5 – some of the efficiency measures are already being implemented by the secretariat working closely with CWG-FHR to review the proposals from Brazil on further reduction of expenditure.
• Further revisions  to Resolution 71 (Strategic Plan) to reflect some reference to the linkage between the strategic and financial plans.

Presentation of Unaudited Financial Operating Report for 2013

• Unaudited accounts for the 2013 financial year of the budget of the Union and the financial status of ITU Telecom accounts for 2013.
• Unaudited 2013 accounts for technical cooperation projects, voluntary contributions and the ITU Superannuation and Benevolent Funds.

• Two elements relating to health insurance: balance of the scheme on a pay-as-you-go basis and long-term funding of ASHI.
• Improvement of net assets due to the increase of discount rate used in calculating the present value of ASHI liability.
• Significant impact of variation of discount rate on the present value of the obligation
• Positive impact on the IPSAS result of unrealized exchange.
• As of 1 May 2014, ITU has a new health insurance scheme for its serving staff and retirees. The same company provides insurance coverage to other United Nations agencies for example, WIPO, WTO, FAO, UNESCO, UNICEF and WHO field offices, among others.

The After-Service Medical Insurance Liability

• ITU, similar to other international organizations, has a significant negative net asset value with its ASHI liability amounting to CHF 335.2 million. A table of comparison of six international organizations was presented showing that the United Nations and at least five other international organizations have significant ASHI liabilities. The value of liabilities is affected by the changes in the discount rate, currency exchange rates, and anticipated medical inflation.
• The External Auditor has recommended that ITU management be assisted by a full actuarial study on the issue of ASHI liability.
• In compliance with Council 2013 instructions and as a preliminary action in addressing the unfunded long-term liabilities, the secretariat withdrew CHF 4 million from the Reserve Account on 1 January 2014 to set up the ASHI fund.

• "decides that any surpluses from the biennia either from the regular budget or from the Reserve Account withdrawal shall be transferred to the ASHI fund."
• "instructs the Secretary-General to undertake calculations on the amount needed on a yearly basis in order to fully fund the ASHI liability in 30 or 40 years, and to report annually to the Council."

Unaudited Accounts of ITU Telecom World 2013

Report on negotiations with UNDG on the review of funding modalities in support of the Resident Coordinator system and ad-hoc cost-sharing contributions from participating UN agencies

• usefulness and benefit to ITU;
• financial and legal implications;
• source of funding with current budgetary limitations and difficulties;
• more information needed on cost-benefits to the Union.

• current financial status of the Union;
• lack of provisions in the 2014-2015 budget for this purpose;
• efficiency measures outcome as the source of funding;
• concrete advantages and benefits to ITU are yet to be seen for example, the possibility of increase in revenue for the Union;
• cost of ITU regional offices are not shared by other UN organizations;
• major contributions come from humanitarian agencies;
• fixed reduced amount is the same as WMO contribution.

Quick Links

• Council 2014 Website
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• Webcast archives
  
  

Photos and videos

Busan, Host City of PP-14

ITU Interview: Mr Wonki Min,
PP-14 Chairman-Designate​

ITU Telecom World 2013 Highlights ​