Address by Julie Zoller, Chair of ITU Council 2016
Excellencies,
Distinguished Councilors,
Secretary-General Mr Houlin Zhao,
Deputy Secretary-General Mr Malcolm Johnson,
Directors of the Bureaus, Mr. François Rancy, Mr. Chaesub Lee and Mr. Brahima Sanou,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my great honor to open the 2017 Session of the ITU Council and to address you as the outgoing chair. I would like to recognize the incoming chair, Dr. Eva Spina, from the Administration of Italy. We shared the podium last year, the first time that both the chair and the vice-chair of Council were women, an historic occasion. I have the utmost confidence in her leadership and wish her a very productive and successful meeting.
The Council acts as governing body of the Union in the interval between Plenipotentiary Conferences. In addition to broad telecommunication policy issues, Council provides direction on priorities, addresses strategic planning, exercises financial control, ensures the efficient coordination of the work, and contributes to the development of telecommunications.
Council 2016 approved a new ITU document access policy, which came into effect provisionally on the first of January this year. As the ITU announcement noted, better public access to information held, managed or generated by ITU facilitates transparency and accountability and contributes to a better understanding of ITU's unique mission. Last year, the Secretary General committed to implementing both the formal and informal recommendations of the Joint Inspection Unit. Council 2016 also set in motion a process to enhance the functioning of the plenipotentiary conference, approved the recommendations of the Independent Management Advisory Committee, and added the WTSA proceedings to the growing list of publications available for free online access. These important decisions demonstrate our commitment to improving the posture and prominence of the ITU.
Council 2016 made decisions about future conferences and meetings of the Union, confirming the City of Buenos Aires for the WTDC in October this year, the City of Dubai as the venue for the 2018 plenipotentiary conference (PP-18), and the place, dates and agenda of the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference, whose venue will be a subject of further discussion at this Council.
Council 2016 established the Expert Group on the review of the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) and appointed Mr. Fernando Borjon from the Administration of Mexico as its chair. This important work will define the conversation about the ITRs at PP-18.
We also determined the future of the ITU's headquarters buildings, deciding to replace the Varembé building with new construction that would include the offices and facilities of the Tower and refurbish the Montbrillant building.
A commitment to diversity is a commitment to all employees and to all members of the Union. Council 2016 launched a review of the gender mainstreaming policy and requested the secretariat go deeper into the reporting on the participation of men and women in ITU meetings and on chairmanships and to make further efforts toward gender equality in staffing. We also improved the guiding principles for the creation, management, and termination of Council working groups, taking into account the competency of candidates with a view to promoting equitable geographical distribution and gender balance.
Our people are our most important resource. It is the staff of the ITU that make the Union what it is, and they deserve our appreciation and attention. We heard from the Staff Council, and delegations emphasized the need to maintain a motivated, well trained and efficient workforce with an open and constructive dialogue with management. We addressed compensation, health insurance, the pension fund, mandatory age of retirement, and other matters that affect the active and retired workforce.
In closing, would like to thank ITU's staff for their wonderful assistance and support, with special thanks to Ms Doreen Bogdan, Mr Arnaud Guillot and Ms Beatrice Pluchon, as well as to the Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General, and Bureau Directors. I would like to express my gratitude to the 2016 chair of the Standing Committee on Administration and Management, Mr. Kirill Oparin, and to all the chairs of the Council Working Groups. I also wish to thank my administration and my region for giving me the opportunity to chair the 2016 Council. Finally, I thank all of you for the good will and spirit of cooperation that you showed me and each other. I wish Dr. Spina and Council 2017 every success.
