Plenipotentiary Conference 1998 -- Minneapolis USA

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ITU 2000:
An Executive Summary

There is no need to invent new words to describe the role of the ITU in the new information world. The very first paragraph of the HLC Report describes it in a concise manner:

"The world of telecommunications is undergoing rapid change in technology, in the creative and world-wide application of that technology, and in its immensely varied commercial applications. The information and telecommunications revolution - almost a cliché in the hands of writers and analysts - is a daily practical reality in the work of the ITU. The ITU remains unique and irreplaceable as an intergovernmental organization, both in its leading role in the global information economy and society and in the manner in which it addresses the needs of developing countries and engages the private sector in its work as part of the wider ITU family."

As was the case of RevCom, ITU-2000 recognized before anything that the ITU shall remain an intergovernmental organization with membership components having different status and different rights and obligations. (see R1)

RevCom recommended a set of actions for the Sectors in order for the ITU to maintain a pre-eminent position in the telecommunication world and ITU-2000 worked on that basis and developed a set of recommendations that should be implemented by the Sectors as soon as possible. These actions may need to be continued in the future in the light of the evolution of the telecommunication world in terms of technology, structure and integration in the global trade system. (see R2)

ITU-2000 examined the status of Sector Members as it appears in the Constitution/Convention, in particular CV238 which designates them as "members of the Sectors of the Union". It concluded that there was no need to modify this situation and limited its action to recommending a change in the names as indicated in Recommendation R3, derived from Recommendation 15/3 of the RevCom which was adopted by the Council in its 1996 session.

There exist presently several categories of Sector Members with different rights, these are:

  • Recognized Operating Agency (ROA) which can vote on behalf of the Member State concerned, (see CS1008)
  • Operating Agency (OA), (see CS1007)
  • Scientific or Industrial Organization (SIO), (see CV1004)
  • Entities dealing with telecommunication matters which are approved by the Member State concerned, (not defined)
  • Regional and other international telecommunication, standardization, financial or development organizations, (not defined)

ITU-2000 recommends in its Recommendation R.4:

  • to retain the same entities (and, in addition, specifies that telecommunications includes "multimedia")
  • that "there should be only one category of Sector Member which should be open to the widest range of entities commensurate with the aims of the ITU.", and
  • that "In principle, and where appropriate, all Sector Members of a given Sector should have equal rights and obligations."

Widening the participation may be done by means of:

  • a wider dissemination of information about the ITU (see R.14),
  • simplifying the procedures for admission of new Sector Members (see R.5), and
  • admission of organizations of a smaller size than the current Sector Members as "Associates" under the conditions enumerated in R.6.

Some participants in ITU-2000 considered it useful to simplify the procedures of admission of new Sector Members by authorizing entities to apply directly to the Secretary-General. This approach is also supported by some Member States wishing to eliminate a kind of "bureaucracy". These wishes are expressed in ITU-2000 Recommendation R.5 which foresees the possibility for each State Member to select among two procedures for the admission of entities approved by the Member State concerned:

  • The current procedure
  • Application directly to the Secretary-General, who shall inform the Member State concerned and, in the case of no objection or no reply, the applicant is accepted.

While recognizing the sovereign right of each Member State to choose the process by which an entity under its jurisdiction may become a Sector Member, some Member States are of the view that caution may be needed and prefer to retain the current system.

The current situation of Sector Members is considered as not being clearly defined in the Constitution/Convention. To improve this situation and reflect ITU-2000 recommendations in the Constitution/Convention, it is recommended (see R14/1) that :

  • the rights of Sector Members to participate in the work of the Radiocommunication Assembly, the WTSC or the WTDC and their subsidiary meetings should be recognized.
  • the role of Sector Advisory Bodies to develop detailed provisions relating to the specific activities of the respective Sectors should also be recognized.
  • the Kyoto Resolution 14 should be updated to identify the rights and obligations of all Members of Sectors of the Union and submitted to the 1998 Plenipotentiary Conference for adoption.

Introduction of project management in the Sectors was initiated for some time and several project teams have been already established. The system demonstrated its efficiency and should be continued as indicated in Recommendation R16. ITU-2000 considers, however,

  • that some activities may need to be continued on the basis of the current "Questions" and Study Group approaches and
  • that the project team approach may be supported by alternative methods of funding and that funding designated for a specific matter being studied may be carried out on the basis of the Financial Regulations applicable to the voluntary contributions or more flexible ones to cover the specific requirements of the Sector concerned.

The Plenipotentiary Conference of Kyoto adopted a new provision CV262A by which Sector Members referred to in CV229 may attend Plenipotentiary Conferences as observers without needing the approval of the Member State concerned. The attendance at Radio Conferences by these entities remains subject to the agreement of the Member State. ITU-2000 examined the possibility of bringing CV229 in line with CV262A and noted the reluctance of the Radiocommunication Advisory Group in this respect. ITU-2000 is of the view that this matter needs to be further reviewed by the Radiocommunication Assembly 1997. (see R.15)

ITU-2000 recommends that, considering the need for the approval of some Recommendations in a more flexible way than others, each Sector shall develop its own working methods and procedures for the adoption of Questions and Recommendations These working methods and procedures should be based on the identification of those Recommendations that need to be approved by the Member States following the current consultation procedure and those which shall be considered as approved following their adoption by the Study Group concerned. The two types of Recommendations would have the same status. (see R.17).

Cooperation with regional and national organizations has been considered by the RevCom and ITU-2000 as essential in order to speed up the development of recommendations and avoid duplication of work. This cooperation is also the subject of Resolution 58 of the Kyoto Plenipotentiary Conference. It is with this view that ITU-2000 recommends (see R7/1 and R7/2) to reinforce this cooperation:

  • by inviting such organizations to send liaison representatives to take part in the Sectors’ meetings;
  • by inviting their participation at the Sector level;
  • by exploring possibilities for work sharing;
  • by making available on a collaborative basis relevant ITU information allowing, among other things, controlled access to text in electronic form via the ITU databases.

The role of the Development Sector was considered on the basis of several contributions by Member States and Sector Members together with a report by the Chairman of the Reflection Group established by the TDAB. ITU-2000 concluded in this respect that:

  • the role of the Development Sector should be examined,
  • the promotion of partnerships between entities of developed and developing countries should be given a high priority in this role,
  • the feasibility of extending the role of the regional presence should be studied,
  • strategic partnerships and cooperative arrangements should be established with regional telecommunication organizations, using to this effect the regional presence,
  • consideration of possible technical assistance to regional telecommunication entities, and means should be identified for facilitating the participation of developing countries in the Advisory bodies meetings.

ITU-2000 has reviewed the Secretary-General’s recommendations resulting from his study of Kyoto Resolution 39 as well as the recommendations of a financial nature on the review of the rights and obligations of the membership of the Union pursuant to Kyoto Resolution 15. These reviews confirmed the need for the budgetary system of the ITU to be strengthened and improved in order for the Union to adequately meet the evolving requirements of its membership. Accordingly, the following points were among those highlighted in the presentation of the recommendations for action and follow-up by the Council in particular:

  • maintaining the free choice of the class of contribution while at the same time encouraging Member States and Sector Members to share in a more equitable manner the burden of financing ITU activities, commensurate with the benefits they derive from the Union
  • (see R9/1);
  • considering the need for guidelines in relation to the levels of contributions of both Member States and Sector Members in the ongoing analysis of the financial foundations of the Union;
  • pursuing the immediate implementation of a system of full allocation of costs within the Union and a transparent accounting system to allow the tracking of expenditures (see R9/2);
  • establishing a bottom-up approach in preparing Sectors’ budget including, for each Sector, its respective part of the full allocated costs of the General Secretariat (see R9/3);
  • in establishing a form of membership termed "Associate" as a means of increasing participation by smaller entities in the work of a Sector, determining a level of financial contribution which at least covers the full allocated cost of such participation (see R6);
  • examining the current ratio of the amount of the contributory unit applicable to Sector Members in light of the financial structure of the Union (see R10);
  • encouraging Sector Members to offer advice on financial matters, inter alia, by admitting representatives of the advisory bodies in the Council (see R11);
  • identifying ITU products and services to be outsourced where significant cost savings would result (see R19);
  • identifying groups of products and services which could be subject to a) improvements in efficiency, b) cost recovery and c) revenue generation (see R18, R20 and R21);
  • introducing new rules to mitigate the impact of reductions in the number of contributory units available in support of the budget of the Union by arranging for the announcement of the class of contribution by Member States to be made during a Plenipotentiary Conference and by limiting any reduction in the choice of contribution by two (2) classes over a plenipotentiary period (see R22 and R23);
  • abolishing the concept of special arrears accounts and increasing limitations on Member States in arrears (see R13).

ITU-2000 expressed the view in its R.9/5 that the Council, to the extent practicable, take account of the above Recommendations when considering the 1998/99 draft budget and to fully implement these Recommendations for the following financial period, taking into account any advice offered by the Sector advisory bodies.

Recommendation 39/4, appearing in the Secretary-General Report on Resolution 39 relating to action by the Director for time and cost savings, was examined and ITU-2000 concluded that the Council may instruct the Directors of the Bureaus together with the Advisory bodies to continue streamlining the working methods and procedures in view to achieve time and cost savings as well as to impose on each Study Group or other entities expenditure discipline.

The above recommendations, if implemented, may require a review of some of the components of the ITU structure, with the view to streamline the hierarchical lines, avoid overlapping responsibilities and reduce the number of meetings. Examples of situations to avoid are:

  • Multiplication of meetings for debating policy matters, if the World Telecommunication Development Conference has to deal with telecommunication development world-wide it may be considered as having the same purpose as the Policy Forum. In such a case, the respective roles of the BDT and of the Strategic Planing Unit of the General Secretariat may need to be redefined.
  • If the current procedure for adoption of Questions and Recommendations by Study Groups is maintained and the ITU-R and ITU-T Advisory Groups confirmed as managing bodies of these two Sectors the role and periodicity of meetings of the Standardization Conference and the Radiocommunication Assembly need to be reviewed.
  • ITU-R and ITU-T are permanently reviewing their working methods to be adapted to the requirements of their Members and in so doing, the difference between them and the ITU-D is increasing. Extended use of project management may also lead to question the need to adopt for the three Sectors the same structure and the same working methods.

The Chairman of ITU-2000 Group noted that ITU-2000 recommendations improved in some way some procedures by giving a clearer role to Sector Members. These Recommendations did not, however:

  • modify significantly the status of Sector Members,
  • result in a review of the function of the three Sectors to avoid conflicts of attributions,
  • modify the working methods to eliminate an outdated hierarchical structure of groups,
  • analyze critically the function, periodicity and duration of the numerous ITU gatherings,
  • change significantly the financial system of the Union.n

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