Opening Remarks of Mr. Y. Utsumi
ITU Secretary-General
Geneva, 9
December 1999
Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Guests:
We are gathered here on the eve of the new millennium
to discuss a problem that is as old as time.
When one of our earliest ancestors sold the first
painting that had been etched on the wall of a cave, he had to reach an
agreement with the buyer. Perhaps, to finalize that agreement, the
parties scratched a symbol on the wall of that cave.
Over the past centuries, different doctrines have
evolved in national law to authenticate the signer and the document in a
transaction. In many jurisdictions, the handshake was replaced by
the hand-written signature as the means to give form to the conclusion of
an agreement.
Yet, even in those less-technological times, cultural
differences existed. It may surprise some of you to know that in
Japan, where I come from, the written signature has not been used.
Instead, in Japan, as in other Asian countries, the seal was used to give
form and authenticity to an agreement. Although I am not suggesting
that this meeting be renamed “Electronic Seals” , it is clear that the
issue of different cultural norms is not new when it comes to legal
procedures and standards for authentication.
What is new today is the technology. The past
decade has seen the astonishing and rapid emergence of the Internet and
electronic commerce as a major medium for conducting business and making
purchases and transactions. Yet, the issue that has echoed
throughout the ages remains: how do we authenticate parties and
transactions in the new electronic environment?
And the issue of cultural differences is magnified by
the Internet. Electronic commerce permits seamless global
transactions on a scale that could not have been previously imagined.
Coupled with the opening of markets under international trade agreements
and a shift to competition as a model for telecommunications operators,
powerful forces are at work that will permit businesses and individuals to
transact instantaneously across the planet.
That is the promise. But that potential will
not be realized unless we can find a global solution for the ancient
problem of authentication …..and find one fast.
Some of you, actually most of you, are new faces at
the ITU and it is my pleasure to welcome you to the Union. So let me
tell you a little bit about the ITU and why we have invited you here to
Geneva.
The ITU is the oldest intergovernmental organization
and traces its origins back to 1865. In 1948, the ITU became a
specialized agency of the United Nations, with responsibility for all
matters in the field of telecommunications. At present, we have 189
Member States and nearly 600 Sector Members. The latter are mostly
private companies that participate in the work of the Union and I am
pleased to see several of our Sector Members here today.
Telecommunications provides the highway for
electronic commerce, and the historic mission of the ITU has been to
ensure that telecommunications networks and services operate smoothly and
efficiently across borders. To do that, the Union has developed
thousands of global standards on telecommunications, which we issue in the
form of Recommendations, and we have shepherded the adoption of
international treaties and agreements to manage the radiofrequency
spectrum. Some of these standards have been instrumental to the
growth of the Internet.
Over the past decade, a new focus of our activities
has been on the expansion of international and domestic telecommunications
in the less-developed countries. Through the development of
partnerships between governments and the private sector, and the launching
of new wireless technologies, it is the goal of the ITU to ensure that, in
the next century, the one-half of the global population that have never
made a phone call will have access to reliable telecommunications
services.
That is the general picture, but what about the
issues that bring all of you here today.
I did not personally attend the initial conference of
the Union in Paris in 1865 - I was not born at that time - but reliable
sources tell me that the first ITU Convention on Telegraphs was signed
with quill pens. Jump ahead a century and for the first time, in
1997, a treaty was signed using electronic signatures, in that case
between the United States and Ireland.
As part of its mission, the ITU has already approved
technical standards, such as X.509 for digital certificates, to promote
the technical global operability of electronic commerce. But our
members have asked for more.
At our Plenipotentiary Conference last November, ITU
Member States endorsed further work in the area of the development of IP
networks. More recently, the ITU Council this past summer approved
new initiatives in the area of the Internet and e-commerce.
Thus, to continue to fulfill its mandate to ensure
global interoperability, the ITU must be responsive to all the needs of
the telecommunications and Internet communities. We need to find
solutions that will make digital signatures workable in a transnational
environment and ones that ensure that the regulatory framework remains in
step with technological advances.
The global nature of the Internet makes it vital that
government and industry collaborate to harmonize national approaches to
authentication. As Mr. Christopher Kuner observed in a recent paper:
“There are clear dangers in dealing with a subject of such international
importance in a purely national way.”
Mr. Shima from NEC will make a presentation
later this morning, but he is also a sherpa for work at the GBD (Global
Business Dialog) on authentication. The web site of the GBD states
“Conflicting policies, rules and regional patchwork regulations are
obstacles to the emerging online economy”. So, part of the task
over these two days should be to find ways to remove these obstacles.
The subject of electronic signatures and
certification authorities is complex and far-reaching, and involves many
issues of a legal, regulatory, policy and technical nature. Many of
you are already participating in discussions in other forums on various
aspects of these issues.
So, let me ask you to focus your efforts and
deliberations here in Geneva on the following key points.
First, what new technical standards are needed in the
area of electronic signatures and digital certificates? The ITU
Standards sector is holding its next World Assembly in Montreal next fall
and at that time will set its future work program. Your advice on
priorities for action in the area of standards-setting and authentication
technologies would be very useful.
Second, what approaches can be taken at the ITU and
at the international level to respond to the growing trend toward
divergent national approaches on the policy and legal aspects of
electronic signatures and certificate authorities? No, I am not
necessarily talking about international treaties, but rather the use of
more flexible instruments to achieve global harmonization on this
important matter. To take one example, the ITU recently sponsored
the adoption of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which serves as the
basis of the international regulatory framework for global satellite
services. By using this kind of flexible instrument, the Union was
able to bring together government and industry, developed and developing
nations, and operators and manufacturers, in forging a workable and
suitable framework.
Finally, what steps need to be taken by the ITU to
address the needs and responsibilities of the telecommunications community
in the area of authentication? As the main conduits for electronic
commerce, telecommunications operators have a direct stake and critical
role in the growth of e-commerce. But not enough attention has been
given to such matters as the potential risks and liabilities of the
operators for abuse of electronic signatures and digital certificates.
That issue needs to be addressed.
Lades and Gentlemen,
In closing, I want to thank you again for coming to
Geneva to help us with this important task.
It is my hope that in the next 2 days you can find
solutions to these issues and make recommendations as to how the ITU can
most effectively serve its Member States and Sector Members to avoid
divergent approaches to authentication issues. You have before you
an excellent Background Paper and, for the moment, a list of questions
without answers. Let me wish you every success in finding answers to
those questions over the next 48 hours.
On a separate, but very important matter, every ship
needs a good captain to find its way and have a successful voyage.
Let me recommend to you that Professor Fred Cate serve as the Captain to
chair this meeting. Professor Cate teaches at the University of
Indiana School of Law and is also Director of the Information Law and
Commerce Institute at that University. It would take me all morning
to list each of his distinguished publications and activities. He is
well-known to the ITU, as he served as the Chairman for the Conference
last year in Finland, at which the Tampere Convention on Emergency
Telecommunications was adopted.
Thank you very much.
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