INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION
COUNCIL WORKING GROUP ON THE
WORLD SUMMIT ON THE
INFORMATION SOCIETY
7th meeting, Geneva
Document: WG-WSIS-7/21 Rev. 1
Date: 14 December 2004
English only
— 13-14 December, 2004
Chairman, Working Group on WSIS (WG-WSIS)
SUMMARY OF DECISIONS OF THE 7TH MEETING
1
Introduction
1.1
The ITU Council Working Group on WSIS (WG-WSIS) held its 7th meeting on 13-14 December
2004, in Geneva. Due to the unavoidable absence of the chairman, Dr. Yuri Grin, the meeting was chaired by
Prof. Vladimir Minkin (Russian Federation).
1.2
The agenda (see Annex 1) was adopted with some modification of the scheduling of items and the
addition of an extra item on “Proposals on how ITU might further adapt itself to the Information Society”. In
total, the Group reviewed some 20 documents and contributions (Annex 2).
1.3
The work of the WG-WSIS is conducted in line with Council Resolution 1222 which calls upon the
Working Group:
1
to continue to provide updated ITU inputs to the WSIS preparatory process, including
documents arising from ITU meetings (including possible relevant Thematic Meetings), as
appropriate, within available financial resources, in accordance with Decision 8 and Resolution 113
of the Plenipotentiary Conference (Marrakesh, 2002);
2
to prepare, based on inputs of the Member States and Sector Members, as well as those of the
Secretary-General and the Directors of the Bureaux, and submit to Council the updated proposals
on:
3.

necessary ITU actions to help accomplish the goals and objectives articulated in
the Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action, as adopted by the first phase of
WSIS;

proposals on how the ITU might further adapt itself to the Information Society
and the changing telecommunications environment;

ITU participation in the second phase WSIS preparation process,
to report annually to the Council,
2
Information reports on ITU participation in the second phase WSIS
preparation process
2.1
At the start of meeting, information reports were provided on:

General progress in the preparations for the Tunis Phase of WSIS (Mr. T. Kelly, Head of WSIS content
team), including on the Decision of PrepCom-1 (Hammamet) and the work of the Group of Friends of
the Chair;
1

The work of the Working Group on Internet Governance (Mr. M. Kummer, Executive Director of the
WGIG secretariat);

The work of the Task Force on Financial Mechanisms (Mr. P Touré, representing ITU on the Task Force
at its 29 November 2004 meeting: see documents 7/18 and 7/19);

The changes in the WSIS Bureau and the proposed structure for the Tunis Phase (Mr. C. Geiger,
Executive Director, WSIS-ES).
In addition, the Sector Directors reported on implementation of the Geneva Plan of Action:

The report on the Radiocommunication Bureau was presented by Mr. V. Timofeev (document 7/12);

The report on the Telecommunication Development Bureau was presented by Mr. H. Touré (7/15);

The report on the Telecommunication Standardisation Bureau as presented by Mr. H. Zhao (7/20).
2.2
Mr. T. Kelly reported on the launch of the WSIS stocktaking questionnaire and the searchable
database that has been created. As of 10 December 2004, there were around 320 entries and more were
expected ahead of the deadline of 15 December 2004. A preliminary analytical report on the stocktaking
exercise would be made to PrepCom-2, at it’s meeting from 17-25 February 2005. A draft will be posted on
the WSIS website around 20 January 2005. ITU Member States and Sector Members were urged to submit
material to the stocktaking, and comments on the report, if any.
2.3
Mr. A. Ntoko presented the results of ITU-D activities and reported on the updated stocktaking of
BDT implementation of the Geneva Plan of Action (Annex to document 7/15). This data would also be
entered into the main WSIS database.
2.4
Ms. C. Sarrocco reported on the ITU WSIS Thematic Meeting on Countering Spam, held 7-9 July
2004 in Geneva (chairman’s report, document 7/4), and on the ITU’s ongoing activities in this field. It was
agreed that the report be forwarded as a contribution to PrepCom-2.
2.5
Mr. T. Kelly reported on the plans for future WSIS Thematic Meetings. Those that involve ITU
include:

“Measuring ICTs for Development”, 7-9 February 2005, Geneva, organised by a partnership including
ITU, UNCTAD, OECD, UNESCO, World Bank and others.

“Towards the realisation of the ubiquitous network society”, 16-17 May 2005, Tokyo, organised jointly
by the Governments of Japan, ITU and UNU.

A planned WSIS Thematic meeting on multi-stakeholder partnerships for bridging the digital divide, to
be jointly organised by the Government of the Republic of Korea and ITU.

A planned WSIS Thematic meeting on Cybersecurity, including follow-up on countering spam, to be
organised jointly by SPU and ITU-T.
2.6
In addition, a number of regional WSIS meetings are planned or have taken place. Two new
regional meetings were announced:

A second Bishkek-Moscow regional conference on information society would be held in Spring
2005 in Moscow (the first phase of this conference was held in Bishkek, 16-18 November 2004);

An Arab preparatory meeting for WSIS is planned in Cairo, 8-10 May 2005.
3
Necessary ITU actions to help accomplish the goals and objectives
articulated in the Geneva decisions
3.1
Inputs to WSIS PrepCom-2
3.1.1
The Working Group reviewed a contribution from Brazil (7/17), which was supported by some
participants, and a paper from the ITU Secretary-General (7/14) outlining options, among other issues, for a
possible follow-up mechanism for WSIS. The paper presented two options: Option A, which would foresee
one or a few organisations having overall responsibility; and Option B which would envisage a decentralised
2
structure of stakeholder groups, each with an inter-governmental organisation as moderator. Although some
spoke in favour of Option A, the majority favoured Option B.
3.1.2
It was considered important that the issue of follow-up and accomplishment of the WSIS goals and
objectives after Tunis should be resolved at an early stage. Accordingly, an ad hoc drafting group was
created, under the chairmanship of Mr. Johan Martin-Löf (Sweden). The revised document was submitted to
the WG-WSIS and, after discussion and further modification, is attached as Annex 3 to this report.
3.2
Internet Governance
3.2.1
A number of contributions relevant to the topic of Internet Governance were presented and
reviewed by the Working Group. The Chairman noted that Document 7/8 had been withdrawn. The
documents discussed included:

A brief paper relevant to the discussion in WGIG, from the ITU Secretary-General (7/5). The suggestion
that the WGIG should adopt a narrow view of Internet Governance was not supported by the WG-WSIS.

A revised paper on Internet Governance, including proposals in the area of allocation of IPv6 addresses,
and based on the Resolutions agreed at WTSA-04, from the Director of the Telecommunication
Standardisation Bureau (7/6);

A paper on “Beyond Internet Governance”, looking in particular at the challenges of developing policy
and regulation in a Next Generation Network (NGN) environment, prepared by the ITU secretariat
(7/13);

Other papers that had been received as comments on document 7/6. It was agreed that these would be
posted, without ITU logo, as annexes to document 7/6. The meeting noted the intention of the Director of
TSB to organize workshops to further discussion of the comments that had been sent to him concerning
his paper (Document 7/6).

An oral report from BDT on their regional meetings held in follow-up of ITU Resolution 102.
3.2.2
Following a long discussion of these inputs, it was noted that they represented somewhat different
views of the topic and different visions of what ITU should propose to WGIG, and what should be the role of
governments. Accordingly, it was agreed to establish an ad hoc group, chaired by Mr. Willy Jensen
(Norway).
3.2.3
The WG-WSIS should present a report on Internet Governance for review by ITU Council. It could
then be submitted as a contribution to WSIS PrepCom-3. This report may comprise:

a factual paper on ITU activities, structured, if possible, around the list of priority issues prepared by
the WGIG;

a paper containing options on future ITU activities relevant to Internet Governance.
A first draft of the report, prepared by the secretariat, would be circulated to WG-WSIS members by
31 January 2005 using the WG-WSIS website and the website created by TSB for follow-up of WTSA
Resolution 46 (see TSB Circular 5). It would be discussed further at the 8 th meeting of the WG-WSIS,
which should take place before Council and immediately following the one-day meeting of WTSA
Resolution 46 group. The website related to WTSA Resolution 46 is at:
http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/tsb-director/itut-wsis/cwg-wsis-0305.html
4
Proposals on how ITU should adapt itself to the Information Society
4.1
The Working Group reviewed two papers containing proposals on how ITU might adapt itself to the
Information Society:

A paper from the ITU Secretary-General (document 7/7), focussing on the ITU’s future strategic plan.

A contribution from Brazil (document 7/17), focussing on actions to review and optimise the structure,
processes and mechanisms of ITU processes to make them more adequate, especially with regard to their
agility, and to improve its multilateral, democratic and transparent orientation.
3
4.2
These inputs were discussed, as well as suggestions from other members. In line with paragraph 64
of the WSIS Declaration of Principles, and bearing in mind the new role of ITU in the Information Society,
the Russian Federation proposed to study ITU’s area of responsibility and to consider widening it. Perhaps it
would be necessary to consider possible changes in the names of ITU and ITU-D to include ICTs in them. It
was agreed to request the secretariat to revise the document by making it more positive, by taking account of
the changes proposed, and by incorporating elements from the proposals from Brazil and other members. It
was agreed that the document should also refer to the contributions from the Directors. The secretariat would
revise the document for posting, if possible by 1 January 2005. Thereafter, members of WG-WSIS would be
invited to make comments, and additional contributions, if possible by March 31 2005. On the basis of these
comments, the document would be revised for the next WG-WSIS meeting and could form the basis for the
report to the 2005 Council.
5
Dates of next meeting
5.1
The dates of the next meeting of the WG-WSIS, in coordination with the WTSA-04 Resolution 46
group, will be in the week of 2-6 May.
5.2
The Working Group thanked the elected officials and the membership for their contributions to the
meeting and thanked the secretariat for the efficient running of the meeting.
6
Summary of decisions
As a result of this meeting, the following decisions were taken:
6.1
To invite Member States and Sector Members to take into account the examination of options for a
possible follow-up mechanism for WSIS in their submissions to WSIS PrepCom-2.
6.2
To invite the secretariat to revise the report on proposals for how ITU should adapt itself to the
Information Society. This would be made available for comments by 1 January 2005.
6.3
To invite the secretariat to prepare a draft report on Internet Governance, for circulation among
WG-WSIS members by 31 January 2005.
Vladimir M. Minkin
Acting chairman, WG-WSIS
Annexes:
4
Revised agenda (7/1 Rev. 1)
List of documents
Options for a follow-up mechanism (7/14 Rev. 1).
INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION
COUNCIL WORKING GROUP ON THE
WORLD SUMMIT ON THE
INFORMATION SOCIETY
7th meeting, Geneva
Document: WG-WSIS-7/1 Rev. 1
Date: 13 December 2004
English only
— 13-14 December, 2004
Chairman of the Council Working Group on WSIS
DRAFT AGENDA
13-14 December, 2004
Starting at 10.00 on 13 December
CCV, Geneva
1.
Opening
2.
Approval of the draft agenda
3.
Report on the status of preparations for Tunis phase
4.
Review of the WSIS stocktaking exercise
5.
Review of contributions to the work of WG-WSIS for the Tunis phase
6.
Report on ITU WSIS Thematic Meetings, including the ITU WSIS Thematic Meeting on
Countering Spam
7.
Proposals on how ITU might adapt itself to the Information Society
8.
Preparation of the draft report to Council 2005
8.
Other business
5
Annex 2: List of documents (revised December 14, 2004)
WG-WSIS –7/1
Draft Agenda
WG-WSIS – 7/2
Invitation letter – not printed
http://www.itu.int/council/wsis/
Geneva3_04/WG-invitation.doc
WG-WSIS – 7/3
Registration form – not printed
http://www.itu.int/council/wsis/
Geneva3_04/Reg-form.doc
WG-WSIS – 7/4
ITU WSIS Thematic Meeting on Countering Spam
– Chairman’s Report
WG-WSIS – 7/5
Contribution from the ITU Secretary-General on
Internet Governance
WG-WSIS – 7/6
Contribution from the Director of the TSB on ITU see
and Internet Governance; Annex A; Annex B; http://www.itu.int/council/wsis/
Annex C; Annex D; Annex E - Annexes not printed Geneva3_04/Doc6_ZhaoIG.doc
WG-WSIS – 7/7
Contribution from the ITU Secretary-General on the
WSIS process and its implications for the ITU
Strategic Plan
WG-WSIS – 7/8
Withdrawn
WG-WSIS – 7/9
List of WSIS Thematic meetings - not printed
WG-WSIS – 7/10
List of WSIS Prepcoms and regional meetings – not http://www.itu.int/wsis/preparat
printed
ory2/index.html#regional
WG-WSIS – 7/11
Questionnaire used for WSIS stocktaking
WG-WSIS – 7/12
Contribution
from
the
Director
of
Radiocommunication Bureau on the WSIS process
WG-WSIS – 7/13
Contribution from the ITU Secretariat on Internet
Governance
WG-WSIS – 7/14
Contribution from the ITU Secretary General on the
options for a follow-up mechanism for WSIS
WG-WSIS – 7/15
Contribution from the Director of the BDT –
Stocktaking of ITU-D activities relevant to the
WSIS Plan of Action
WG-WSIS – 7/16
See Annex C to document No. 6
WG/WSIS – 7/17
Proposal for ITU and WSIS issues, by Agência
Nacional de Telecomunicações – ANATEL - Brazil
WG/WSIS – 7/18
Report – Second Meeting of the Task Force on http://www.itu.int/council/wsis/
Financing Mechanisms (TFFM) – not printed
Geneva3_04/TFFM-report.doc
WG/WSIS – 7/19
Contribution to the Task Force on the Financing of http://www.itu.int/council/wsis/
the Information Society – not printed
Geneva3_04/TFFM_PGT.pdf
WG/WSIS – 7/20
WSIS results and ITU-T Questions – not printed
WG/WSIS – 7/21
Report of the 7th WG/WSIS Meeting – Summary of
decisions
All documents available at http://www.itu.int/council/wsis/wsis_WG.html.
6
http://www.itu.int/wsis/preparat
ory2/thematic.html
http://www.itu.int/md/meetingd
oc.asp?type=sitems&lang=e&p
arent=T01-WTSA-C-0064
ANNEX 3
Chairman, ITU Working Group on WSIS
A POSSIBLE ROLE FOR ITU IN THE FOLLOW UP MECHANISM FOR WSIS
1.
Proving the success of the Summit will depend, in no small measure, on effective follow-up of the
implementation after the completion of the Tunis Phase. In line with the overall spirit of the Summit, followup and implementation are the responsibility of all stakeholders, working in partnership. However, there is a
requirement for some co-ordination among stakeholders and a reporting mechanism, as well as a division of
labour among the different action lines set out in the Plan of Action.
2.
ITU plays an active role in the follow-up and implementation of the Geneva plan of action, notably
through implementation of the BDT’s Plan of Action, through the Union’s work on Radiocommunication
and Standardization, through the organisation of WSIS Thematic Meetings, through the Council Working
Group on WSIS and through its work on ICT Indicators. Details of ITU’s implementation of the Geneva
Plan of Action are provided in ITU’s inputs to the WSIS stocktaking database.
3.
The ITU Secretary-General, as requested by the UN General Assembly, will transmit, as soon as it is
available, a report on the WSIS via ECOSOC. The UN General Assembly may consider, as appropriate, if
further actions are requested to follow-up the results of the WSIS.
4.
Assuming that there will be a continuing requirement, after the Tunis Phase, for further follow-up,
implementation and stocktaking, it is possible, at this stage, to identify two possible options for the coordination and reporting mechanism.
Option A: To designate one or a few organizations, either completely new or existing ones (e.g., ITU,
UNDP, UNESCO, UNCTAD) with overall responsibility to coordinate and report on the
implementation of the Action Plan.
Option B: To set up a decentralised mechanism for joint actions among all stakeholders, with a
reporting mechanism within the UN system.
5.
Following discussion, the Working Group concluded that Option A might probably not be feasible at
this time because the scope of the Plan of Action falls outside the competence of any single existing
organisation and the creation of a new organisation would impose an additional financial burden that
stakeholders may not be willing to bear.
6.
Therefore, Option B might be the preferred solution at this time. A possible implementation
mechanism for this option could have the following characteristics:
a) For each Action Line, in the Plan of Action, an appropriate [inter-governmental] organisation,
should be nominated as a moderator;
b) The moderator should be responsible for organising activities open to [all] stakeholders for
follow-up of the Action Line;
c) The modalities of moderation should be decided by [the respective stakeholder group];
d) A global coordinator [possibly ITU] should undertake an overall stocktaking based on the annual
outputs from these stakeholder groups;
e) f) The global coordinator will make an annual report to the UN General Assembly, via the
Economic and Social Council, based on the results of the overall stocktaking exercise.
7.
The areas where ITU may be willing to act as a moderator or stakeholder can be found in the annexed
list of Action Lines.
8.
The ITU’s willingness to act as a moderator or stakeholder is subject to review by Council, and should
avoid expenses in excess of the financial bounds laid down by the Plenipotentiary conference.
7
Annex: Action Lines
Action Lines
C1. The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for Development
C2. Information and communication infrastructure
C3. Access to information and knowledge
C4. Capacity building
C5. Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs
C6. Enabling environment
C7. ICT applications
● E-government
● E-business
● E-learning
● E-health
● E-employment
● E-environment
● E-agriculture
● E-science
C8. Cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content
C9. Media
C10. Ethical dimensions of the Information Society
C11. International and regional cooperation
B. Objectives, goals and targets
D. Digital Solidarity
E. Follow-up and evaluation
8