FINAL COPY
ITU PLENIPOTENTIARY CONFERENCE 2014
BUSAN, KOREA
05 NOVEMBER 2014
ROOM A
FIFTEENTH PLENARY MEETING
09:30
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>> CHAIRMAN: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Could
you take your seats please? And would you put your headset on?
Good morning.
>> INTERPRETER: Good morning, Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Good morning. Fifteenth Plenary Meeting is
called to order. Before moving into the agenda, let me
summarize what we did yesterday. We approved Seventh and Eighth
Series of Texts on its first and second reading, except the
Resolution WGPL/6, Creating an enabling environment for the
development and use of information and communication technology
applications which was included in the Eighth Series of Texts,
Document 153. So that Resolution was sent back to Working Group
of the Plenary.
And in particular, Resolution Com 6/4 was adopted, which is
the support and assistance for Iraq to build its
telecommunications sector. I think this is a very meaningful
Resolution. We also approved another Plenary Meeting document,
Sixth Plenary Meeting document which is Document Number 118.
With that, I would like to submit the Draft Agenda for your
approval. Any comments on the Draft Agenda? No? Agenda is
approved.
Now we will move to the second Agenda Item which is a
Series of Texts from Editorial Committee. I would like to
invite Chairman of Committee 4, Dr. Hoballah, to introduce the
ninth series of reading. Dr. Hoballah, you have the floor.
>> COMMITTEE 4 CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr.
Chairman, on behalf of the Editorial Committee, it is my
pleasure to present to you for first reading document blue 9, or
the Ninth Series of Texts submitted by the Editorial Committee
to the Plenary Meeting. Document 156 contains Decision 5 and
Resolution 162, received by Committee 4 from Committee 6. I
submit Document 156 to you, Mr. Chairman, for first reading.
Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Chairman of Committee 4.
Now, we will go through this Ninth Series of Texts
submitted by Committee 4 to the Plenary Meeting page-by-page.
So I would submit page number 1 for your approval. This is the
Decision 5, revenue and expenses for the Union for the period
2016-2019.
Any comments? Russia, you have the floor.
>> RUSSIAN FEDERATION: Thank you, sir. We do have a
comment and a proposal for number 5. Because the situation with
our finances has developed in the way it has. For Decision 5,
we would propose the following. In the "decides" to include a
provision which would say that the 2017 Council at its regular
session should determine the size of a unit contribution. And
further, that Member States are called to, or are urged to
inform the Secretary-General of how much they are intending to
contribute to the budget in terms of number of units, and
whether there will be shorter terms, preferably by the end of
December 2017.
Now, if necessary, I can give you our proposal at dictation
speed and I can do it in English.
Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen ->> CHAIRMAN: Yes, could you please read it in dictation
speed? Thank you. Russia, you have the floor.
>> RUSSIAN FEDERATION: Thank you, sir. First, Council
2017 is invited to fix at its ordinary session the provisional
amount of the contributory unit.
And the second one, that Member States are invited to
notify the Secretary-General of their intendant commitment of
the number of their contributory units as soon as possible, and
preferably before the end of December 2017. Thank you, sir.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Russia. I think this is related
with the situation we are facing now because of the lack of time
to prepare the financial plan when we actually received this
notice of contributory units in the time of the Plenipotentiary
Conference. I think that's the reason Russia has proposed this
revision. But I would like to hear the view of the Chairman of
Committee 6. So I would like to invite Chairman of Committee 6
to address the concern raised by Russia.
Australia, you have the floor.
>> AUSTRALIA: Thank you, Chairman. Well, it was certainly
a challenge for Mr. Ba and his team and also the ITU management
and full Committee 6 to be able to develop a revised and
balanced financial plan, given the unexpected decrease in the
contributory units.
So I think that anything that would help to ensure that
this didn't happen again at such short notice would be wise.
I would also, I think, ask for the views of the Secretariat
about whether this is possible under the Constitution and
Convention. Thank you, Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Australia. Mr. Ba, are you here?
So I would like to invite Mr. Ba to provide his view on this
matter. And if possible, I'm not quite sure, Mr. Mr. Guillot is
here, I want to listen to his view whether it would be accepted,
this proposal made by Russia would be acceptable within the
rules of ITU. Mr. Ba, please.
>> COMMITTEE 3 CHAIRMAN: thank you, sir. And good morning
to everybody. Indeed, yes, it's perfectly compatible with ITU
regulations, given that we have said the provisional amounts.
Once it says that, then one year before the PP means that we are
better, that it makes it easier for us to fine tune the budget
figures. Thank you very much, sir.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr. Ba. Before giving the floor
to other Member States, I want to make a contribution on this
matter. Let me read what is proposed by Russia. This is under
"decides," under "decides. Council in 2017 is invited to fix at
its ordinary session the provisional amount of the contributory
unit. Member States are invited to notify the Secretary-General
of their intended commitment of the number of their contributory
units as soon as possible, and preferably before the end of
December 2017.
So that will be included -- if adopted -- in the, somewhere
in the decision. I'm not quite sure where we should insert this
one. But with that understanding I would like to open the
floor. I will give the floor to Tunisia. Tunisia, you have the
floor.
>> TUNISIA: Thank you, sir. Good morning to everybody.
Tunisia finds that the proposal made by Russia is most
relevant and well founded, given the situation as it has emerged
during this meeting. Therefore, Tunisia fully supports the
proposal made by Russia. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Tunisia. South Africa, please.
>> SOUTH AFRICA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman and thank you to
members. We fully support what Russia has proposed. We also
recommend that the issue not only be provisional but it should
be fixed because the term "provisional" means it's subject to
change. So we would rather opt for fixed instead of using the
term "provisional" so there is consistency and stability in
terms of the budgetary planning.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, South Africa. United States, you
have the floor.
>> UNITED STATES: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you to Russia for their proposal. It would be our
preference that such a text would appear in the "decides" and it
is also our request that we see this text in the pink document
before approving it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, United States. Saudi Arabia,
please.
>> SAUDI ARABIA: (No English translation.)
However, the ... however, I would support the practical
solution proposed by the Russian Federation.
However, we could perhaps consider that the contributory
unit will be an issue for the next Plenipotentiary.
In, for the period 2019 to 2023, that is the next period,
since the contributory unit for 2016 to 2019 has already been
determined during this Plenipotentiary Conference.
Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Saudi Arabia. India, you have the
floor.
>> INDIA: Thank you, Chairman. I think the Union needs
stability in finances. Therefore, we certainly support the
proposal made by the Russian Federation.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, India. U.K., you have the floor.
>> UNITED KINGDOM: Thank you, Chair. Like colleagues, we
would like to see the drafting language in the pink document.
But we too support the principle of clearer and earlier
information to allow the financial team to plan ahead. Thank
you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, U.K. U.S., you need the floor
again? U.S., you have the floor.
>> UNITED STATES: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I apologize
for taking the floor again. I realized after I closed the mic I
meant to say we prefer the text be in the "invites" and not the
"decides." thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, U.S. Iran, you have the floor.
>> ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN: Good morning, Chairman,
Distinguished Delegate, all of you. The proposal is good, wise,
and acceptable. However, we would like to the legal unit
carefully consider that we should be in line with Article 28 of
the Constitution. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Iran.
It seems to me that there are very strong supports on
Russia's proposal to include this proposed text within this
Resolution in Decision 5. But there are some views. The U.S.
mentioned it would be preferable to include this in the
"invites" rather than "decides."
Iran mentioned that we need to carefully consider the legal
consequences of this matter. And South Africa prefers to fix it
so I would like to suggest that the Chairman of Committee 6
would consult on this with interested parties and come back
again to the afternoon session or tomorrow's session. So we
could approve, or include this very meaningful contribution made
by Russia into this "decides," into in Decision 5. Would that
be okay, Australia? Thank you.
Then Philippines, you have the floor.
>> PHILIPPINES: Mr. Chair, we reserve our right to comment
once we reach Annex 2 of the document, particularly Item 6 of
Annex 2. If there are other speakers who would like to raise
comments to the wording of this document before Annex 2, then I
would wait for my turn to comment on Annex 2. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Philippines. I'll give you the
floor when we reach page 6.
My proposal is to send this document back to Committee 6,
and Committee 6 will work on this with interested parties and
present this document as again the blue document, not the pink
document, to the Plenary. But I just want to go through this
whole document to get your views on this whole document. If you
have any other comments and views on this Decision 5, that could
be incorporated in the process of reviewing this contribution
made by Russia. It seems apparent that Philippines also wants
to make its contribution on Annex 2.
Let me go through this document page-by-page. Any other
comments on page 1?
Okay. Page number 2? Mali, you have the floor.
>> MALI: Thank you, sir, and good morning to everyone. At
page 2, 6A, paragraph 6A, in French it says that the internal
audit function of the Union should be maintained at a strong and
effective level. As far as we know, it already is strong and
effective. So we don't think we need this subparagraph 6A.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mali. Can I invite the Chairman
of Committee 6 to address this comment on 6A by Mali?
Australia, you have the floor.
>> AUSTRALIA: Thank you, Chairman. There was some
discussion about the wording of this during our Com 6 meeting.
Certainly in English it says the internal audit function of the
Union should be maintained at a strong and effective level,
which was recognition of the fact that this was already the
case. And it should continue to be so. Thank you, Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Yes, if the French version has some kind of
difference nuance, it could be addressed through the Editorial
Committee. At the same time you have some time to address your
concerns on this document because this document would be
reviewed again under the leadership of Caroline, Ms. Caroline
Greenway. If you have further concerns on this document, please
approach Ms. Caroline Greenway and provide your comments to her.
And that would be the case in the revised version. Page 3?
Iran, you have the floor.
>> ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN: Mr. Chairman, we follow your
advice. If we have any comment, we go to the Chairman of
Committee 6. One way would be should maintain or should
continue to be, to recognize the action already taken. The
simple solution for that, with this we don't need to send it to
the Committee. Either maintained or continued to be, or should
continue to be. That is a simple approach to that. And that
would resolve the matter. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Iran, for your contribution. I
think the Chairman much Committee 6 is carefully listening what
we are discussing in this conference. So any other comments on
page number 2? Thank you. We will move to page number 3. Any
comments on page number 3? Mali, you have the floor.
>> MALI: Thank you, Chairman. On page 3, "instructs the
Secretary-General," and the Directors of the Bureaux, now
paragraph 2 under this, the bottom of the page raises some
questions because for this point 2 we would suggest that we
should just delete it. Because there is no need.
>> CHAIRMAN: So Mali, you are suggesting to delete number
2 under "instructs the Secretary-General and the Directors of
the Bureaux," is that right? Mali, you have the floor.
>> MALI: That's it, yes, sir.
>> CHAIRMAN: Okay. Thank you, Mali. U.S., you have the
floor.
>> UNITED STATES: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In our view,
retaining "instructs the Secretary-General and the Directors of
the Bureaux," number 2, is very important, given the current
economic situation. A culture of efficiency and economy is a
very important point for us. Thank you, Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, U.S. So I think there is very
good reason we should send this document back to Committee 6 and
to review this one as a blue document again in the conference.
I think I would suggest both Mali and the U.S. to consult with
the Chair of Committee 6 on this matter.
Russia, you have the floor.
>> RUSSIAN FEDERATION: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Russia
considers that paragraph 2 here is very important, seeking ways
of providing financial stability for the ITU. We consider it is
very important to retain it.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Russia. Okay, we are still on
page 3. Any other comments on page 3? Okay, thank you.
Page number 4. Any comments? Thank you.
Page number 5? Okay.
Then we are on page number 6. I'll give the floor to the
Philippines. Philippines, you have the floor.
>> PHILIPPINES: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We are bringing
this comment not for this Plenary to debate. Rather we are
bringing this comment for possible editorial measures or work by
the Chairman of Committee 6 for also possible reconciliation and
harmonisation of our comment.
In an earlier document, already approved, I call attention,
Mr. Chairman, to Item 6 of Annex 2 of this document, measures
for reducing expenditures which reads: "Prioritize staff
redeployment for the implementation of new or additional
activities." And the second sentence is very important. "New
hiring should be the last option while taking into account
gender balance and geographical distribution."
Mr. Chairman, in relation to this item 5, may I call
attention to document DT/26-E entitled empowerment of youth
through telecommunications and telecommunication technology.
This document, DT/26-E was much praised and in fact applauded on
the floor when this was approved. Now, in connection with Item
6 of Annex 2 of the current document we should kindly read
document DT/26-E, resolves" 4, 6, and 9 of that document which I
would read: "To accord high priority to the incorporation of
young professionals in the human resources in operations of
ITU."
Six, "to maintain a youth perspective in implementation of
the ITU Strategic Plan and financial plan for 2016-2019 as well
as in the operational plans of the Bureaux and the general
Secretariat number nine and all activities foreseen in this
Resolution should fall within the existing financial resources
of the Union."
Mr. Chairman, my understanding of item 7 of Annex 2 is that
currently the ITU is replacing or retiring some old employees,
and they are being replaced by new hires or new young employees
for some valid reasons which need not be discussed on the floor,
one of which is the fact that by this process there are savings
in fact realized.
Given this, therefore, Your Honor, there seems to be a
contradiction between item 7 of Annex 2 and "resolves" 4, 6, and
9 of document DT/26-E. May I thus request kindly the editorial
and Chairman of Committee 6 to kindly to the extent possible
reconcile and harmonise this apparently contradicting documents.
Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Philippines. I hope that the
Chairman of Committee 6 will address this issue with the
Philippines when you have meetings with the interested parties
for other parts of in document. Australia, you have the floor.
>> AUSTRALIA: Thank you, Chairman. Just to note that I
think in discussions about this issue and Annex 2, there was a
number of considerations that related to different provisions
for age-related staff. That caused quite a bit of debate
because we needed to be very careful that we weren't going into
the territory of age-related discrimination.
So yes, Chairman, we will take that on board, but we will
need to balance that quite carefully because we wouldn't want to
be seen to be discriminating against older persons. Thank you,
Chair.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Chairman of Committee 6.
Actually, what I'm asking to the Plenary is just raising the
points if you have any problems. I don't want to turn this
Plenary into a Drafting Group. We do not have that kind of
structure with this group. Because the Chairman of Committee 6
will meet all interested parties. If you have concerns
regarding the matters currently raised by other colleagues,
please raise your concern and raise those matters with the
Chairman of Committee 6 after this morning's Plenary.
But if you have any other issues you want to raise and to
be involved in that small meeting, please raise that in this
Plenary. So the Chairman of Committee 6 could be ready to
discuss that matter, together with matters already raised by
other colleagues. Jamaica, you have the floor.
>> JAMAICA: Thank you, Chair. With respect to Annex 2,
measure 9, clarification is being sought on what is meant by
reduce the cost of documentation of conferences. I'm wondering
if what is meant is reduce the cost of the production of
documents for conferences.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Jamaica. I think that issue could
also be addressed when you have a small group meeting with the
Chairman of Committee 6.
Mali, you have the floor.
>> MALI: Thank you, Chairman. Still on page 6 of the
document, we would comment on 6, paragraph 6. We are not
speaking only on the form but rather the substance of the
paragraph. As the Distinguished Delegate of the Philippines has
said, we share his concerns about the drafting of this. We
would draw the attention of the Assembly to this concern. While
there can be no discrimination against the older people, nor
should there be any discrimination against the young. Within
the ITU we have always insisted that competence, still are most
important. And in the current language, it appears that there
seem to be obstacles to the hiring of people outside the Union,
particularly young people. And this is of grave concern to us.
Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mali. Gabon, you have the floor.
>> GABON: Thank you, Chairman, and good morning. I'm not
going to waste your time, but because of the importance of the
issue raised by the Philippines and Mali, I would like to add my
voice to the expression of concern as to the hiring of young
people, since throughout this conference we have heard support
for young people and I would join my voice to that of my
colleagues from Mali and the Philippines. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Gabon. We are currently at page
number 6. If you have concerns on page number 6 you can raise
your concern here. If you have concerns on other pages, please
raise them when we move to those pages.
Iran, you have the floor.
>> ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN: Thank you, Chairman. We do
not have any concerns with the document as submitted. First, we
would like to strongly support the Chair that we should not
convert this august Assembly to a Drafting Group. First point.
Second, we suggest, Mr. Chairman, you go through this
document to the Annex which is the most important element of the
conference decision. Take comments and then I don't believe
that is a matter only for the Chairman of Committee 6. It is a
matter of everybody. If you want to discuss those issues that
colleagues have comments, there should be some sort of ad hoc
arrangement, people getting together no doubt under the
leadership of the Committee 6 Chairman and discuss the matter.
It is not an issue between individual membership and others. It
is a matter of substance and principle. These are the important
measures to have stability to the financial situations of the
Union. And we should be taking that very seriously.
So I suggest, Chairman, if you kindly agree, you take all
of the comments. If those comments cannot be resolved
immediately at this Plenary, you task it kindly, if possible, if
everybody agrees, no doubt, to another group to deal with the
matter which involves all interested parties but not a few
people, Chairman. This is important issues. They are linked
together, Chairman. The reference to Document 26, 27, that is
context entirely different, Chairman. We should not mix up the
matter. It is a matter of ad hocs to be discussed if yourself
agree, Chairman, and other Distinguished Delegates agree. If
you agree, no problem.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Iran. I was going to propose that
if we finish early this morning we can have a full meeting of
Committee 6 in this room with interpretation. Let's see how
this Plenary goes. If we can finish enough early to accommodate
another meeting of Committee 6 in this morning, I would like to
propose to have a Committee 6 meeting just followed by this
Plenary.
So everybody can provide their views and ideas on this
important matter. Okay?
Now, Guyana, you have the floor.
>> GUYANA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We just wish to state
also that balance needs to be achieved in terms of employment of
young people and, of course, we need to introduce new energy
into the Union. But we also need to balance it with benefiting
from the experience of the mature staff. So we wish to voice
that we need to have a balance between young people. We need to
give opportunity to the youngsters. But we also need to achieve
the balance with the young and mature staff in terms of their
experience. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Guyana, for your contribution. So
let me reiterate again. We will send this document back to
Committee 6. The Plenary will consider this document when it
comes back to here, not as a pink document but as a blue
document. You will have enough time to provide your input
through Committee 6 on this matter.
What I just want to do at this moment is to identify what
were the issues that should be discussed in Com 6 again. We
will not reserve any matter at -- resolve any matter at this
Plenary. Let's be clear. Saudi Arabia, you have the floor.
>> SAUDI ARABIA: Thank you, Chairman. Perhaps rather than
appealing to Com 6 which has already done its work very well,
perhaps we could set up a small group which could report back to
Plenary. Com 6 has finished its work.
Perhaps the Chairman of Com 6 could chair an Ad Hoc Group
which you would stab hear.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Saudi Arabia, I know that Com 6
has finished its work. What I'm interested in knowing is if you
would, this Com 6 could be as big as Ad Hoc Group. It could
provide everybody views and ideas. I leave that to the hands of
the Chairman of Committee 6 so she could handle this one. So
there will be a meeting on this issue, on this Decision 5 after
this Plenary in this room. Whether that will be a form of
Committee 6 or ad hoc, that is not the great concern. The great
concern here is how we can address issues raised by many Member
States. We have many issues that should be addressed through
Com 6 or Ad Hoc Group. If you give some kind of freedom to me,
I'll consult with the Com 6 Chair so we can decide the format of
that meeting. Thank you very much.
We need two more pages to cover this document. Page 7, any
comments?
Thank you. Page number 8? Chad, you have the floor.
>> CHAD: Thank you, Chairman. And good morning. I speak
to paragraph 12 in Annex 2, discussion of savings in languages.
We have asked that there be interpretation and translation into
all six official languages of the U.N. The "considering
savings" does seem to run counter to the decision of the
advisory group at its last meeting.
On paragraph 6 on the same page, there does seem to be a
missing word in the French version of the document. Reference
of regional evaluation of Regional Groups, Study Groups in
regarding to whether their competencies are duplicated or
overlap with existing Working Groups. And my question is this,
as to what existing Working Groups are we referring to. I think
this should be clarified.
>> CHAIRMAN: Okay. Thank you, Chad. I think regarding
16, I think that issue should be addressed in the following
meeting. But regarding your point on 16, I would like to invite
the Chairman of Committee 6, what would be the real meaning of
these Working Groups. Chair of Committee 6, you have the floor.
>> AUSTRALIA: Chairman, I think with 16, the aim was just
to ensure where there are regional groupings, there are sort of
only a few, as I understand; that the work they are doing
regionally doesn't overlap with the work that is going on in the
main Study Group. For example, I think there's a regional
grouping for Study Group 3 and the work that is done there does
not overlap with the work of the main Study Group three. That
was the intention there.
With item 12 about savings in languages, that was a look at
more innovative ways of doing the translation. I think an
example there was the work that had been done in the TSB in
terms of contracting out some of the interpretation work and the
translation work. Very much it was not to in any way lessen the
quality, but to look at ways in which savings could be made
while keeping the same level of quality. Thank you, Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Chair of Committee 6. Chad, if
you have any more concerns related to this number 12 and number
16, that could be discussed in the follow-up meeting. At the
same time, the point you raised about the French translation,
that could be addressed in the Editorial Committee.
Brazil, you have the floor.
>> BRAZIL: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning,
everyone. I would like to make a general comment on all the
proposals that are being made here to Annex 2 to Decision 5. We
have to really take into account that these measures were
carefully studied by the Secretariat, Mr. Ba, and they were
taken into consideration in elaborating Annex 1 to this Decision
5 which is the balanced financial plan.
It was very hard to reach a balanced financial plan, but we
did. And it includes 13 million francs in savings. Most of
those savings are related to this careful Annex 2 to Decision 5.
In here we are discussing changing essential elements of this
Annex 2.
If we were to change the text on hiring, for example,
perhaps it would demand redraft of the financial plan and I
think we should really avoid that.
Regarding translation, it takes up almost 10 percent of the
ITU budget. If we are considering the four years, it's almost
60 million francs. We have to be very careful with how we
change this text. We don't want to make Mr. Ba redraft the
financial plan. Thank you very much.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Brazil. Swiss, you have the
floor.
>> SWITZERLAND: Thank you, Chairman. Good morning. Mr.
Chairman, I simply wish to draw the attention of Plenary to
paragraph 12 of Annex 2. There seems to be a difference between
the English and French versions because in French it refers to
"possible savings" whereas that notion of "possible" does not
appear in the English version.
I think that needs to be looked at by the Ad Hoc Group
which will be looking at this document. And I would like to
refer too to the language issue which has been raised a number
of times. There are possible savings, certainly, in language
and translation and interpretation, but these savings should be
done in proportion to savings made in other areas to ensure that
there are no greater sacrifices in the area of languages as in
other areas. I don't think it would be a good thing to
sacrifice translation and interpretation even though the cost
may be very high for these services, but certainly they should
not be discriminated against.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Switzerland. I think we certainly
do not wish to redraft the financial plan, but at the same time
I believe that the concerns raised in this Plenary Meeting
regarding this Decision 5 could be also addressed in the
Committee 6 or Ad Hoc Group meeting.
I do believe that under the leadership of the Chairman of
Committee 6 we could take care of the concerns raised by Member
States on this important Decision 5. At the same time that
should not make unintended consequences on the essence of our
financial plan which actually we put a lot of efforts and time
to meet that balance.
With that understanding, let me just summarize the issues
raised on this Decision 5 first before sending it back to
Committee 6.
Russia made a proposal which actually said that Council
2017 is invited to fix at its ordinary session the provisional
amount of the contributory unit and Member States are invited to
notify the Secretary-General of their intended commitment of the
number of their contributory units as soon as possible, and
preferably before the end of December 2017.
There were many supports on this Russian proposal. But at
the same time there were countries which actually raised that
this might need to be a little bit modified, or where it should
be included in Decision 5. That issue should be addressed in
Committee 6 or the Ad Hoc Group.
Then there was a concern raised regarding this page number
3 under the "instructs the Secretary-General and the Directors
of the Bureaux." There was a view of Mali to delete number 2.
There were different views from other Member States. So that
should be addressed in the meeting.
And there were issues raised regarding Annex 2, number 6,
number 9, number 12 and number 16. So those issues raised by
Member States would be discussed in Committee 6 or Ad Hoc Group
after this Plenary Meeting. I will send this document back to
Committee 6. Committee 6 is still existing because we have not
actually approved the Committee 6 report yet. I will send it
back to Committee 6.
Now we will move to the next document, which is Resolution
162, independent management advisory Committee. We are taking
up page number 9. Any comments on number 9? Thank you.
Page 10? Approved.
Page number 11? Approved.
Page number 12? Approved.
Page number 13?
UAE, you have the floor.
>> UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Good morning. Chairman, I do
have a general observation to make. Perhaps you could include
this in your final report. The recommendations submitted by
this Committee should be clear. We want a clear recommendation
which explains the financial consequences.
I also think we need to have a deadline, a date at which
the recommendations should be implemented, recommendations were
made, they were adopted by Council. But since the
recommendations were not detailed, nothing was actually done.
The documents were approved and instead of having members
of Council asking what had been done, how they were implemented,
in fact nobody asked any questions at all. So it must be made
quite clear when these recommendations are to be implemented and
explain why recommendations are made to Council. Is there a
financial impact? And especially we must establish a date at
which the recommendations should be implemented.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, UAE, for your contribution.
Certainly that could be included in my report, Chairman's
report. Thank you.
And we are sometime at page number 13. Any comments?
Thank you, approved.
Page number 14? Approved.
Page number 15? Approved.
Page number 16? Approved.
Page number 17? Approved.
Page number 18? Approved.
Page number 19? Approved.
Page number 20? Approved. Thank you very much.
Now, we just approved Resolution 162. Now, I would like to
ask you to regard this Resolution 162 as pink document. So I
would like to submit this Resolution 162 for your second
reading. Any comments on this Resolution 162?
Resolution 162 is approved on the second reading.
(Gavel.)
>> CHAIRMAN: So regarding this Document 160-E, we will
send Decision 5 back to Committee 6 to consider it and consider
the comments, and we approved the Resolution 162 on our second
reading. Thank you very much.
I would like to invite the Chairman of Committee 4 again to
introduce the Tenth Series of Texts. Dr. Hoballah, you have the
floor.
>> COMMITTEE 4 CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr.
Chairman, it is my pleasure now to present to you on behalf of
Committee 4 blue Document 10 or Document 158, the Tenth Series
of Texts submitted by Committee 4 to the Plenary. Document 158
contains Resolutions 146 and 177, and new Resolution Com 5/4
submitted by Com 5 to Com 4.
I submit Document 158 to you, Mr. Chairman, for first
reading. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Dr. Hoballah. Now, we will go
through this document 158-E, Tenth Series of Texts submitted by
Committee 4. We will go through it page-by-page. Page number
1, Resolution 146, periodic review and revision of the
international telecommunications regulations.
Saudi Arabia, you have the floor.
>> SAUDI ARABIA: Thank you, Chairman. On the first page,
the second paragraph, under "instructs the Secretary-General,"
when the report is submitted, we must specify that it was the
12th session. As I was saying, in this paragraph, Chairman. It
is stated that the report of the Experts Group of 2018 to
Council, paragraph 2, as you undoubtedly know, Council in fact
will be held before the Plenipotentiary Conference 2018.
Therefore, there would be insufficient time for Member
States to examine the report of the experts group. Therefore,
we will not be in a position to make any decisions at
Plenipotentiary 2018. Consequently, I believe that it would be
advisable to submit this report in 2017.
Thus Member States will have had enough time to consider
the report of the experts group and make a timely decision.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Saudi Arabia. I would like to
invite the Chairman of Committee 5 to address the issues raised
by Saudi Arabia. Dr. Riehl, you have the floor. Switzerland,
you have the floor.
>> SWITZERLAND: Thank you, Chairman. As I have
understood, I do understand the point made by our colleague by
Saudi Arabia. However, I would draw your attention to resolves
2 that the review process of the ITRs shall commence in 2017,
preferably at the beginning of the year. If the review process
is only going to be initiated at the beginning of 2017, would
that report be ready by Council of that same year?
Consequently, under "instructs the Secretary-General," paragraph
2, we propose that the report be submitted to Council in 2018 in
order to ensure that the Expert Group has enough time to prepare
their report. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you. Thank you for your response.
Saudi Arabia would understand why this report should be
submitted to the 2018 Council session. Thank you.
Any other comments on page number 1? Thank you, approved.
Page number 2? Approved.
We just approved Resolution 146 on its first reading. Now
we are on page number 3, Resolution 177, conformance and
interoperability. Any comments on page number 3?
It is approved.
Page number 4? Approved. Page number 5? Approved.
Page number 6 -- Saudi Arabia, you have the floor.
>> SAUDI ARABIA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning to
you all. We have an observation on that page 6, paragraph 2,
where it invites Member States. We should like to adopt once
again the text approved in Guadalajara 2010 relating to the
interoperability. The paragraph should then read as follows:
"To invite Member States to invite the membership to take part
in the events related to the interoperability organized by the
ITU and we continue further with the references made to
conformity and interoperability." Thank you, Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Saudi Arabia. Thank you for your
comments. Let me invite the Chairman of Committee 5 to address
this concern raised by Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Riehl, you have the floor.
>> SWITZERLAND: Thank you, sir.
The point made by our colleague from Saudi Arabia and his
proposal for added text seemed to me legitimate. I think that
actually it gives us extra clarity to show that it's not just
inviting people to join the study but also to join in the events
organized by the ITU. I think this is very much in tune with
the work we did in Committee 5. So we can certainly accept this
proposal, sir. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you. Thank you, Chairman of Committee
5. I would like to invite Saudi Arabia again. Could you read
the text with dictation speed again? Yes, so we can reflect
that into this Resolution. Yes, Saudi Arabia, you have the
floor.
>> SAUDI ARABIA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will read it
in English. The section "invites membership" number 2: "to
participate in ITU facilitated interoperability event and in the
work of ITU's Study Groups related to conformity and
interoperability issues."
Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you. So the revised text would be,
this is under "invites the membership," paragraph number 2.
This is the first part of page number 6: "To participate in ITU
facilitated interoperability events and in the work of the ITU
Study Groups related to conformity and interoperability issues."
Okay, thank you.
So I would like to submit this page number 6 again for your
approval with the revision made, proposed revision made by Saudi
Arabia. Are there any comments?
Thank you. It is approved.
Now we just approved Resolution 177 with the modification
on paragraph number 2 under "invites the membership" which I
just read. With that understanding, we just approved this
Resolution 177.
Now we are at page number 7, Resolution Com 5/4, combating
counterfeit telecommunications/information technology devices.
Any comments on page 7? U.K., you have the floor.
>> UNITED KINGDOM: Thank you, Chair. The U.K. has
concerns about the inclusion of the new recognizing E. We have
not seen this drafting before. We are not clear how it came to
be in this Resolution in this form. Recommendation X1255 has
only recently been agreed by the ITU. We believe that it is too
early to fully understand the implications of including this
recommendations within this Resolution. We therefore prefer
that the new recognizing E was removed. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, U.K. Let me invite Chairman of
Committee 5 again to address the concerns raised by the U.K.
regarding this "recognizing" E. Switzerland, you have the
floor.
>> SWITZERLAND: Thank you, sir. In Committee 5, we had
discussions and we actually should be reading current E with F,
because in paragraph F we talk in the second part of the
international mobile equipment identity, and it would be
desirable that we should talk about ITU-T X1255 here, which was
adopted with by acclamation. That should be here because it was
a decision taken in Committee 5 that we should add this E
together with F; that the two go together.
Thank you, sir.
>> CHAIRMAN: So U.K., do you think your concerns are
addressed by the response made by the Chairman of Committee 5?
U.K., you have the floor.
>> UNITED KINGDOM: Thank you, Chair. With your permission
we just would like to take a few moments to discuss this with
the Chair of Committee 5 and make sure our understanding is
correct. If you are content, well even come back to you after
we've done that.
>> CHAIRMAN: Of course. So while you are doing that
consultation with the Chair of Committee 5, I would like to give
the floor to Iran. Iran, you have the floor.
>> ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We
have no difficulty if colleagues agree with each other whether
or not we refer to recommendation. However, from procedural
point of view, Plenipotentiary Conference is not in a position
to recognize recommendations. Recommendations are
recommendations. They are optional applications.
Recommendations by Plenipot give a different nature of the
recommendations of the ITU, whether it is ITU-T or ITU-R. It
could be referred in the calling or considering or something
else, but not the recognition, Chairman. Recommendation has
optional character, and this optional character needs to be
maintained as it is stated in the Convention of the ITU.
So we have no problem with the substance of the proposal,
but with the form. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Iran, for your observation.
Sweden, you have the floor.
>> SWEDEN: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning. We share
the concern expressed by the United Kingdom and also share the
views of Iran. We think maybe there is a need for further
discussion on this issue. We believe that it may not be
appropriate to have a direct reference to a recommendation that
may be changed later on in a document from the Plenipotentiary
Conference.
So maybe there are ways to solve this problem, but we
prefer that this would be discussed outside the meeting and
there is a possibility to come back later on. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Sweden. Saudi Arabia, you have
the floor.
>> SAUDI ARABIA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I should like
to clarify that this Draft Resolution was discussed at length in
Com 5. And the text we have in front of us now is a consensual
text. Therefore, we should like to maintain this paragraph. I
should also like to recall that many Resolutions make reference
to a number of recommendations.
Thank you, Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Saudi Arabia. U.S., you have the
floor.
>> UNITED STATES: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. We
share the concerns expressed by the United Kingdom, Sweden, and
others. And the wise advice of Mr. Arasteh that we not be
prescriptive in this Resolution and refer to a specific ITU-T
recommendation. This is a brand new Resolution on a subject
that has not been treated by the Plenipotentiary Conference
before. We would prefer to delete "recognizing" E. Thank you,
Mr. Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, U.S. UAE, please.
>> UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Thank you very much, Chairman.
As far as E is concerned, under "recognizing" we should like
that this recommendation be mentioned in this Resolution. It
may also be placed under "recalling" instead of "recognizing" if
all parties agree.
However, we prefer to keep this recommendation in this
Resolution. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, UAE. So actually, it came to the
Plenary as a clean document. So we should understand the kind
of situation, but at the same time there are a few countries
which have raised their concerns on this issue. So at this
point I think it would be better that we have to consult on this
matter with interested parties. I ask the Chair of Committee 5
to discuss this matter with all interested parties, with small
group and submit this document again to the Plenary. We already
sent one document back to Committee 6, so we have plenty of
time, by the way.
So I would like to send this document back to Committee 5.
So please, consult with all interested parties and submit this
document again to the Plenary when you female comfortable with
the "recognizing" E, whether it should be here or "recalling."
Please consider this matter with all interested parties.
Thank you. So UAE, you have the floor.
>> UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Thank you, Chairman. I should
like to clarify the matter, Mr. Chairman. If this document is
sent back to the small group, the discussion will be exclusive
to this point only? Or the whole Resolution? Because if we
open the door to the discussion of the Resolution, we may
suggest other proposals. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Apparently my intention is just this point
only. This document came to the Plenary as a clean document. I
think it would not be desirable to open discussion for the whole
document.
So my intention is to discuss this issue which is related
with the "recognizing" E and resolve this issue with a small
group and come back to the Plenary again.
By the way, I have not finished this document yet. Let me
go through this one. If you have any other points you want to
raise before it will be sent back to Committee 5, the small
group could address this issue raised by the U.K. and many other
countries.
Page number 8, any comments on page number 8?
Thank you.
Page number 9? Thank you.
So I would like to ask the Chair of Committee 5 to meet
with concerned parties to address the concerns raised by the
U.K. and a few other countries and come back to the Plenary on
this matter.
So we just approved Resolution 146 and Resolution 177. So
Resolution 177 we made a modification proposed by Saudi Arabia.
With that understanding, I would like to submit this Resolution
146 and 177 for your second reading. So are there any comments
on this Resolution 146 and 177?
Thank you. Resolution 146 and 177 are approved on the
second reading.
(Gavel.)
>> CHAIRMAN: I would like to ask again to the Chair of
Committee 5 to come back to the Plenary after meeting with the
concerned parties on this Resolution Com 5/4.
Now I would like to invite once again the Chairman of
Committee 4 to introduce the 11th Series of Texts, Mr. Hoballah?
>> COMMITTEE 4 CHAIRMAN: Thanks again, Mr. Chairman. On
behalf of the Editorial Committee it is my pleasure to present
to you for first reading blue document 11, or document 159. The
11th Series of Texts submitted by the Editorial Committee to the
Plenary Meeting.
Document 159 includes Resolutions submitted by the Working
Group of the Plenary and Com 6. Mr. Chairman, I submit Document
159 to you for first reading. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Chairman of Committee 4.
Now we will go through this Document 159 page-by-page for
your approval on your first reading.
Page number 1, Resolution 64, nondiscriminatory access to
modern telecommunications information and telecommunication
technology facilities, services, and applications, including
applied research and transfer of technology and eMeetings on
mutually agreed terms.
Any comments?
Approved.
Page number 2, approved.
Page number 3? Approved.
Page number 4? Approved.
We just approved Resolution 64. We are now on page number
5, Resolution 130. Strengthening the role of ITU in building
confidence and security in the use of information and
communication technologies. Any comments on page number 5?
Approved.
Page number 6? Approved.
Page number 7? Approved.
Page number 8? Approved.
Page number 9? Approved.
Page number 10? Approved.
Page number 11? Approved.
Page number 12? Approved.
Page number 13? Approved.
Page number 14? Approved.
We just approved Resolution 130.
Now we are on page number 15, Resolution 140. Indonesia,
you have the floor.
>> INDONESIA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Indonesia would
like to extend our gratitude to the Chairmen of the Working
Group of the Plenary and the Ad Hoc Group for their excellent
and hard work to accomplish this challenging task under their
chairmanship as we come to the end. Indonesia is of the view
that good and fruitful comments were expressed, and should be
considered by all stakeholders in order to take the attention
from them. Online virtual communication offers social and
economic benefit. Further, collaboration among
multistakeholders for national and multilateral cooperation we
also echo the positive impact of the Internet.
We support the modification of this Resolution for its
implementation. Thank you, Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Indonesia. I do believe that you
spoke for all Member States. Actually, the Chairman of this Ad
Hoc Group, Jefferson Nacif has done an excellent job and the
leadership of Bahrain as the Chairman of the Working Group of
the Plenary was actually amazing. Once again, congratulations,
both of you. Thank you very much.
(Applause.)
>> CHAIRMAN: Russia, you have the floor.
>> RUSSIAN FEDERATION: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. May we
add our voice to the congratulations to the Chair of the Working
Group of the Plenary and the Ad Hoc Group? My comment is to
Resolution 140 and page 15. The point is that we approved this
Resolution at the Working Group of the Plenary before we
approved the Resolution on Connect 2020. So I think in
Resolution 140 we should make reference to the 2020. It would
be in the two first points, page 15, under "recalling." We
would have a new subparagraph E. I'll read it in English.
Recalling E, Resolution WGPL/9 (Busan 2014.) of this
conference, on Connect 2020 Agenda for global
telecommunication/ICT development.
This is a proposal for page 15, sir. I can give you
another proposal for page 16, or would you prefer to stay on 15
for the moment? Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Russia. In fact, I was not on
page 15 yet. But you are always one step ahead of everybody.
So I could not complain on that. So let me read this one again.
So Dr. Minkin just proposed to add E under "recalling,"
Resolution WGPL/9 with an open brackets, (Busan, 2014.), of this
conference on Connect 2020 Agenda for global
telecommunication/ICT development.
I think I should invite the Chairman of Working Group of
the Plenary to give his views on this proposal made by Dr.
Minkin. Bahrain, you have the floor.
>> BAHRAIN: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Professor
Minkin of the Russian Federation is correct that at the time of
approving Resolution 140 we had not even presented let alone
approved the new Resolution on the Connect 2020 Agenda. As this
is a simple Resolution -- as this is a simple "recalling" of a
Resolution, I do not anticipate any issues with accepting it.
Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Bahrain. Are there any comments
on this page with the addition of the "recalling" E which was
just proposed by Dr. Minkin? Any comments?
Korea, you have the floor.
>> REPUBLIC OF KOREA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So Korea
is very happy to support the suggestion for the "recalling" E.
With the Connect 2020 Agenda which was just adopted yesterday
under the name of Resolution Working Group of the Plenary/9. We
in Korea do support entirely Russia's suggestion. Thank you,
Mr. Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Korea. Iran, you have the floor.
>> ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. No
problem at all. Only thing, when we refer to Busan, we don't
have to say "this conference." Busan is this conference.
Delete that phrase of this conference.
>> CHAIRMAN: Yes, of course. UAE, please.
>> UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Thank you very much, Chairman. I
approve the addition by Professor Minkin from the Russian
Federation. I should also thank him personally for the role he
played in steering the Working Group of WSIS. I do have a
clarification, Mr. Chairman. Recalling D, Resolution 172. This
issue will be discussed since this Resolution was deleted after
being combined with Resolution 140. Therefore, should we keep
and maintain D? Or it should be deleted? It's a procedural
point.
It is left to your decision. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you. I will address your point after
listening to Uganda, followed by Greece. Uganda, you have the
floor.
>> UGANDA: Thank you, Chair. Uganda would also support
Russia's proposal to include reference to Connect 2020 Agenda in
the "recalling." thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Uganda. Greece, you have the
floor.
>> GREECE: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We also agree with
the addition made by the Russian Federation regarding
"recalling" E, let's say Connect 2020 Agenda. Thank you very
much.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Greece.
Now, I would like to invite our Legal Adviser, the
Secretariat to address the concern raised by UAE on this
recalling D. Secretariat?
I think the Secretariat's view is, it is still valid to
maintain this Resolution D, but we do not have a Legal Adviser
here. I would like to hear from Dr. Minkin. He is the Chair of
this group. Dr. Minkin, could you provide your view on this
concern raised by the UAE regarding "recalling" D?
Russia, you have the floor.
>> RUSSIAN FEDERATION: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr.
Chairman, in this section "recalling" we are giving a reflection
of those Resolutions which were the basis for further work. For
instance, Resolution 73, right back to Minneapolis this
Resolution is also no longer extant. So this is perfectly
normal practice that we make reference to those key Resolutions
which were the basis for our further activity. For instance,
Resolution 172 which my colleague so rightly mentioned, was the
basis for the holding of the high level event, the WSIS+10. And
that's why we would leave it here as a reminder of what text was
the basis for that activity. In spite of the fact that we
supported the proposal that Resolution 172 had done its job and
that therefore it wasn't needed as a separate Resolution. We
decided, because we decided that all that was necessary to deal
with had been dealt with in Resolution 140. So I don't see any
problems in retaining this mention of Resolution 172.
Thank you, sir.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Dr. Minkin. UAE, I think Dr.
Minkin has just addressed your concern? Okay, thank you.
Yes, Iran, you have the floor.
>> ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN: I thank you, Chairman. The
point is covered. We don't have any need for the floor. It is
retained and harmless, thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Iran. With the addition of
"recalling" E which is proposed by Dr. Minkin, we just approved
page number 15.
Now we are on page number 16. Dr. Minkin, you need the
floor? Yes, Russia, you have the floor.
>> RUSSIAN FEDERATION: Thank you, sir. Our last addition
to Resolution 140 would be under "considering" between G and H.
We would add a new paragraph: There Resolution WGPL/9, Busan,
2014 in brackets.
As an inside tomorrow, we use the wording "of this
conference" I don't insist on this. In any case, the main item
is "endorsed, Resolution endorsed Connect 2020 Agenda global
telecommunication/ICT goals and targets."
Again, that the Resolution WGPL/9 Busan 2014 endorsed
Connect 2020: Global telecommunication/ICT goals and targets."
Concerning of this conference, that is for editorial, thank
you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Dr. Minkin. So it should be part
of G, is that right? Russia, is it part of "considering" G?
>> RUSSIAN FEDERATION: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. No, it
would be a new paragraph between G and H. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you. So it will be a new G, which
actually makes the changes just under H, I, J, that would be
editorial changes.
But as suggested by Dr., the suggestion by Dr. Minkin is to
include new H, the Resolution WGPL/9 (Busan 2014) of this
conference -- I don't think we need of this conference.
Endorsed Connect 2020 telecommunication/ICT goals and targets.
I would again like to invite the Chair of Working Group of
the Plenary to give his view on this. Bahrain, you have the
floor.
>> BAHRAIN: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. The
reference here is to the Annex of the new Resolution on Connect
2020. The same argument applies that this Resolution had not
been submitted let alone reviewed and approved by the time we
approved 140.
As this is a factual reference, I do not see any issue with
its adoption. And with regard to the editorial change for
future proofing, we would probably be saying "of the
Plenipotentiary Conference" but this is an editorial matter
which Committee 4 can address.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Bahrain. So let me read this
again. So this will be a new H, and following H, I, J, should
be changed based on this if we approve this new H.
That the Resolution WGPL/9 (Busan, 2014) of the
Plenipotentiary Conference endorsed Connect 2020 global
telecommunication/ICT goals and targets."
With that addition, can we approve this page, page number
16? Any comments?
Thank you. It's approved.
Page number 17. Approved.
Page number 18? Approved.
Page number 19? Approved.
Page number 20? Approved.
Page number 21? Approved.
Page number 22? Approved.
Page number 23? Approved.
Page number 24? Approved.
So now we just approved Resolution 140 with two
modifications proposed by Dr. Minkin. We will make necessary
editorial changes in order to reflect the changes in the text.
So we just approved Resolution number 140.
Now we are on page number 25, Resolution 150, approval of
the accounts of the Union for the years 2010 to 2013. Any
comments?
Approved. Thank you.
Now we are on page number 26, Resolution 179, ITU's role in
child online protection. Any comments? Approved.
Twenty-seven? Approved.
Twenty-eight? Approved.
Twenty-nine? Approved.
Thirty? Approved.
Thirty-one? Approved. Thirty-two? Approved.
We just approved Resolution 179.
Now we are on page 33, Resolution 182. The role of
telecommunications information and communication technologies in
regard to climate change and the protection of the environment.
Any comments? Approved.
Thirty-four? Approved.
Thirty-five? Approved.
Thirty-six? Approved.
Thirty-seven? Approved.
Thirty-eight? Approved.
Thirty-nine? Approved.
Forty? Approved.
Forty-one? Approved.
Forty-two? Approved.
Thank you very much.
We just approved Resolution 182.
Now we are on page number 43, Resolution WGPL/7 using
information and communication technologies to break the chain of
health related emergencies such as Ebola virus transmission.
Any comments on page 43? Approved.
Page number 44? Approved.
Page number 45? Saudi Arabia, you have the floor.
>> SAUDI ARABIA: Thank you, Chairman. This is a
Resolution, Mr. Chairman. Therefore, perhaps we could add
"resolves" before getting to page 45.
Because everything after that, I think we should have the
"resolves" before.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Saudi Arabia. Yes, we do not have
any "resolves" but I would like to listen to the view of the
Chair of the Working Group of the Plenary to address the points
raised by our esteemed colleague of Saudi Arabia. Bahrain, you
have the floor.
>> BAHRAIN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes indeed, this
section does not have a resolves section which could look
unusual. But my understanding is that this is not strictly
required. We could also resolve to instruct. As this had not
been raised or discussed in our session of the Working Group of
the Plenary, I would not imagine that this is a major obstacle.
I would suggest that we adopt it as is. Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Bahrain. Would that be acceptable
to Saudi? Saudi Arabia, you have the floor.
>> SAUDI ARABIA: Chairman, I don't insist. However, it is
usual for there to be a "resolves" in a Resolution. If it is
not absolutely required, I won't insist.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you. Thank you for your understanding.
So we just approved this important Resolution, WGPL/7 -oh, we have some countries which want the floor. So Guyana, you
have the floor.
>> GUYANA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I'm sorry to go
back to page 39 for Resolution 182 pertaining to "instructs the
Directors of the three Bureaux." The last bullet reads, "To
enable telecommunications/ICTs to contribute to disaster
prediction, mitigation and relief."
Is it possible for us to include early warning there as
well? Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Guyana, could you repeat that again? This
part.
>> GUYANA: Sorry, page 39, under "instructs the Directors
of the three Bureaux," the last bullet reads: "To enable
telecommunications, ICTs to encourage" -- sorry, "to contribute
to disaster prediction, mitigation and relief."
We are asking if it is possible to include early warning in
that string there as well. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Guyana. Let me invite the Chair
of the Working Group of the Plenary again to get his view on
Guyana's comments on page number 39 under "instructs the
Directors of the three Bureaux within the purview of their
mandates."
Bahrain, you have the floor.
>> BAHRAIN: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. This
comment had not been brought up in the Working Group of the
Plenary. However, the suggestion seems to be in line with the
intention in the related Resolutions. I could therefore suggest
that we adopt it, if there is no objection. Thank you,
Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Bahrain. We actually already
approved this document 182, but I would not ask you to look at
this as a pink document, but I need your endorsement and your
consent to include this new addition.
So it will be when you look at under "instructs the
Directors of the three Bureaux within their mandate," the last
part, "to enable telecommunications/ICTs to contribute to
disaster prediction, mitigation, relief, and early warning on
natural disasters."
So would that be acceptable to the Union?
Iran, you have the floor.
>> ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN: Thank you, Chairman. No
difficulty with the proposal made, but as you mentioned, this
document is approved on the blue. It should be introduced at
the level of pink when you request that. This is a procedural
matter. If we approved the document, you come back, that means
we have to come back to all documents.
It is better you take it, but wait until you come to the
pink and Distinguished Delegate's proposal, we have no problem
with that.
Now, I ask with respect to another issue. The
Distinguished Delegate of Saudi Arabia raised an important
point. A Resolution must have a resolves. Chairman, let us not
put a precedent in ITU that there is a Resolution without a
resolves. Sometimes before we have a Resolution without
preamble. It is not good, Chairman. So the Distinguished
Delegate Saudi Arabia as a doyen, as a pillar of all meetings of
the ITU has a matter of all rights and it is pertinent to add
"resolves," Chairman. Please add "resolves" before "instructs."
It is essential to avoid any precedent in the future that we
have "resolves," Resolution without "resolves." Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Iran. First things first.
Regarding this Resolution 182 and the kind of proposal made by
our colleague from Guyana, I will come back again and ask your
approval again on this matter when we look at this document as a
pink document. So on our second reading I will request your
approval with the addition of the proposal made by Guyana.
And regarding this Resolution Working Group of the
Plenary/7, before addressing the point made by our colleague
from Iran, I want to give the floor to Nigeria, followed by
Bahrain. After listening to their views, we'll come back to
your view. Nigeria, you have the floor.
>> NIGERIA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In line with what
Saudi Arabia and Iran said, Nigeria would want to add its voice
to this particular aspect. ITU is known for its excellent work.
We do not want in the future for some people to take this
document and start pointing arrows for the outcome of the
document and look at it as if people that work on this document
did not know what they were doing.
So, Mr. Chairman, if this Plenary will agree, we feel that
it will not be anything difficult for us to add the "resolves"
aspect to this particular Resolution, because every Resolution
must have a "resolves" part.
So, Mr. Chairman, we want to request that this particular
addition be accepted by this Plenary. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Nigeria. Just let me remind you
that we just approved this document. So if we want to address
this issue, "resolves" issue, we will address it when it comes
back as a pink document. But I want to listen to the views of
Bahrain followed by Lebanon. Bahrain, you have the floor.
>> BAHRAIN: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. In order
to assist us in progressing forward I can suggest some
wordsmithing which would hopefully address the concerns raised.
I believe that in other Resolutions we have use the texts
resolves to instruct. Therefore, I would suggest that we add
the words "resolves to" and then it continues "instruct the
Directors."
Sorry, to be clear it would read as follows: "Resolves to
instruct the Director of the Telecommunication Development
Bureau in coordination with the other Directors." And I would
put forward this suggestion in order to minimize the necessary
word submitting to address all concerns.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, I think Lebanon's point might be
the same view as you just mentioned, but I'll give the floor to
Lebanon. Lebanon, you have the floor.
>> LEBANON: Yes, Mr. Chair, same point. Proposal by
Bahrain is acceptable.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you. Let me clarify one thing. We are
on page number 45. So "resolves to instruct the Director of the
Telecommunications Development Bureau in coordination with the
other Directors," and under that we have the part of "instructs
the Secretary-General."
We also have a "resolves" part which is changed: "Resolves
to instruct the Secretary-General." There will be two
"resolves." That is the kind of proposal made to the Plenary.
So with that in mind, Chad, you have the floor.
>> CHAD: Thank you, Chairman. I would agree, but if it is
not awkward, we should have "resolves to instruct the SecretaryGeneral" before "inviting." "Resolves to instruct the
Directors."
So the Secretary-General should come first.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you. Thank you, Chad.
UAE, you have the floor.
>> UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Thank you, Chairman. The
previous Resolution we had said "resolves to instruct the
Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau to
coordinate with the other Directors." And then we "instruct the
Secretary-General" which is what has been done in the other
Resolutions. So "resolves to instruct the Directors."
Mr. Chairman, there are Resolutions where there are no
"resolves." Consequently, I believe we have in fact approved
other Resolutions which do not have any "resolves" section. So
I think if we add "resolves" to "instruct" we can approve.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you.
Nigeria, you want the floor again? Nigeria, you have the
floor.
>> NIGERIA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We just want to
suggest that we use just one "resolves." we just use one
"resolves" to cover all of the instructs and invites. Instead
of saying resolve to instruct the Director and then resolve to
instruct the Secretary-General. It would be a repetition. If
we use one resolve as a heading to cover all the instructs and
invites, it will solve the whole problem.
And Mr. Chairman, to my understanding I don't think we have
approved this particular Resolution yet. We are yet to approve
this Resolution.
So all these amendments can be done now before we approve
it in the blue document. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you for reminding me that we have not
approved this document yet because my brain actually betrays me
at this moment of the day.
Let me propose this, we are at page number 45. So the
heading will be resolves. And under "resolves" 1, to instruct
the Director of the Telecommunications Development Bureau in
coordination with the other Directors. 1.1 and 1.2, and then
.2, to instruct the Secretary-General, 2.1, 2.2.
And number 3, to invite the Member States and Sector
Members, 3.1, 3.2.
Would that be acceptable to the Union? Are there any
comments?
It seems that there is an agreement on this proposal. I
once again thank you to Saudi Arabia for picking up this point.
With that modification could we approve this Resolution
WGPL/7? Thank you, it is approved on its first reading.
And I once again would like to express our thanks to Sierra
Leone to propose this important Resolution to the whole Union.
Thank you very much.
Now connectivity to broadband networks. Any comments?
Canada, you have the floor.
>> CANADA: Thank you, Chairman. And good morning to you
and all colleagues. Chairman, the Member States that had
originally submitted this proposal as an Inter-American one, it
came as a document DT/40 and got further comments from other
Member States, including the Russian Federation, India, and
Zimbabwe.
The current text, Mr. Chairman, after further review and
analysis and taking into consideration the capacity building
activities and programs are essentially the purview of the BDT,
we believe that it is necessary to reverse the "resolves" so
that is properly reflected in the text.
If I may, Mr. Chairman, go to the first of the "resolves."
It should read "resolves to instruct the Director of the
Telecommunications Development Bureau to continue to work
closely with the Directors of the Radiocommunication and
Telecommunication Standardization Bureaux."
The rest of that text remains as it is. Then there is
another "resolves" which would read: "resolves to instruct the
Directors of the Radiocommunication and Telecommunication
Standardization Bureau."
The rest of the text remains the same, up to the end where
it should read: "experience and expertise with the
Telecommunication Standardization Bureau."
That would be the extent of the changes suggested, Mr.
Chairman. We believe it properly reflects the leading role of
the BDT in capacity building activities. Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Canada. So the suggested change
on this Resolution by Canada is, we will have this new resolves:
Resolves to instruct the Director of the Telecommunication
Development Bureau to work closely with the Directors of the
Radiocommunication and Telecommunications Standardization
Bureaux on capacity-building activities related to the
development of national strategies to facilitate the
development, deployment of broadband networks including wireless
broadband networks, taking into account existing budgetary
constraints of the Union.
And then "resolves to instruct the Directors of the
Radiocommunication and Telecommunication Standardization
Bureaux."
Those are the suggested changes by Canada. Now I would
like to invite the Chair of Working Group of the Plenary to get
his view on these suggested changes. Bahrain, you have the
floor.
Bahrain, you have the floor.
>> BAHRAIN: Thank you. The microphone just starts to
work.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The changes appear to be mostly
editorial in nature to align the text with the actual
responsibilities of the different Bureaux and to clarify the
resolves to instruct" sections.
My understanding is that this has been consulted on. I
don't see any particular issue with adopting it. I would
actually suggest that we do so. Once we resolve this matter,
Mr. Chairman, I kindly request the floor for a second suggested
amendment to page 47.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Bahrain. Okay. So could these
suggested changes suggested by Canada be acceptable to the
Union? Russia, you have the floor.
>> RUSSIAN FEDERATION: Thank you, sir. Thank you very
much. We fully support the proposal of Canada.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Russia. It seems that there is no
objection on this proposal made by Canada. I think Bahrain
asked for the floor again on this page 46. Bahrain, you have
the floor.
>> BAHRAIN: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Indeed I'm
asking for the floor for a second change. After we had approved
this document it came to my attention that the Broadband
Commission For Digital Development had issued an open letter
which would be a worthy addition under "recognizing."
So in light of this and to recognize their efforts I would
like to propose a new "recognizing" which would be "recognizing"
C which would read as follows: "That broadband plays a vital
role in transforming economies and society, as stated in the
open letter from the Broadband Commission For Digital
Development to the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2014."
That is the end of the amendment. This has been consulted
on to the greatest extent possible, but I would ask that we take
into account any views on this. I hope there is no objection to
it. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Bahrain.
Bahrain, could you read that new addition under the
"recognizing" part at dictation speed so we can write down what
you had proposed just a moment ago? Bahrain, you have the
floor.
>> BAHRAIN: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. The
"recognizing" would be "recognizing" C: "That broadband plays a
vital role in transforming economies and society, as stated in
the open letter from the Broadband Commission For Digital
Development to the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2014."
That is the entire change. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Bahrain.
Let me repeat it again. This is "recognizing" C: "That
broadband plays a vital role in transforming economies and
society as stated in the open letter from the Broadband
Commission For Digital Development to the ITU Plenipotentiary
Conference 2014."
Are there any comments on this addition? It seems that we
do not have any objection on this proposal made by the Chair of
the Working Group of the Plenary.
So with these two modifications, one proposed by Canada and
the other one proposed by the Chair of the Working Group of the
Plenary, could we approve this page number 47?
Thank you, it's approved.
So we just approved Resolution WGPL/8 with two
modifications. Now we are on page 48, Resolution Com 6/5,
options for the Union headquarters premises over the long-term.
Any comments on page 48? Approved.
Forty-nine? France, you have the floor.
>> FRANCE: Thank you, sir. Good morning to everyone. I
would like to propose a change to this draft decision because as
we see it there's a certain ambiguity about which body would
take the decision about the headquarters. In fact, when we say
"authorizes the Council," or "instructs -- "authorizes the
Council," we are instructing the Council to take a decision but
it looks as though the final decision would revert to the PP.
So we don't know who in fact would take that decision, the
Council or the Plenipotentiary.
To avoid any ambiguity, and this may be just a translation
issue, to make quite clearly that the decision would be a
Council decision and to save time, too, because as we understood
it there is a certain amount of urgency and the SecretaryGeneral has called our attention to the fact that there are
security issues and so on which would affect the headquarters
building from 2017.
We consider that it might be sensible to change "further
instructs the Council" removing the last part of this sentence.
So I'll do it at dictation speed.
"Further instructs the Council to submit a report on its
decision to the next Plenipotentiary Conference," and then we
would delete the rest of the sentence.
Thank you, sir.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, France. Mali, please.
>> MALI: Thank you, sir. We listened very carefully to
this proposal from France. We support it. Taking into account
the concerns which he expressed, security issues, the hygiene
issues, the health issues, and since it is urgent to tackle this
problem, we support them.
As you remember at the 2014 meeting, we supported a
financing proposal from Switzerland. Since the representative
of Switzerland is here in the room, if we need to wait for the
next Plenipotentiary to take the decision, Switzerland being
here, we would like to ask, will their proposal stand? And
repeat that we support France's proposal.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mali. It seems to me an
interpretation issue, but I would like to invite the Chairman of
Committee 6 to address the concerns of France and Mali.
Australia, you have the floor.
>> AUSTRALIA: Thank you, Chairman. My understanding was
that the wording was to allow flexibility to allow the Council
to take the decision if it had the required information by the
time of the last Council meeting before the Plenipotentiary.
And if it did not, then the decision could then be deferred to
the Plenipotentiary Conference.
But I might ask if the Secretariat would be able to confirm
that understanding. Thank you, Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Australia. Mr. Ba, you have the
floor.
>> COMMITTEE 3 CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Chairman. Yes, we
would suggest that we meet in Room D to decide on the issue of
Committee 5.
>> CHAIRMAN: Mr. Ba, the point I asked to you was Ms.
Caroline Greenway, this is not giving the kind of power to the
Plenipotentiary, but the Council itself has the authority to
make a decision, but it gives the flexibility to the Council.
If it does not have enough information at the time to make a
decision, it could, it could defer the decision to the
Plenipotentiary.
So when it could not make a decision until the time of the
next Plenipotentiary, it could defer that decision to the
Plenipotentiary. That was the point raised by Ms. Greenway.
And she just asked your confirmation on that interpretation.
>> COMMITTEE 3 CHAIRMAN: Yes, Mr. Chairman. Yes, I would
like to confirm that the interpretation of this issue is
correct.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr. Ba. Let me propose this to
France and Mali or any other countries which have any kind of
questions on this further instructs the Council part. Why don't
we include this explanation just provided by Ms. Greenway in the
Chairman's report? It makes it clear that what Council itself
has full authority to make decisions. If it feels comfortable
that they do have enough information. If they do not as time
goes by, if the time of the Plenipotentiary comes up, they can
defer that decision to the Plenipotentiary.
If that would be acceptable, we can move along with this
current task. But there are many countries asking the floor.
So don't you need a coffee break? So U.S., you have the floor.
>> UNITED STATES: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Irrespective of the decision on that matter, I believe that the
"further instructs the Council to submit a report on its
decision" needs to follow the authorization of the Council to
make that decision.
So simply flipping those two sections, "further instructs
the Council" and "authorizes the Council."
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, U.S. Iran, you have the floor.
>> ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN: Thank you, Chairman. Perhaps
a quick fix would be as proposed by France with the slight
amendment: "further instructs the Council to decide on the
matter, as appropriate, and report to the Plenipotentiary
Conference accordingly."
If Council decides that everything is okay, then we will
proceed and only report. If Council should not come to any
conclusion and needs a decision at the Plenipotentiary
Conference, he puts it as such. By adding "as appropriate" you
cover the points. The formulation of France needs seems to be
more logical, but you need to add some qualifying sentence "as
appropriate."
The suggestion would be "instructs the Council to decide on
the matter, as appropriate" and report to the next
Plenipotentiary Conference accordingly."
"Accordingly" means if the decision has not been made, ask
the PP to decide. If the decision has been made, just report to
the conference. That is the formulation, Chairman, that could
cover the points of the distinguished Delegates. Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Iran. Let me repeat this again.
What was just proposed by Mr. Arasteh is to change the "further
instructs the Council" part to decide on the matter as
appropriate and to report to the next Plenipotentiary Conference
accordingly.
Is that correct? Thank you.
I think actually this addresses the concerns raised by both
France and Mali. Would this proposal be acceptable to the
Union? But I will give the floor to UAE, followed by Mali.
UAE, you have the floor.
>> UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Thank you very much, Mr.
Chairman. Mr. Chairman, in the small Ad Hoc Group that was
created under Committee 6, they have concluded their meeting and
they have decided that the final decision should be given to the
PP, Plenipotentiary 2018 to decide. Council can take measures
and have consideration of this matter, but the final approval
should be in the Plenipotentiary 2018.
Mr. Chairman, the Distinguished Colleague from Spain
chaired this group. Perhaps you can give him the floor and he
can explain the agreement of that small Ad Hoc Group. Thank
you, Mr. Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, UAE. Actually, that is a
different view from what we have heard from our Chairman of
Committee 6 and the Secretariat, but as you proposed I would
like to give the floor to Spain. But after listening from Mali
and Dominican Republic. Mali, you have the floor.
>> MALI: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mali considers that at
this stage of the debate we need a compromise that would suit
everyone and that would be in tune with what the Chair of what
Committee 6 said. Mali supports the proposal made by Iran so
that we can complete the work on this issue. And that will give
us all the necessary flexibility. It is something that would
suit everybody. Why do we need to look any further? We need to
be flexible. If we are too rigid we won't get anywhere.
And if we don't have that flexibility, will we get the
finance from the Swiss federation? Let's ask the Swiss
Delegation, what is happening with the financing? I remember
that the financing was a zero interest, 0 percent interest loan
for 50 years.
Switzerland I'm sure could give more detail than me. Thank
you, sir.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mali. Dominican Republic, you
have the floor.
>> DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Thank you, Chairman. We believe
that before proposing language on "further instructs the
Council," that we adopt the U.S. proposal that we first
authorize Council; and Council is therefore already authorized
to decide. And if you agree to that change, we can then discuss
how we should draft the additional "instructs," because if we
then propose a decision in a "further instructs" that would be
redundant since the authorization would already have been
granted.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Dominican Republic. That is a
valid point. I would like to address that issue after we
resolve the "further instructs the council" part.
There are different interpretations on this matter. UAE
actually mentioned that they have different understanding of
this matter from the one actually presented by the Chair of this
Committee. So what I would like to do is to suggest a 15-minute
coffee break. A 15-minute coffee break to all of us. We need a
coffee break at this moment. Fifteen-minute coffee break.
While we are taking this coffee break I would like to
encourage all Member States who actually expressed their views
on this matter, especially UAE and Australia, France, Mali, and
the Secretariat, including the U.S., to meet together and to
sort out this. Especially, I think it is a fundamental thing,
the interpretation on this matter because the majority of
countries understand that the Council has the authority to make
decisions on this matter, but UAE actually pointed out that
there was a different understanding on this matter. That was
actually UAE's understanding on when they had this Ad Hoc Group
meeting. Including Spain, I hope this small group could address
those issues during the coffee break.
We will take a 15-minute coffee break and meet again at
12:05, 12:05. Thank you. We will take a coffee break.
(Coffee break.)
>> CHAIRMAN: Ladies and gentlemen, could you take your
seats, please? We will soon resume our Fifteenth Plenary
Meeting. Please take your seats.
Okay. Now, we will resume our Fifteenth Plenary Meeting.
And I hope you enjoyed your coffee break. We have made progress
on this Resolution Com 6/5 during the coffee break. So I would
like to invite Spain to provide a compromise text on this
Resolution Com 6/5 prepared during the coffee break.
Spain, you have the floor.
>> SPAIN: Thank you, Chairman. We have made a great deal
of progress during the coffee break and after meeting with
interested parties I have a proposed language which has
received, which has achieved consensus among those parties. The
proposal is as follows.
That is, to delete the part which instructs Council. That
would be removed. And the idea would be included in the
"authorizes the Council" paragraph. There the language would be
retained, "as soon as it considers that it has all appropriate
and necessary information, to decide on the best course of
action to meet the requirements for the HQ premises, including
the administrative and financial arrangements needed to
implement its decision."
That would be retained exactly as before.
And then we would add the following. This is what is new.
I shall read it in English: "Report to the next
Plenipotentiary, accordingly."
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Spain. Let me repeat this. If
I'm wrong, please correct me. Under the "further instructs the
Council" part we will delete "for consideration and final
approval if appropriate."
"Further instructs the Council" part should be that: "To
submit the report on its decision to the next Plenipotentiary
Conference."
And "authorizes the Council," after the current text, a
comma, "report to the next Plenipotentiary Conference."
Is that correct? Spain, could you confirm this? Spain,
you have the floor.
>> SPAIN: Thank you, Chairman. No, I may not have been
clear. What we are proposing is to delete the entire "further
instructs the Council." We are deleting that paragraph. And in
the subsequent paragraph "authorizes the Council," we would add
at the end of it, comma, "accordingly." That at least is how I
had understood the proposal. Thank you, Chairman.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Spain. Okay, let me repeat this
one. So we will delete the entire "further instructs the
Council" part. There will be no "further instructs the Council"
part. We delete the whole "further instructs the Council."
We add, after its decision, and report to the next
Plenipotentiary Conference accordingly."
That's the compromise text actually proposed by Spain with
the consultation of all interested parties. So with that
understanding, there are some countries which want to take the
floor. So Iran, you have the floor.
>> ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN: Thank you, Chairman. We
fully agree with the text as you read. There is no comma
between "Plenipotentiary Conference" and "accordingly." After
"Plenipotentiary Conference accordingly" without comma.
Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you. UAE, you have the floor.
>> UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Thank you very much, Mr.
Chairman. Mr. Arasteh has preceded me, and I wanted to express
the same point. The paragraph cited by the Chairman of the
small group refers to report from Council to the next
Plenipotentiary to take the required action in this regard. I
believe that this addition is adequate and is in the right place
in the text, and we agree with it.
Since I still have the floor, Mr. Chairman, allow me to
express my thanks to the Chairman of the small group that
examined this issue, and all the parties that took part in the
efforts aiming at reaching a consensus on the matter. Thank
you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you. Germany, you have the floor.
>> GERMANY: Yes, Chairman, we can follow this way. We can
support this new proposal which has been achieved so far by this
small Drafting Group. I would also like to declare my
appreciation and thanks for this drafting work which we could
accept at least from the German point of view. Thank you very
much.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Germany. Mali, you have the
floor.
>> MALI: Thank you, Chairman. Mali took part in the work
of this small group and we entirely agree with the outcome of
the group. We would like to thank the Chairman of the group and
all those who participated in the group which allowed us to
achieve the consensus before you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mali. Tunisia, you have the
floor.
>> TUNISIA: Thank you, Chairman. Tunisia too does agree
that the language proposed was that agreed upon in the small
group. I would like to thank all the participants and very much
appreciate the spirit of consensus.
>> CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Tunisia. Once again, thank you,
Spain, and all the members who participated in this small group.
So we actually made consensus on this issue. So as proposed by
Spain, we just revised this text and I would submit this page 49
for your approval with that revision.
Any comments? It is approved.
Page number 50. Approved.
So with the revision provided by Spain, we just approved
Resolution Com 6/5.
Now we are on page 51 which has two suppressions on
Resolution 35 and Resolution 172. Any comments?
Approved.
So we have made a number of revisions on this document 159E. With all those revisions as we approved in the first
reading. So I would like to submit this document as a pink
document for your second reading. Are there any comments on
this Document 159-E?
Guyana, please, you have the floor.
>> GUYANA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I recall the course
of action that we had agreed to earlier. So is this the time
where the intervention is made to include the early warning
reference on page 39 of Resolution 182? Thank you.
>> CHAIRMAN: Yes, this is the right time because we are
submitting this as a pink document.
So that is actually, this is Resolution 182, page 38, under
"instructs the Directors of the three Bureaux within the purview
of their mandate." and the last part, paragraph 1 last part, "to
enable telecommunications/ICTs to contribute to disaster
prediction, mitigation, relief, and early warning on natural
disasters."
So with that addition, could we approve this document, the
Resolution 182?
Any comments?
Thank you, it's approved. Let me submit it again. I would
like to submit this Document 159-E in totality for your second
reading and for your approval.
Are there any comments?
So document 159-E is approved on its second reading.
(Gavel.)
>> CHAIRMAN: So it is already 12:25 and we will have two
Plenary Ad Hoc Group meetings on this Decision 5 and Resolution
5/4. I would like to propose we will end now for lunch and we
will resume at 2:30 and pick up with the 12th Series of the text
from the Ed Com. And the Ad Hoc Group on the Plenary will move
in Room D at the end of this morning's session and Ad Hoc Group
on Resolution Com 5/4 will meet at 2 in Room J, Room J.
Any comments?
Thank you. The meeting is closed and we will meet again at
2:30 to pick up the 12th Series of Texts from Editorial
Committee. Thank you very much.
(The meeting concluded.)
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