ITU Council decisions summary

The ITU Council met between 11 and 21 October 2011 in Geneva. Its key decisions are outlined very briefly below.

Photo: ITU

The nine-day session reviewed 76 input documents, including 20 contributions from Member States. Twenty-seven formal texts were adopted. The most significant were:

• The creation of the "Council Working group on International Internet-related Public Policy Issues." (previously a less formal 'dedicated group'). There was some controversy over the working group's approach and its member-state-only membership.
• A decision to focus the 5th World Telecommunication Policy Forum in 2013 on the key Internet resolutions agreed at the 2010 Plenipotentiary (101, 102, and 133)
• A decision to hold a "high level event" in 2014 just prior to the "WSIS+10" meeting in 2015 that will "look at implementation of the WSIS outcomes". The World Summit on the Information Society took place between 2003-2005 and was marked by an argument over ICANN and Internet governance.

• A decision to adopt a "more proactive approach" to getting more sector members and dealing with other related issues (at the moment, the fees charged are seen by many companies as far too high and so the ITU suffers from a lack of broad support).
• Dates and venues agreed for the ITU's main conferences: WTSA, WCIT, and its 2014 Plenipotentiary.
• A decision to make the main theme for the 2012 World Telecommunication and Information Society day: "Women and girls in ICTs." (Note: "girls" has its own UN meaning and context and is not as patronizing as it may sound. Although the word "women" was added in recognition of the fact.)
• Approval of the ITU's 2012-2013 budget