Recognizing WSIS Impacts

PP RESOLUTION 174 (Rev. Busan, 2014)

ITU’s role with regard to international public policy issues relating to the risk of illicit use of information and communication technologies

The Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union ( Busan, 2014),

• aware
  • a) that technological innovation driven by information and communication technologies (ICTs) has significantly modified the ways in which people access telecommunications;
  • b) that the illicit use of ICTs could have a detrimental impact on a Member State’s infrastructure, national security and economic development;
  • c) that the definition of “telecommunication”, as stated in the ITU Constitution, reads as follows: “Any transmission, emission or reception of signs, signals, writing, images and sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, optical or other electromagnetic systems”,
• reaffirming
  • a) Resolutions 55/63 and 56/121 of the United Nations General Assembly, which established the legal framework on countering the criminal misuse of information technologies;
  • b) Resolution 57/239 of the United Nations General Assembly, on the creation of a global culture of cybersecurity;
  • c) Resolution 58/199 of the United Nations General Assembly, on the creation of a global culture of cybersecurity and the protection of essential information infrastructures;
  • d) Resolution 41/65 of the United Nations General Assembly, on principles relating to remote sensing of the Earth from outer space;
  • e) Resolution 68/167 of the United Nations General Assembly, on the right to privacy in the digital age;
  • f) Resolution 68/243 of the United Nations General Assembly, on developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security,
• considering
  • a) that, in the Geneva Declaration of Principles, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) (Geneva, 2003) supported the activities of the United Nations to prevent the potential use of ICTs for purposes that are inconsistent with the objectives of maintaining international stability and security, and may adversely affect the integrity of the infrastructure within States, to the detriment of their security, and that it is necessary to prevent the use of information resources and technologies for criminal and terrorist purposes, while respecting human rights (§ 36, WSIS Geneva Declaration of Principles);
  • b) that Action Line C5 (Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs) of the Geneva Plan of Action stipulates the following: “Governments, in cooperation with the private sector, should prevent, detect and respond to cybercrime and misuse of ICTs by: developing guidelines that take into account ongoing efforts in these areas; considering legislation that allows for effective investigation and prosecution of such misuse; promoting effective mutual assistance efforts; strengthening institutional support at the international level for preventing, detecting and recovering from such incidents; and encouraging education and raising awareness”,
• considering further
  • that WSIS (Tunis, 2005) identified ITU as moderator for the implementation of Action Line C5 (Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs),
• recalling
  • a) Resolution 130 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) of the Plenipotentiary Conference, on strengthening the role of ITU in building confidence and security in the use of ICTs;
  • b) Resolution 102 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) of the Plenipotentiary Conference, on ITU’s role with regard to international public policy issues pertaining to the Internet and the management of Internet resources, including domain names and addresses;
  • c) Resolution 71 (Rev. Busan, 2014) of this conference, in particular strategic goal 3: “Sustainability – Manage challenges resulting from telecommunications/ICT development”, which establish Union focus on enhancing the sustainable and safe use of telecommunication/ICTs, in close collaboration with other organizations and entities”;
  • d) Resolutions 1282 and 1305 of the ITU Council, the latter of which listed issues pertaining to the use and misuse of the Internet among the main tasks of the role of the Dedicated Group in identifying international Internet-related public policy issues;
  • e) Resolutions 50 and 52 (Rev. Dubai, 2012) of the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly, on cybersecurity and countering and combating spam;
  • f) that the World Telecommunication Development Conference adopted Resolution 45 (Rev. Dubai, 2014), on mechanisms for enhancing cooperation on cybersecurity, including countering and combating spam, and ITU Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D) Study Group 2 Question 3/2, on securing information and communication networks: best practices for developing a culture of cybersecurity,
• recognizing
  • a) that global cooperation and collaboration between Member States, international organizations and all other stakeholders, are necessary in order to address and prevent the illicit use of ICTs;
  • b) the moderating and facilitating role assigned to the Union under Action Line C5 as referred to above;
  • c) that sharing information at global level on relevant security measures and practices is of particular value to developing countries1 in mitigating the effects of illicit use of ICTs,
• noting
  • a) the importance of ICTs, including telecommunications, for the social and economic development of countries, especially developing countries, through the creation of new public services that facilitate public access to information and enhanced transparency within public administrations and can be helpful for the monitoring and observation of climate change, the management of natural resources and reduction of the risk of natural disasters;
  • b) the vulnerability of critical national infrastructures, their increasing dependence on ICTs and the threats resulting from the illicit use of ICTs,
• resolves to instruct the Secretary-General
  • to take the necessary measures in order to:
    • i) raise the awareness of Member States regarding the adverse impact that may result from the illicit use of information and communication resources;
    • ii) maintain the role of ITU to cooperate within its mandate with other United Nations bodies in combating the illicit use of ICTs;
    • iii) inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations about the activities undertaken by ITU in implementing this resolution and relevant ITU recommendations in this regard;
    • iv) continue to raise awareness, within the mandate of ITU, of the need to mitigate the risks and related threats posed by illicit use of ICTs, and continue to promote cooperation among appropriate international and regional organizations,
• requests the Secretary-General
  • in his capacity as facilitator for Action Line C5 on building confidence and security in the use of ICTs, to organize international and regional meetings and dialogue of Member States and relevant ICT stakeholders, including geospatial and information service providers, to discuss alternative approaches to solutions and opportunities for regional and global cooperation to address and prevent the illicit application of ICTs, while taking into consideration the overall interests of the ICT industry,
    • in his capacity as facilitator for Action Line C5 on building confidence and security in the use of ICTs, to organize meetings of Member States and relevant ICT stakeholders, including geospatial and information service providers, to discuss alternative approaches to solutions to address and prevent the illicit application of ICTs, while taking into consideration the overall interests of the ICT industry,
• invites the Council
  • when carrying out its activities, to take into account relevant ITU activities/initiatives related to combating threats caused by the illicit use of telecommunications/ICTs, as appropriate,
• invites Member States and relevant ICT stakeholders
  • to pursue their dialogue at the regional and national levels in order to find mutually acceptable solutions,
• invites the Secretary-General
  • to collect and disseminate best practices in terms of actions taken by Member States to prevent the illicit use of ICTs and to provide assistance to interested Member States, as appropriate,
• instructs the Secretary-General
  • to report to the Council and to the next plenipotentiary conference on the progress made on the implementation of this resolution,
• invites Member States
  • to provide the necessary support for the implementation of this resolution.