Recognizing WSIS Impacts

PP RESOLUTION 135 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010)

ITU’s role in the development of telecommunications/information and communication technologies, in providing technical assistance and advice to developing countries1, and in implementing relevant national, regional and interregional projects

The Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union (Guadalajara, 2010),

• recalling
  • a) Resolution 135 (Antalya, 2006) of the Plenipotentiary Conference;
  • b) Resolution 34 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) of this conference, on assistance and support to countries in special need for rebuilding their telecommunication sector;
  • c) relevant resolutions of the World Telecommunication Development Conference (Hyderabad, 2010) – especially Resolution 17 (Rev. Hyderabad, 2010) and its annexes, on implementation of initiatives at the national, regional, interregional and global levels approved by the six2 regions; Resolution 32 (Rev. Hyderabad, 2010), on international and regional cooperation on regional initiatives; and Resolution 34 (Rev. Hyderabad, 2010), on the role of telecommunications/information and communication technology in disaster preparedness, early warning, rescue, mitigation, relief and response – as well as the provisions of the five programmes adopted by the conference and their linkage with those resolutions,
• considering
  • a) the development goals which require that telecommunications/ information and communication technologies (ICTs) be accessible to humanity as a whole, especially the peoples of developing countries;
  • b) the accumulated and advanced experience of ITU in implementing the above-mentioned resolutions;
  • c) the tasks assigned to ITU as regards Action Lines C2, C5 and C6 in the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society, and required participation by ITU in implementing other action lines that depend on the availability of telecommunications/ICTs, in agreement with the United Nations agencies that collaborate in implementing these action lines;
  • d) the continued success achieved by the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector in its partnerships to implement many development programmes, including developing telecommunication/ICT networks in several developing countries;
  • e) the Hyderabad Action Plan and the necessary optimization of resources to achieve the proposed goals;
  • f) the actions undertaken to implement Resolution 157 (Antalya, 2006) of the Plenipotentiary Conference, on strengthening of the project execution function in ITU,
• resolves
  • 1 that ITU should:
    • i) continue to coordinate efforts for the harmonization, development and enhancement of telecommunications/ICTs throughout the world towards building the information society, and to take appropriate measures to adapt itself to the trends in the telecommunication/ICT infrastructure development environment;
    • ii) renew contacts with the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to revise the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), with a view to implementing Action Line C7 in the Tunis Agenda relating to education and cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP);
  • 2 that the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) shall:
    • i) continue to provide highly qualified technical experts to offer advice in subjects of importance to developing countries, on an individual and collective basis, and to ensure adequate expertise through recruitment or short-term contracts, as appropriate;
    • ii) continue cooperating with financing sources, whether under the United Nations system, UNDP or other financing arrangements, and multiplying partnerships with Member States, Sector Members, financial institutions and international and regional organizations, to finance the activities related to the implementation of this resolution;
    • iii) continue its Special Voluntary Programme for Technical Cooperation, based on financial contributions, expert services or any other form of assistance, to help better meet the requests of developing countries in the telecommunication/ICT field as far as possible;
    • iv) take into account, when establishing the above-mentioned actions, previous national or regional connectivity plans, so that the actions carried out give effect to the priority aspects of these plans and the impact of the action undertaken in essential aspects serves the achievement of national, regional and ITU goals; if the administrations do not have these plans, the projects may also consider developing them,
• invites regional and international financial organizations and agencies, equipment providers, operators, and all potential partners
  • to consider the possibility of ensuring complete or partial financing to implement cooperation programmes for developing telecommunications/ICTs, including the regionally approved initiatives under Resolution 17 (Rev. Hyderabad, 2010),
• instructs the Secretary-General
  • to submit an annual detailed report to the ITU Council on the results of the implementation of this resolution, including any recommendations which the Secretary-General may deem necessary, in agreement with the Director of BDT, to enhance the impact of this resolution,
• invites the Council
  • to review the results achieved and to take all necessary steps to expedite the implementation of this resolution in the best possible way.