Recognizing WSIS Impacts

PP Resolution 136


PP RESOLUTION 136 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010)

The use of telecommunications/information and communication technologies for monitoring and management in emergency and disaster situations for early warning, prevention, mitigation and relief

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

  • recalling
    • a) Resolution 36 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) of this conference, on telecommunications/information and communication technology (ICT) in the service of humanitarian assistance;
    • b) Resolution 182 (Guadalajara, 2010) of this conference, on the role of telecommunications/ICTs in regard to climate change and the protection of the environment;
    • c) Resolution 34 (Rev. Hyderabad, 2010) of the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC), on the role of telecommunications/ information and communication technology in disaster preparedness, early warning, rescue, mitigation, relief and response;
    • d) Resolution 48 (Rev. Hyderabad, 2010) of WTDC, on strengthening cooperation among telecommunication regulators;
    • e) Resolution 644 (Rev.WRC-07) of the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), on telecommunication resources for disaster mitigation and relief operations;
    • f) Resolution 646 (WRC-03) of WRC, on public protection and disaster relief;
    • g) Resolution 673 (WRC-07) of WRC, on radiocommunication use for Earth observation applications;
    • h) the emergency telecommunication/ICT coordination mechanisms established by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,
  • taking into account
    • Resolution 60/125, on international cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in March 2006,
  • noting
    • a) § 51 of the Geneva Declaration of Principles adopted by the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), on the use of ICT applications for disaster prevention;
    • b) § 20 (c) of the Geneva Plan of Action adopted by WSIS, on e-environment, which calls for the establishment of monitoring systems, using ICTs, to forecast and monitor the impact of natural and man-made disasters, particularly in developing countries, least developed countries and small economies;
    • c) § 30 of the Tunis Commitment adopted by WSIS, on disaster mitigation;
    • d) § 91 of the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society adopted by WSIS, on disaster reduction;
    • e) the effective coordination work of the Partnership Coordination Panel for Telecommunication for Disaster Relief and Mitigation, led by the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector,
  • considering
    • a) the devastation suffered from disasters around the world, particularly in developing countries that may suffer disproportionately due to a lack of infrastructure and, therefore, have the most to gain from information on the subject of disaster prevention, mitigation and relief efforts;
    • b) the potential of modern telecommunications/ICTs to facilitate disaster prevention, mitigation and relief efforts;
    • c) the ongoing cooperation between ITU study groups and other standards development organizations dealing with emergency telecommunications, alert and warning systems,
  • recognizing
    • a) the activities being undertaken at the international and regional levels within ITU and other relevant organizations to establish internationally agreed means for the operation of systems for public protection and disaster relief on a harmonized and coordinated basis;
    • b) the ongoing development by ITU, in coordination with the United Nations and other United Nations specialized agencies, of guidelines for applying the international content standard for all-media public warning in all disaster and emergency situations;
    • c) the contribution of the private sector, in the prevention, mitigation and relief of emergency and disaster situations, which is proving to be effective;
    • d) the need for a common understanding of the network infrastructure components required to provide rapidly installed, interoperable, robust telecommunication capabilities in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations;
    • e) the importance of working towards the establishment of standards-based monitoring and worldwide early-warning systems, based on telecommunications/ICTs, that are linked to national and regional networks and that facilitate emergency disaster response all over the world, particularly in high-risk regions;
    • f) the role that the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector can play, through such means as the Global Symposium for Regulators, in collecting and disseminating a set of national regulatory best practices for telecommunication/ ICT facilities for disaster prevention, mitigation and relief,
  • convinced
    • that an international standard for communication of alert and warning information can assist in the provision of effective and appropriate humanitarian assistance and in mitigating the consequences of disasters, in particular in developing countries,
  • resolves to instruct the Directors of the Bureaux
    • 1 to continue their technical studies and to develop recommendations, through the ITU study groups, concerning technical and operational implementation, as necessary, of advanced solutions to meet the needs of public-protection and disaster-relief telecommunications/ICTs, taking into account the capabilities, evolution and any resulting transition requirements of existing systems, particularly those of many developing countries, for national and international operations;
    • 2 to support the development of robust, comprehensive, all-hazards emergency and disaster early-warning, mitigation and relief systems, at national, regional and international levels, including monitoring and management systems involving the use of telecommunications/ICTs (e.g. remote sensing), in collaboration with other international agencies, in order to support coordination at the global and regional level;
    • 3 to promote implementation by appropriate alerting authorities of the international content standard for all-media public warning, in concert with ongoing development of guidelines by all ITU Sectors for application to all disaster and emergency situations;
    • 4 to continue to collaborate with organizations that are working in the area of standards for emergency telecommunications/ICTs and for communication of alert and warning information, in order to study the appropriate inclusion of such standards in ITU’s work and their dissemination, in particular in developing countries,
  • encourages Member States
    • 1 in emergency and disaster relief situations, to satisfy temporary needs for spectrum in addition to what may be normally provided for in agreements with the administrations concerned, while seeking international assistance for spectrum coordination and management, in accordance with the legal framework in force in each country;
    • 2 to work in close collaboration with the Secretary-General, the Directors of the Bureaux, as well as emergency telecommunication/ICT coordination mechanisms of the United Nations, in the development and dissemination of tools, procedures and best practices for the effective coordination and operation of telecommunications/ICTs in disaster situations;
    • 3 to facilitate the use by emergency organizations of both existing and new technologies and solutions (satellite and terrestrial), to the extent practicable, in order to satisfy interoperability requirements and to further the goals of public protection and disaster relief;
    • 4 to develop and support national and regional centres of excellence for research, pre-planning, equipment pre-positioning and deployment of telecommunication/ICT resources for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief coordination,
  • invites the Secretary-General
    • to inform the United Nations and, in particular the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, of this resolution.