Recognizing WSIS Impacts

PP RESOLUTION 36 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010)

Telecommunications/information and communication technology in the service of humanitarian assistance

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

• endorsing
  • a) Resolution 644 (Rev.WRC-07) of the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), on telecommunication resources for disaster mitigation and relief operations;
  • b) Resolution 646 (WRC-03) of WRC, on public protection and disaster relief;
  • c) Resolution 673 (WRC-07) of WRC, on radiocommunication use for Earth observation applications;
  • d) Resolution 34 (Rev. Hyderabad, 2010) of the World Telecommunication Development Conference, on the role of telecommunications/information and communication technology in disaster preparedness, early warning, rescue, mitigation, relief and responses;
  • e) § 91 of the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society adopted by the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society,
• considering
  • a) that the Intergovernmental Conference on Emergency Telecommunications (Tampere, 1998) adopted the Tampere Convention on the provision of telecommunication resources for disaster mitigation and relief operations, which entered into force on 8 January 2005;
  • b) that the second Tampere Conference on Disaster Communications (Tampere, 2001) invited ITU to study the use of public mobile networks for early warning and the dissemination of emergency information, and the operational aspects of emergency telecommunications such as call prioritization;
  • c) that the third Tampere Conference on Disaster Communications (Tampere, 2006) encouraged wider understanding and cooperation between governments on implementation of the Tampere Convention;
  • d) that the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction (Kobe, Hyogo, 2005) encouraged all States, taking into account their domestic legal requirements, to consider, as appropriate, acceding to, approving or ratifying relevant international legal instruments relating to disaster reduction, such as the Tampere Convention,
• recognizing
  • a) the seriousness and magnitude of potential disasters that may cause dramatic human suffering;
  • b) that the recent tragic events in the world clearly demonstrate the need for high-quality communications services to assist public-safety and disaster-relief agencies in minimizing risk to human life and to cover the necessary general public information and communication needs in such situations,
• convinced
  • a) that telecommunications/ICTs play a critical role in disaster detection, early warning, preparedness, response and recovery;
  • b) that the unhindered use of telecommunication/ICT equipment and services is indispensable for the provision of effective and appropriate humanitarian assistance,
• further convinced
  • that the Tampere Convention provides the necessary framework for such use of telecommunication/ICT resources,
• resolves to instruct the Secretary-General and the Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau
  • 1 to work closely with the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator to support Member States which so request in their work towards their national accession to the Tampere Convention;
  • 2 to assist Member States which so request with the development of their practical arrangements for implementation of the Tampere Convention, in close collaboration with the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator,
• invites Member States
  • to work towards their accession to the Tampere Convention as a matter of priority,
• urges Member States Parties to the Tampere Convention
  • to take all practical steps for the application of the Tampere Convention and to work closely with the operational coordinator as provided for therein.