Council Working Group on a Stable ITU Constitution completes its mandate

The Council Working Group on a Stable ITU Constitution submitted its final report (Document C13/49) at Tuesday’s plenary, completing its mandate to review the Constitution and Convention, in accordance with its terms of reference under Resolution 163 (Guadalajara, 2010).

Working Group Chairman, Salma Jalife, highlighted the main points of the report after which contributions on this key topic were presented by several Member States, including the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The report included a draft Stable ITU Constitution and draft General Provisions and Rules.

ITU Legal Adviser, Arnaud Guillot, presented to the Council the results of a General Secretariat study of the mechanisms currently in place at 11 other intergovernmental organizations, mainly within the United Nations system, concerning the approval and entry into force of amendments to their respective basic treaty instruments.

Councillors then engaged in a lengthy, lively discussion of these presentations and the group’s report, particularly in the light of the objective of Resolution 163 to promote the stability of the basic instruments of the Union.

The Council was divided as to whether the draft Stable Constitution should be considered as an entirely new treaty, or an amendment to the existing Constitution and Convention.

Several Member States noted the complexity of the legal and other issues involved and expressed serious concerns about the number and range of important questions that remain open following the completion of the Working Group’s work. Some councillors attributed this to the limitations of the Working Group’s terms of reference set forth in Resolution 163.

A number of councillors considered it premature for Member States to proceed with the review and approval of a stable Constitution at the upcoming Plenipotentiary Conference in 2014 (PP-14), and that additional time was needed to study the subject as a whole.

Several Member States voiced their willingness to explore and consider alternative means or approaches to those presently under consideration to reach the objectives of Resolution 163.

In conclusion, the Council agreed to submit to Member States, Sector Members and PP-14 the final report of the Working Group, together with the summary record of the plenary on this matter. According to Resolution 163, this report must be circulated to the membership at least 12 months before PP-14 (meaning by October 2013). It was also decided to circulate the results of the General Secretariat study concerning existing amendment mechanisms at other United Nations and intergovernmental organizations to all Member States.

Council warmly welcomes the proposed Chairman of the Plenipotentiary Conference in Busan

Wonki Min, the Director-General of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning of the Republic of Korea, was given a warm welcome when he was introduced at Tuesday’s Council plenary session.

ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun I.Touré described Mr Min, who has been proposed by the Republic of Korea to chair the Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-14), set to take place in Busan, the Republic of Korea’s second largest city, as a highly experienced professional who has chaired several other important international meetings on ICT issues in the past.

The Secretary-General also recalled that the Republic of Korea is at the cutting edge of ICT progress and that Busan is at the very heart of the country’s universally acclaimed achievements in that field.

Mr Min said his country looked forward to hosting PP-14 and that he would do his utmost to ensure its success.  

Standing Committee on Administration and Management (ADM)

Report by the External Auditor

The External Auditor presented his report on the Union’s 2012 accounts in accordance with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). The report covers the 2012 audited accounts for financial statements for 2012 and ITU Staff Superannuation and Benevolent Funds (Document C13/8).

Key points

• Eleven recommendations and four suggestions have been put forward by the External Auditor and are accompanied by corresponding comments from the Secretary-General which are also included in the report. The External Auditor’s report confirms that the organization’s financial statements for 2012 are IPSAS-compliant.
  
  
• A number of councillors commended the External Auditor for his excellent work, in particular the quality and completeness of his report which contains concrete proposals. His considerable experience in IPSAS was also noted.
  
  
• Some councillors expressed concern regarding the technical terminology contained in the report and requested that simple language be used to enable them to fully decipher the message. The External Auditor clarified that auditing standards impose the use of such terminology. The ITU secretariat added that a glossary of terminology on IPSAS already exists in Document C11/INF/9 of Council 2011, which serves as a guide for applying IPSAS.
  
  
• Other councillors queried how to deal with the unfunded ASHI obligation. The External Auditor confirmed his recommendation No. 6, highlighting the importance of a full actuarial study to address this concern, which involves long-term obligations. The ITU secretariat confirmed that the actuarial study is on-going. Regarding recommendation No. 7 to consider alternatives to the current Staff Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) with the International Labour Organization (ILO), the secretariat confirmed that the possibility of joining the UN insurance scheme was being explored.
  
  
• The secretariat expressed its appreciation for the thorough work and the report, and extended its thanks to the External Auditor for ensuring a smooth transition, despite the challenges faced, as this was his first audit of the Union’s accounts.

Next step: ADM recommends to the plenary to examine the External Auditor’s reports on the accounts for 2012 and to approve the accounts as audited.

External Audit of the Union’s Accounts on ITU Telecom World 2012

Moving on, the External Auditor presented his report on ITU Telecom World 2012 accounts (Document C13/6).

• The report covers the audit results of the profit and loss account of the event and contains four recommendations and seven suggestions. These are accompanied by corresponding comments from the Secretary-General. 

The External Auditor informed ADM that transactions relating to the event had been correctly reflected in the accounts.

• The report highlights the positive result of ITU Telecom World 2012 in the amount of CHF 504,458.57 as of 31 December 2012, compared with the deficit of CHF 2,406,757.42 of ITU Telecom World 2011.

Next step

• ADM recommends to the plenary to examine the External Auditor’s report on the 2012 accounts and to approve the accounts as audited.
  
  

Financial operating report for the financial year 2012

• The financial operating report for 2012, presented to ADM by the ITU secretariat (Document C13/7), covers the following:
  •  audited accounts for the 2012 financial year of the Union’s budget and the status of ITU TELECOM accounts for 2012; 
  •  audited accounts for 2012 for technical cooperation projects, voluntary contributions and the ITU Staff Superannuation and Benevolent Funds.
    
• One councillor expressed concern over the lower revenue compared with the forecast, and queried the additional post in the budget. The ITU secretariat clarified that the lower actual revenue was due to the economic crisis that obliged some members to reduce their contributions. It also pointed out that ADM should note the increase in revenue from sales and publications and from satellite network filings. Informing ADM that posts should be reviewed from a global perspective, the secretariat cited a number of posts that had been downgraded from P-5 to P-4.
  

Next steps: ADM recommends to the plenary to consider and approve the draft resolution in Annex A of Document C13/7.

Once examined and approved, the report will be communicated to Member States and Sector Members.

Accounts of ITU Telecom World 2012

• In accordance with Plenipotentiary Conference Resolution 11 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010), the Secretary-General reports to the Council on all ITU TELECOM activities.

Key points

• The ITU secretariat again highlighted the positive result of ITU Telecom World 2012 in the amount of CHF 504,458.57 as of 31 December 2012 and
  CHF 640,154.92 as the final event result as of 2013, noting that the payment of all outstanding debts had been made. The secretariat said this was an improvement.
• A significant contribution from the host country, the United Arab Emirates, was outlined in both monetary terms (CHF 2.011 million) and in-kind contributions which boosted the financial success of the event. Another significant source of revenue was sponsorship.

Next step: ADM recommends to the plenary to approve the accounts of ITU Telecom World 2012 by adopting the draft Resolution in Annex F of Document C13/5(Rev.1)+Corr.1.

C13/58 – Contribution from the Russian Federation

The Russian Federation proposed that the decision on ITU TELECOM event accounts be reflected in the summary record of the plenary, rather than through the adoption of a resolution, as is currently the case.

• The proposal was supported by some councillors, who underlined that the accounts of the event had already been audited by the External Auditor prior to their presentation by the secretariat.

Next step: ADM recommends the plenary to approve that ITU TELECOM event accounts, which the secretariat will continue to present to the Council, be reflected in summary records of plenaries and not through resolutions.