[bestbits] [ITU Plenipot] Recap Oct 29 - Nov 3
Lea Kaspar
lea at gp-digital.org
Mon Nov 3 00:38:18 EST 2014
Dear all,
This is to give an update of the ongoing discussions at the ITU PP14.
Civil society in Busan have participated in many debates outlined below,
through their national delegations or informal discussions with other
delegates. It would be great if colleagues following particular discussions
could expand or reflect on the summary presented below. On a general note,
with 4 days to go, most people seem to think that compromises have been
reached sooner than expected.
A number of us participated in the second meeting with the outgoing ITU
Secretary General, which was largely seen as an ITU PR-stunt. In order to
ensure continuity, an informal meeting of CS reps with the Secretary
General elect, Mr. Zhao, is expected to take place in the next few days. If
you have suggestions for what issues should be raised at that meeting,
share them here.
Hope this is useful.
Best,
Lea
---
*Process*
At the beginning of Week 3 of the Plenipot, most ad hoc working groups
(AHGs) dealing with specific proposals are wrapping up. Many AHGs have
already agreed text, which has been sent to Committee 5 (COM5), Committee 6
(COM6), and the Plenary Working Group (WGPL). Once agreed in an ad hoc, the
text rarely gets re-opened for discussion in the Committees or WGPL, and
even more rarely in the Plenary.
Discussions
What follows is an overview of main discussions divided by relevant AHGs.
The list is not exhaustive. For a visual representation of various AHGs
pertaining to the WGPL, see this useful chart
<http://regmedia.co.uk/2014/10/30/wg-plenary-chart-v1.png> created by Samantha
Dickinson <https://twitter.com/sgdickinson> (who has also been diligently
live-tweeting the meeting).
COM5 AHG on draft new resolution on counterfeit devices
Status: Ad hoc closed, text
<http://files.wcitleaks.org/public/S14-PP-141020-TD-0058!!MSW-E.pdf> sent
to COM5 which will consider it on Monday afternoon.
Highlights:
-
All references to ‘unauthorised devices’ have been dropped so the
resolution is now only about counterfeit devices.
-
References to a device database in which all telecommunications/ICT
would need to be registered, are removed from the document;
-
Problematic language on combating counterfeit is now balanced by
reference to taking into consideration ‘importance of maintaining user
connectivity’ (which is very similar to the BB recommendation). This means
that in combating counterfeit equipment, countries should not simply
disconnect all counterfeit devices without considering how this affects
user connectivity, which is great win for end-users.
-
We did not manage to get references to IMEI and other unique identifiers
completely out of the text, but it doesn't seem that this will do much harm
or increase mandate of ITU, since this is mostly regulated via national
legislation and regulation and the provision on the consideration of
end-user connectivity. ITU-T also already has a strong standard on this
(namely X.1255 which can be found here:
http://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.1255-201309-I
AHGs on ITU openness and transparency (Decisions 11 & 12, New Decision on
Access to ITU documents)
Status: Ad hoc on access to documents closed, text
<http://files.wcitleaks.org/public/S14-PP-141020-TD-0061!!MSW-E.pdf> agreed
by COM5; Ad hoc on Decision 11
<http://files.wcitleaks.org/public/S14-PP-141020-DL-0044!R2!MSW-E.pdf>
(opening up CWGs) ongoing, next to meet on Monday afternoon.
Highlights:
COM5 AHG on access to documents (New decision):
-
Member States agreed on the broad principle that the ITU needs to be
more transparent and that more of its documents should be open to the
public.
-
They disagreed on how this should be done in practice (what the official
policy would look like), who should take the decision, and the appropriate
timeframe.
-
The agreed text decides to open all input and output documents of ITU
conference and assemblies starting in 2015. It then instructs one of the
Council Working Groups to draft a policy to present to the Council for
consideration. The Council can then, on an interim basis, decide to
implement the policy, as appropriate. The final decision on policy to be
taken at PP 2018.
WGPL AHG on Council Working Groups (CWGs) & CWG Internet (Decision 11):
-
[Currently, all CWGs are open to all ITU Member States; some are open to
Sector Members; none are open to observers. CWG-Internet is only open to
Member States. Best Bits submitted a request to open this CWG in 2013,
which was denied by Council.]
-
Proposals from Europe and US ask for all CWGs to be open to all Member
States and Sector members, and for CWG-Internet to be open to all
stakeholders. There is no agreement on this and discussions are ongoing.
WGPL AHG on Resolution 130 (Strengthening the role of ITU in building
confidence and security in the use of ICTs)
Status: Ad hoc closed, text
<http://files.wcitleaks.org/public/S14-PP-141020-TD-0067!!MSW-E.pdf> to be
presented for WGPL consideration on Monday afternoon.
Highlights:
-
The agreed text does not diverge greatly from the original Resolution
130 – an outcome that is most aligned with proposals from those who
advocated a ‘no-change’ approach to this Resolution (US, Europe);
-
Proposals to include references to privacy and human rights have been
resisted;
-
Proposals for the ITU to come up with a roadmap for dealing with
cybersecurity have equally been resisted,
WGPL AGH on Internet-related resolutions (Res 101, Res 102, Res 133, Res
180, and new proposals)
Status: Ad hoc closed. Texts to be considered by WGPL on Monday afternoon.
Status of texts as of Nov 2 is available here
<http://files.wcitleaks.org/public/S14-PP-141020-DL-0011!R9!MSW-E.pdf>
(updated text from Nov 3 not yet online).
Highlights:
-
Compromise text was reached on all Internet-related resolutions, with
minor revisions, some slight improvements, and a limited concession on the
side of the US/Europe to acknowledge more explicitly the role of the ITU in
Internet-related issues (particularly in Res 102);
-
It was also agreed that the ITU should take a more conservative approach
to opening up the CWG Internet. On that point, it was agreed that CWG
Internet will hold open consultations on various agenda items prior to CWG
meetings, but otherwise the doors of the CWG will stay closed to non-Member
States;
-
The 4 newly proposed resolutions have been withdrawn, including the
controversial Indian proposal (IND/98), which will nevertheless get a
mention in the Chairman's report,
WGPL AHG on Res 174 (ITU's role with regard to international public policy
issues relating to the risk of illicit use of ICTs)
Status: Ad hoc closed, text
<http://files.wcitleaks.org/public/S14-PP-141020-TD-0043!!MSW-E.pdf> agreed
by WGPL
Highlights:
-
Outcome document has been boiled down to awareness raising and sticking
to the ITU’s existing mandate in combatting illicit use of ICTs;
-
All references to ‘global charter’ related to security of ICTs have been
dropped,
WGPL AHG on WSIS related resolutions (Res 140, Res 172)
Status: Ad hoc on WSIS reached agreement on Res 140 text
<http://files.wcitleaks.org/public/S14-PP-141020-TD-0048!!MSW-E.pdf>, which
was subsequently considered and approved by WGPL. Res 172 has been
supressed.
Highlights:
-
The group decided to supress Resolution 172 (reasons: text seen as
out-dated and otherwise covered in Res 140), which was subsequently
approved by WGPL.
-
The agreed text of Res 140 resolves that ITU continues its facilitating
role in the WSIS process, subject to UNGA 2015 WSIS Review, and continues
being the lead facilitator in relevant WSIS Action Lines as specified in
the Tunis Agenda (C2, C5, C6). The resolution encourages the UNGA overall
review to take into account ITU’s review of the WSIS, including the outcome
doc of WSIS+10 High Level Event.
WGPL AHG on Res 64 (Non-discriminatory access)
Status: Ad hoc closed, proposed text to be considered by WGPL on Monday
afternoon
Highlights:
-
It is also worth noting the discussion on Resolution 64
<http://files.wcitleaks.org/public/S14-PP-141020-TD-0073!!MSW-E.pdf>,
which has spurred a stand off between Cuba and others in relation to
non-discriminatory access to ICTs. For context, similar discussions have,
arguably, led to the break-down of WCIT. It now seems that a compromise
text has been found and should be presented to WGPL on Monday afternoon.
----
*Lea Kaspar*
Programme Lead | GLOBAL PARTNERS DIGITAL
Development House, 56–64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT
T: +44 (0)20 7549 033*7* | M: +44 (0)7583 929216 | Skype: l.kaspar
gp-digital.org
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