MARRAKESH, Morocco -- With rousing lack of enthusiasm, delegates at ITU Plenipotentiary (Plenipot) Conference here Thurs. approved controversial financial plan for 2004-2007 proposed by Finance Committee (Committee 6) (CD Oct 17 p8). Document was adopted in essentially same form as revised proposal offered Wed. by Committee 6, although member states, many of which voiced concern over plan’s call for drastic reduction in ITU staff, also approved language suggested by plenary chmn. instructing Council to consider “social constraints” for employees that could result from any cost- savings program.
Dugie Standeford
Dugie Standeford, European Correspondent, Communications Daily and Privacy Daily, is a former lawyer. She joined Warren Communications News in 2000 to report on internet policy and regulation. In 2003 she moved to the U.K. and since then has covered European telecommunications issues. She previously covered the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and intellectual property law matters. She has a degree in psychology from Duke University and a law degree from the University of Tulsa College of Law.
MARRAKESH, Morocco -- Facing stunning shortfall of at least $18.7 million over next 4 years, members of Plenipot Conference finance and administration committee (Committee 6) Wed. evening called for Secy.-Gen. (SG) to start making plans to cut ITU staff. Delegates at ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (Plenipot) scrambled to rethink budget now badly out of alignment with numerous approved activities (CD Oct 16 p4). At request of many delegations, following morning of handwringing at plenary session, plenary chmn. granted permission for Committee (Committee 6) to meet in evening to revise its draft financial plan. Before lunch, chmn. had asked Germany and Morocco -- which had complained that document floated didn’t correspond to agreements made in Committee 6 -- to set guidelines for panel to follow in its deliberations.
MARRAKESH, Morocco -- Voluntary monetary contributions are down so dramatically that ITU’s proposed financial plan for next 4 years -- developed in long sessions by administration committee -- may have to be rethought, Secy.- Gen. Yoshio Utsumi said late Tues. afternoon at Plenipotentiary (Plenipot) Conference here. Although deadline for member states to declare their contributory units still was 15 months away, 10 countries already had announced cutbacks, prompting Itsumi to say that if financial plan was serious one, “I cannot implement” it. Last week delegates agreed on upper limit of 315,000 Swiss francs (CHF) for next 2 years, and 330,000 CHF for following 2 years. Exact number of contributions wasn’t known at our deadline.
MARRAKESH, Morocco -- It being almost past crunch time -- as one delegate put it -- for completing work at this year’s ITU Plenipotentiary (Plenipot) Conference here, Mon. afternoon’s plenary session was scuttled to allow 2 main substantive committees to grapple with large number of unresolved resolutions. Warning that everything must be done by Thurs. afternoon, leaving only 24 more working hours, plenary chmn. pleaded with delegates to keep their remarks brief. In 2 hours, delegates approved several resolutions on first reading and gave final (2nd reading) nod to several others. However, one committee meeting lasted late into evening as member states debated issues related to ITU structural changes, while other thorny matters, such as ITU’s financial footing, remained unresolved (see separate story).
With final week looming, delegates at International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary (Plenipot) in Marrakesh, Morocco, are scurrying to deal with daunting number of issues. Thurs., 12th plenary session goers approved for first reading several texts submitted by Editorial Committee and approved plan for voluntary membership contributions. On agenda at Thurs.’s meeting of policy, reform and legal committee (Committee 5) was consideration of several documents related to, among other issues, Radio Regulation Board, backlog in satellite filings, International Telecommunication Regulation (ITR) review process, structure and function of ITU and ITU Constitution. In last few days, draft resolutions also have surfaced on topics ranging from internationalized domain names to gender mainstreaming in union to principles aimed at putting ITU on sound financial basis.
Supreme Court wrestled Wed. with whether Congress’s 1998 decision to add 20 years to term of copyright unconstitutionally tilted copyright’s “delicate balance” toward intellectual property owners. Case, Eldred v. Ashcroft, challenges Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA), which expands copyright protection term from life of author plus 50 years to life plus 70 years for both future and existing works.
In reports at International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary (Plenipot) Conference plenary session in Marrakesh Thurs., committees cited progress on some of key issues teed up for possible action. Committee 5 (policy, reform & legal matters) has begun discussion of structure of ITU, Chmn. Anthony Wong said. Group is holding consultations on matter, he said, and is hoping to reach speedy consensus. Restructuring proposals have been floated by Australia, Europe and Arab States (WID Sept 20 p1), and observers say Wong has asked the 3 groups to try to come up with common view. Committee 5 has formed 2 ad hoc groups to deal with issues related to International Telecom Regulations and the Radio Regulations Board, Wong said. Panel hopes to complete its work by next week, he said. The Working Group of the Plenary this week began tackling several controversial Internet-related matters. On agenda for Thurs. were Internet Protocol-based networks, management of domain names and addresses (Resolution 102), internationalized domain names (IDNs), and digital divide and development issues. Working Group Chmn. L. Shope-Mafole said her group had forwarded proposals on gender and youth to Committee 6 (administration & management) for review. It also approved resolution (not available at our deadline) on IDNs, and agreed to set up drafting group to work on issues related to ITU and domain names, Shope-Mafole said.
U.S. delegates spent much of the first week of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary (Plenipot) in Marrakesh engaging other countries on telecom and Internet issues, said David Gross, U.S. State Dept. coordinator for international communications & information policy. Gross held bilateral meetings with ministers from 10 countries -- Brazil, Kuwait, Cameroon, China, Egypt, Israel, Mali, Mexico, South Africa, and Tunisia -- and has more scheduled, he said in a news briefing Thurs. from the Plenipot.
One of more pressing issues scheduled for discussion at ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (Plenipot) beginning Mon. (Sept 23) is whether -- and how -- union should be reformed. Documents filed in recent months lay out broad range of proposals for restructuring ITU, including everything from tweaking Constitution and Convention upon which it’s founded to giving it stronger role in ICANN. Breadth and contentiousness of some of proposals for 4-week conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, foreshadow more difficult meeting than usual, we're told. Some proposals stress diverging interests of developing and developed countries, with focus on digital divide issues, while others focus on roles of private sector vs. govts.
European data protection commissioners (DPCs) said they had “grave doubt” about European Union (EU) proposals to mandate retention of telecom and Internet traffic data for law enforcement and security purposes. Not only is legality of proposals questionable, but costs to telecom and Internet industry could be excessive, DPCs said Sept. 11. Moreover, they said, U.S. doesn’t require such retention. DPCs have “repeatedly emphasized that such retention would be an improper invasion” of fundamental rights granted by European Court of Human Rights, they said. Any data retention for law enforcement should be for limited time and where “necessary, appropriate and proportionate in a democratic society.” In specific cases, DPCs said, data should be held only where there was demonstrable need, retention period was as short as possible and practice was “clearly regulated by law” so as to minimize abuses: “Systematic retention of all kinds of traffic data for a period of one year or more would be clearly disproportionate and therefore unacceptable in any case.” Foundation for Information Policy Research (FIPR), U.K.-based think tank, praised DPC statement, saying it was “particularly timely warning for the U.K.,” where govt. was attempting to implement Dec. 2001 Antiterrorism Crime & Security Act. With concern over costs mounting, FIPR said, govt. has been pulling back on its data retention timescale. However, it said, dir. gen. of National Criminal Intelligence Service recently proposed storing traffic data for 2 years. Not only is that invasion of British citizens’ privacy, FIPR said, “the enormous costs of this data retention will immediately fall on consumers as higher bills.” DPCs are “totally right,” said Member of European Parliament Marco Cappato. In May, EP approved amendments to 1997 EU Telecommunications Data Protection Directive giving member states right to authorize data retention for limited periods of time for law enforcement. Cappato “would have appreciated an intervention” by DPCs before EP vote, he told us, because it “could have been useful to reject the socialist/popular compromise” that opened door to “this new general data retention legislative path.” Transnational Radical Party, of which Cappato is member, will do its best to add parliamentary initiatives to DPCs’ “important and welcomed words,” he said. Statewatch, U.K. organization that monitors civil liberties in EU, since has reported that “framework decision” was being drafted that would force all EU states to mandate data retention, possibly for as long as 12-24 months.