The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference 2022 (PP- 22) was held from 26 September to 14 October 2022 in Bucharest, Romania. It was hosted in the actual Parliament House--a palace built by former Romanian President Nikolai Ceausescu. The Parliament House is bigger then the Pentagon and decorated like Versailles, a very comfortable venue. Over 3000 delegates from 183 of ITU’s 193 Member States, international organizations and private sector representatives gathered for three weeks to elect ITU’s top executives and bring consensus on the role of ITU in the future global ICT digital inclusive society and to ensure that the benefits of digital technology reaches out everywhere in order to help achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.
Sabin Samras, Head of the host’s country Romania’s Parliamentary Information Technology and Communication Commission was the excellent conference chair.
Elections for key positions of ITU took place and history was made with the election of Doreen Bogdan-Martin, USA, as Secretary-General--the first woman to lead the ITU, the oldest UN specialized agency established in 1865. Bogdan-Martin won the position with 139 votes out of 172 casted. In her 30 years of extensive leadership experience in telecommunications Bogdan-Martin has a proven track record in bringing innovative and visionary ideas and creating strategic partnerships to deliver high quality results for digital connectivity and inclusion.
Thomas Lamanauskas from Lithuania was elected Deputy Secretary General with 105 votes.
Mario Maniewicz from Uruguay was re-elected for the second term as the Director of ITU’s Radiocomunication Bureau with 174 votes.
Dr. Cosmas Zavazawa from Zimbabwe is the Director -elect of ITU’s Telecommunications Development Bureau.
The conference also elected the 48 members of ITU Council Member States and 12 members of the Radio Regulation Board in 5 regionally allocated seats.
The Council overseas all ITU activities, policies and strategies, manage the activity of the working groups and prepares draft strategic and financial plans for the next Plenipotentiary Conference.
The Radio Regulation Board is a body of experts that approves the Rules of Procedures for applying the Radio Regulations – the only international treaty governing the assignment and use of radiofrequencies and satellite orbits. The Board has also the mission of settling disputes and provides background and advice to the World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC). The next WRC will be held from 20
November to 15 December 2023 in Dubai, UAE and it will update the radio regulations, among others.
The PP-22 conference accomplished its work through various committees and one Working Group of the Plenary, ncluding the follwing:
Committee 1 – Steering Committee.
Coordinate all matters related with the smooth execution of the work, plan the order and number of meetings.
Committee 2 –Credential Committee. Verify the credentials of delegations
Committee 3 – Budget Control.
Determine the organization and the facilities available to the delegates, approves expenditure for the duration of the conference.
Committee 4 – Editorial Committee. Finalize the texts to be included in the Final Act.
Committee 5–Policy and Legal Matters. Consider reports and proposals related to policy of the ITU, recommend appropriate decisions with respect to activities of General Secretariat and the three Sectors. Recommend appropriate actions to the plenary and oversees any legal matters raised during the conference.
Committee 6–Administration and Management. Consider the draft Strategic Plan reports and proposals on financial and human resources submitted by other committees and prepare the next draft policy and financial plan for 2024-2027.
Working Group of the Plenary
consider reports and recommend actions on issues related to public policies, Internet, and general matters. All committees report to the plenary.
The PP 22 updated 21 resolutions and adopted new ones. The new resolutions included decisions on:
Applying Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) for Good;\
- Confidence-Building and sustainable development in outer space;
- Empowering women and girls through digital transformation.
Some revised resolutions deal with actual issues: Internet, Satellites, Youth and Gender equality, role of ITU in mitigation of conflicts, pandemics, natural disasters, in international issues like cyber security, use of Telecom /ICT to bridge the digital divide and bring inclusion, space sustainability, environmental actions and the path to a connected and united digital future.
For the first time at a PP conference, satellite issues were discussed in detail as we approach the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on Exploration and Peaceful uses of outer space
(UNISPACE+50).
Among the subjects deliberated were the needs of developing countries for technical assistance, the rational and efficient allocation of financial and technical resources, strategic partnerships and international cooperation to ensure peaceful uses of outer space and the good governance of space activities. The ITU is well positioned to help implement the UN SPACE 2030 agenda and it affirmed that space is a key driver for sustainable development and peace.
The conference issued the Final Act that brings together all resolutions adopted at the Plenipotentiary and signed by 157 Member States. It also
adopted the ITU’s Strategic and Financial plan for 2024-2027 with the accomplishment of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in focus.
To read the full text of the Final Act, go to: https://www.itu.int/pub/S-CONF-ACTF-2022
The conference ended in a very festive way, all women receiving beautiful embroidered Romanian blouses. The ITU's next Plenipotentiary Conference will take place in Doha, Qatar in 2026.
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Roxana Dunnette is a correspondent of Satellite Executive Briefing based in Geneva, Switzerland. She is Executive Director, R&D MEDIA, Switzerland. She has had an extensive career in Broadcasting and media including senior management positions at Worldspace, CBS and PBS in New York and international telecommunications regulatory work at the UN in New York and ITU in Geneva as US government representative. She accomplished many development projects in Africa based on satellite technologies, broadcasting, Internet and accessibility. She can be reached at: roxanadunnette@gmail.com
