The ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, Dubai 2018 through the lenses of human rights

The ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, Dubai 2018 through the lenses of human rights

International Telecommunication Union, ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies – ICTs. The Plenipotentiary Conference is the highest policy-making body of the ITU. Held every four years, it is the key event at which the ITU Member States decide on the future role of the organization, thereby determining the organization’s ability to influence and affect the development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) worldwide. Member states usually organize and engage as a block through their respective regions. For example, Nigeria belongs to the African Telecommunication Union, ATU block, and therefore coordinates and presents its position through the ATU. It is the smartest and easiest way to push through proposals emanating from individual member states. The implication of this however is that there has to be a pre-conference process of engagement and lobbying at the regional level so that the region can present a common front at the conference.

According to official figures The ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2018 held in Dubai, United Aram=b Emirates brought more than 2300 ICT decision-makers together including heads of government, ministers, and other delegates from most of ITU’s 193 Member States, as well as representatives from private companies, academic institutions and national, regional and international bodies working together to advance the power of ‘Tech for Good. The conference ended with affirmation from member states on their commitment to the common vision of a connected world, where information and communication technology (ICT) is a source of good for everyone, everywhere – and to the crucial mandate of the Union to realize this vision.

From the perspective of human rights in the digital age, the focus was to see the implications of resolutions that will come out of the conference on subjects such as data privacy, freedom of expression online, bridging the digital gender divide, etc. While the conference ended with many positive outcomes, there is a growing concern that the ITU model is not multi-stakeholder friendly enough and the conference in Dubai exhibited such traits with some member states refusing to recognize civil society as important stakeholders in the ITU processes.

One of the positive highlights of the conference however was the election of the first woman to an ITU leadership position in the Union’s 153-year history. Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin of the United States was elected as the Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT). However, despite these wins in the leadership structure, there are views within civil society that the commitments to greater gender equality were weaker than they could have been.

Meanwhile, the decision of member states to resist any further mandate expansion at the ITU in the key areas of internet governance, cybersecurity (especially the development of a treaty), artificial intelligence, big data, and on privacy/data protection was a big win from civil society’s perspective as all of those were areas where member states were pushing for a greater role for the ITU and the potential adoption of regulation or standards, which would be a real concern.

On the other hand, however, the ITU has managed to increase its role on the issue of OTTs, potentially leading the way to greater policymaking on the issue and the failure to make progress in terms of opening up some of the ITU processes (such as the Council Working Group on internet issues) and recognition of the role that community and small operators play in increasing connectivity is a major setback one would have wished was avoided.

From an African Telecommunications union ATU’s perspective, Ghana was re-elected to the ITU council, while Nigeria’s Stella Erabor was elected chairman of the standing committee on administration and management of the ITU council for the year 2019. An important resolution on human trafficking was also adapted to the delight of African delegates at the conference. The resolution titled ‘The Role of ITU in Supporting the use of ICTs to combat the trafficking of persons” was delightfully welcome by the ATU block. While the block wanted an expansion of the role of ITU in Cybersecurity to benefit the developing nations in terms of support, the draft didn’t receive enough support to scale through. 

The ITU Plenipotentiary conference has come and gone, member states have 4 years to prepare for the next one. There must be a continuous push for the ITU to open up some of its processes and this will largely define civil society’s engagement in the process leading up to the next conference in 4 years.