ITU Resolutions on Internet, WSIS to be Debated

ITU members are struggling over how the ITU will pay for work it wants done, officials said. “The past year witnessed a considerable decrease in the Union budgets in spite of increase of the needs of its members,” Saudi Arabia said. Of ITU’s budget, more than 2/3 is funded by member states, said documents. Business members fund 12% of the overall budget. Since 1997, payments’ real value has fallen 14%, documents said. A budget shortfall of $26.4 million, 5%, is forecast. One way to bridge the gap is to get more money from business members, but it wouldn’t wipe out the deficit. That, plus hiking national payments, would all but eliminate the gap, documents said. Among ITU member states, 5 nations contribute 40% of the total; 24 countries provide 44%; 16% comes from the remaining 162 states, documents said.

“It is incumbent on member states to maintain a budget ceiling that reflects zero nominal growth and at the same time to promote transparency in the ITU budget process,” wrote David Gross, chmn. of the U.S. delegation.

Proposals for changing ITU resolutions on WSIS follow-up, the Internet and cyber security will be debated together in a working group likely starting Thurs., an official said. The EU and the Arab states have made proposals to modify an ITU resolution (Res. 102) on domain name management, said Robert Shaw, deputy head of ITU’s Internet strategy & policy unit. The U.S. has backed the current resolution. “The problem is that when you get into discussions on Resolution 102, it is closely linked to the question of Internet governance and in particular management of critical Internet resources,” said Shaw, adding that this foreshadows trouble reaching consensus.

Europe’s proposal suggests ITU contribute to discussions on public policy issues related to Internet resources and their future evolution, Shaw said. The Arab States want to modify Res. 102, urging ITU to take the initiative on the role govts. could play regarding Internet policies, especially the management of domain names and addresses, he said.

The U.S. and Arab states have proposed modifications to an ITU resolution on IP-based networks (Res. 101). The U.S. wants to add references to ITU’s ongoing work on IP-enabled NGNs, Shaw said. The Arab states want ITU to do more work on international Internet connectivity. These changes aren’t viewed as controversial, he said.

Edits to a ITU resolution on member states’ role in managing multilingual domain names (Res. 133) proposed by the Arab states would urge a more active ITU role. The Arabs want internationalized domain names rolled out sooner rather than later, Shaw said.

In proposed edits to a ITU resolution on strengthening the ITU role in data and communication network security, the U.S. has said govt. authorities need to play a role in watch, warning and incident response capabilities and CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team)-type responsibilities, Shaw said. Developing countries, Arab states in particular, see a need for more international cooperation on cybersecurity and spam fighting, he said. The U.S. wants ITU member states to step up by assessing their information and communication network infrastructures and developing national strategies to protect network infrastructures and enact and enforce comprehensive cybersecurity and cybercrime laws, Shaw said.

An Arab state proposed convening a World Telecom Policy Forum to discuss Internet public policy matters relevant to ITU member states, Shaw said: “This would be the 4th WTPF and has the necessary flexibility to be a multi-stakeholder forum like the Internet Governance Forum.”