The Ugandan capital Kampala hosted last 3-6 July the 35th ITSO Assembly of Parties. The Assembly's chair shifted from Bangladesh (Sunil Kanti Bose) to Uganda (Ruhakana Rugunda, Minister of Information and Communication Technologies), who should complete a two-year term. France (Philippe Hazane) was elected vice-chairman of the AP.
The 35th Assembly counted representatives from 81 states (of a total of 150 parties comprising ITSO), who discussed the organisation's future in the period after 18 July 2013, when the first post-reorganisation (2001) phase comes to an end. Twelve years after privatisation, the organisation can remain standing or be disbanded; a large majority of the states approved the recommendation from the director general (DG), José Toscano of Portugal, to maintain the ITSO Agreement and consequently the organisation itself until 18 July 2021.
The AP also endorsed the DG's proposal to resume discussions on the organisation's future only in eight years' time, at the ordinary AP scheduled for 2020. Only the parties traditionally critical of ITSO's mission (United States, United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands) expressed disagreement or reticence about continuing the organisation.
The AP mandated the DG to negotiate ITSO's financing with Intelsat in the period after July 2013 for an annual amount of 1.8 million dollars, adjustable to inflation in the eight following years, in compliance with the Public Services Agreement signed by the organisation and the operator.
The Assembly also decided to extend the DG's mandate for four more years, thereby avoiding the need to call an extraordinary AP for that purpose a year later. The DG's second term will thus run until 18 July 2017.
Despite criticism from most European countries concerning increased costs in some headings at a time of financial belt-tightening for most parties, the AP approved the budget proposed by the DG for financial years 2013-2014.
The AP approved the extension to 2014 of the organisation's strategic goals contained in the ITSO Strategy Plan, and simultaneously mandated the DG to prepare a new Strategy Plan that will be analysed by the 2014 ordinary Assembly.
The Assembly took note of the report by the DG, according to which the private operator Intelsat fulfilled its public service obligations in the 2010-2012 period, offering non-discriminatory access and satellite coverage to the three oceanic regions, thus enabling connection from any country or territory to another country or territory and fulfilling the LCO (Lifeline Connectivity Obligations) price protection obligations. The DG should continue working with Intelsat to renegotiate a new business model with Intelsat for LCO contracts, designated the Special Renewal Programme.
The Assembly welcomed the agreement obtained with the notifying administrations (United States and United Kingdom) concerning re-designation of the identification of Common Heritage orbital positions and respective frequencies in the Master International Frequency Register (MIFR) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), to more obviously identify (with the designations USA/CH and UK/CH) that same Common Heritage - an initiative backed by the working party on Frequencies (FWP).
It was decided that the next ordinary AP will choose a new auditor for ITSO, following procedures agreed on at this Assembly, whereby the tender process co-ordinated by the AP chairperson should be launched by 30 June 2013. The parties may submit proposals and comments on the selection criteria up to 30 September 2012.
The AP also reached agreement on various issues concerning its internal organisation, namely the regional vice-presidents, which will be constituted by the following states: El Salvador (region A - Americas); Germany (region B - western Europe); Azerbeijan (region C - eastern Europe and northern Asia); Equatorial Guinea (region D - Africa) and Malaysia (region E - Asia and southern Asia).
It was also decided that the Advisory Committee (IAC) will continue to have 23 members representing the five regions, selected in the scope of the respective regions. Note that Portugal was elected to the IAC by region B along with the United Kingdom, France and Denmark. It was established that the Committee may eventually have up to 20 observers, with priority given to four observers per region.
The next ordinary AP should be held in the second quarter of 2014.
