Sep 29(ABC): Russia and the United States are battling Thursday for control of the UN’s telecoms agency, which behind the scenes governs everything from radio frequencies to satellites and 5G.
The International Telecommunication Union elects its new secretary-general and the outcome will be a test of Russia’s standing in the United Nations as the war in Ukraine grinds on.
The ITU’s development chief Doreen Bogdan-Martin is up against Russia’s former deputy telecoms minister Rashid Ismailov in a two-way contest to head the organisation, which sets the global standards underlying mobile phones, television and the internet.
“This election is a top priority for the United States,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in his letter nominating Bogdan-Martin.
The plum Geneva post is unrelated to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but few will frame Thursday’s election outside that context.
Moscow’s reliable friends in UN circles are dwindling due to the war, though member states nonetheless blocked a bid to stop Russian candidates from running.
“Russia today faces unprecedented pressure,” digital development deputy minister Bella Cherkesova told a press conference in Moscow on Monday.
“But hardly can anyone doubt that Russia has highly qualified IT specialists. Mr Ismailov is one of them.”
Power balance
Contests for the top UN jobs are typically about the balance of power between regional blocs.
China’s Houlin Zhao’s second four-year term as ITU secretary-general expires at the end of December.
The new leader will be chosen by secret ballot during the ITU’s plenipotentiary conference, its main decision-making body.
The gathering in Bucharest, from September 26 to October 14, is the major event in the agency’s four-year calendar.
The leadership vote comes as the ITU prepares a widely anticipated report on the telecoms infrastructure damage in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, with the European Union voicing frustration it was not released in time for the Bucharest conference.
The ITU was founded in 1865, making it the oldest agency in the UN fold.
It was created to manage international telegraph networks, but expanded its remit with new technological developments such as telephones, radio, television, satellites, mobile phones and the internet.
It brings together 193 member states as well as some 900 companies, universities, and international and regional organisations.
“Every time you make a phone call via the mobile, access the internet or send an email, you are benefiting from the work of ITU,” it boasts.
Contrasting visions
Bogdan-Martin joined the ITU development bureau in 1993 and became its director in 2019.
Her pitch is about getting more of the world connected to the internet and pushing forward high-speed access.
“We must deliver universal connectivity underpinned by resilient and secure networks for the 3.7 billion people still offline,” she said.
“We must be at the vanguard of understanding transformational technologies such as 5G and then 6G, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and machine learning.”
