The World Radiocommunication Conference (Geneva, 1997),

considering

a) that ITU, in the same spirit as reflected in Articles 40 and 46 of its Constitution and in Resolution 209 (Mob-87), has specifically recognized the importance of the international use of radiocommunications in the event of natural disasters, epidemics, famines and similar emergencies;

b) that the Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union (Kyoto, 1994), in endorsing 7 of the World Telecommunication Development Conference (Buenos Aires, 1994), adopted Resolution 36 on telecommunications for disaster mitigation and disaster relief operations;

c) that administrations have been urged to take all practical steps to facilitate the rapid deployment and effective use of telecommunication resources for mitigation and disaster relief operations by reducing and, where possible, removing regulatory barriers and strengthening transborder cooperation between States,

a) the potential of modern telecommunication technologies an essential tool for disaster mitigation and relief operations and the vital role of telecommunications for the safety and security of relief workers in the field;

b) the particular needs of developing countries and special requirements of the inhabitants of remote areas;

c) the progress made in the implementation of Resolution 36 with respect to the preparation of the Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Mitigation and Relief Operations, as annexed to Resolution,

with appreciation the scheduling of the Intergovernmental Conference on Emergency Telecommunications (ICET-98) from 16 to 18 June 1998 in Tampere, Finland, which is expected to adopt the Convention referred to in recognizing c) above,

to invite the ITU Radiocommunication Sector to continue to study, as a matter of urgency, those aspects of radiocommunications that are relevant to disaster mitigation and relief operations, such as decentralized means of communications that are appropriate and generally available, including amateur radio facilities and mobile and portable satellite terminals,

to support administrations in their work towards the implementation of Resolution 36,

to work closely with the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator with a view to further increasing the Union's involvement in, and support to, disaster communications, and to report on the outcome of the Tampere Conference to the 1998 Plenipotentiary Conference so that that Conference or the ITU Council may take any action that it deems necessary,

the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator and the Working Group on Emergency Telecommunications to collaborate closely with ITU in further work towards the implementation of Resolution 36, and in particular the adoption of the Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations,

to give their full support to the adoption of the said Convention and its national implementation.