Russia and the United States are battling for control of the United Nations telecommunications agency, which controls everything from radio frequencies to satellites and 5G behind the scenes.
The International Telecommunication Union elects its new Secretary-General and the result will be a test of Russia’s position at the United Nations as the war in Ukraine continues.
ITU development chief Doreen Bogdan-Martin is in a two-way competition against Russia’s former deputy telecommunications minister Rashid Ismailov to lead the organization, which sets global standards under mobile phones, television and the Internet.
“This election is a top priority for the United States of America,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in his letter nominating Bogdan-Martin.
The plume Geneva Post does not pertain to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – but some would frame Thursday’s election outside that context.
Moscow’s credible allies in the United Nations are dwindling because of the war, though member states nonetheless blocked a bid to prevent Russian candidates from running.
“Russia is facing unprecedented pressure today,” Deputy Minister of Digital Development Bela Cherkesova said at a news conference in Moscow on Monday.
“But hardly anyone doubts that Russia has highly qualified IT specialists. Mr. Ismailov is one of them.”
power balance
Competitions for the top UN jobs are usually about the balance of power between regional blocs.
China’s Hailin Zhao’s second four-year term as ITU secretary general ends at the end of December.
The new leader will be elected by secret ballot during the Plenipotentiary Conference of the ITU, its main decision-making body.
The gathering, which takes place in Bucharest from 26 September to 14 October, is the flagship event in the agency’s four-year calendar.
The leadership vote comes as the ITU prepares a widely speculated report on the damage to telecommunications infrastructure in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, with the European Union expressing disappointment that it was not released in time for the Bucharest conference.
The ITU was established in 1865, making it the oldest agency of the United Nations.
It was created to manage the international telegraph network, but expanded its dispatch with new technological advances such as telephone, radio, television, satellite, mobile phones and the Internet.
It brings together 193 member states as well as some 900 companies, universities and international and regional organizations.
“Every time you call, access the Internet or send an email via mobile, you benefit from the work of ITU,” it claims.
contrast vision
Bogdan-Martin joined the ITU Development Bureau in 1993 and became its director in 2019.
Her pitch is about connecting the world to the Internet and advancing high-speed access.
“We must still provide universal connectivity backed by flexible and secure networks for the 3.7 billion people offline,” she said.
“We must be at the fore in understanding transformative technologies like 5G and then 6G, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.”
US President Joe Biden said on 20 September that Bogdan-Martin “has the integrity, experience and vision needed to transform the digital landscape”.
Ismailov is the head of the Russian telecommunications company Vimpelcom. He was previously the general manager of Nokia in Russia and has worked for Siemens and Ericsson.
Russia’s deputy telecommunications minister from 2014 to 2018 believes that focusing only on further expansion of technologies is a mistake.
“This race of technology at some point completely forgot about human evolution and the impact on humans,” he told Monday’s press conference.
To bridge the digital gap between developed and developing countries, Ismailov seeks to improve skills and capabilities in poor countries.
He is offering a five-point plan to support a human-centred digital economy and deliver broadband to all.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Sheba Crocker told reporters earlier this month that Bogdan-Martin “brought a completely different vision for the future of the Internet than its competition”.
“This election will have consequences, no joke, for billions of people around the world,” he said.
EU countries are expected to swing behind Bogdan-Martin.
A Western diplomat said that Bogdan-Martin would bring “a very different style of leadership to the ITU”.
