ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL ADOPTS AGREED CONCLUSIONS ON UN ROLE

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL ADOPTS AGREED CONCLUSIONS ON UN ROLE

IN PROMOTING TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNOLOGY

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 4 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) this evening adopted agreed conclusions on the coordination segment of its annual substantive session concerning the role of the United Nations in promoting development, particularly with respect to, access to and transfer of, knowledge and technology, especially information and communication technologies, inter alia, through partnerships with relevant stakeholders, including the private sector.

The agreed conclusions stated that the majority of the world's population still lived in poverty and many had not yet reaped the full benefits of the information and communications technology (ICT) revolution.  That reality exposed many countries, especially in the developing world, to technological dependence and monopolistic pricing of technology, knowledge products and services.  A deliberate effort needed to be pursued in order to improve effective access to and transfer of that knowledge to developing countries, the Council said.

The Council said the transfer of technology should be suited to the particular needs of developing countries and their development policies, including for permanent, non-formal and distance education; e-commerce and for tele-medicine, among other things.

It was concluded that the developed countries should share with developing and transition economy countries their experience in promoting and establishing ICT sectors in their own economies, so that mistakes were avoided and benefits maximized.  The Council welcomed the initiatives taken by the organizations of the United Nations system to strengthen the system's role in that regard, and in building partnerships with other organizations doing work to promote development through access to, and transfer of, knowledge and technology.

The agreed conclusions stated that sustainable development on a global basis required, among other things, accelerated transfer of knowledge and technology, especially ICT, from developed to developing countries.

In order to bridge the digital divide and promote access to and effective use of ICT in developing countries, transparent and consistent legal and regulatory frameworks had to be established, along with sound policies in relation to ICT.  It was noted that there was an urgent need for action to overcome

infrastructural bottlenecks, and the Council called upon relevant organizations of the United Nations system to give high priority to providing relevant assistance, including technical and financial assistance, to developing countries.  It said the United Nations system should also take into account the specific needs of countries with economies in transition in these areas.

A representative of the United States, speaking after the adoption of the agreed conclusions, said his country welcomed the recognition of the role of the private sector and the fact that that sector should have a leading role in the spread and advancement of information and communication technology.  However, the United States was somewhat concerned that in a few places in the agreed conclusions, there was a tendency to cast technology in a north-south, centre-periphery frame that his delegation did not think was useful or even accurate.

The Council was also briefed by the representatives of Kenya and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) on the activities of the Geneva Diplomatic Community Network.

Conclusions of Coordination Segment

The Council noted that the General Assembly would consider, in appropriate intergovernmental consultations, ways and means to enhance cooperation between the United Nations and all relevant partners, in particular the private sector, during its next session.  In this context, the deliberations of the Council could be taken as an input to the forthcoming Assembly consultations.

The Council had examined the experience gained by the United Nations system in assisting Member States in harnessing the potential of knowledge and technology for promoting the development goals of the United Nations Millennium Declaration, and international development targets as well as the outcomes of major United Nations conferences and summits.  It had also identified ways to enhance the effectiveness of those activities, in particular through building partnership with the private sector and other stakeholders.  In that context, the Council welcomed the potential and the importance of activities that were to be undertaken in the framework of the newly-constituted information and communications technology (ICT) Task Force.

The Council said the need for technology transfer and better access to knowledge arose from the fact that, while knowledge and technological development were among the critical determinants of economic growth and sustainable development, there was considerable concentration of knowledge, and the technologies deriving from it, in a limited number of countries.  The majority of the world population still lived in poverty and many had not yet reaped the full benefits of the ICT revolution.  That reality exposed many countries, especially in the developing world, to technological dependence and monopolistic pricing of technology, knowledge products and services.

The agreed conclusions further said that transfer of technology should be suited to the particular needs of developing countries and their development policies, including for permanent, non-formal and distance education; training of educators; creation of local content; e-commerce; tele-medicine; online administrative procedures; promotion of access to ICT; and creation of better work opportunities.

At the same time, there was a considerable body of knowledge in the public domain which developing countries did not adequately benefit from, for various reasons, including the problem of accessibility.  A deliberate effort needed to be pursued in order to improve effective access to and transfer of that knowledge to developing countries.

The Council concluded that the developed countries should share with developing and transition economy countries their experience in promoting and establishing ICT sectors in their own economies so that mistakes were avoided and benefits maximized.  The Council welcomed the initiatives taken by the organizations of the United Nations system to strengthen the system's role in that regard and in building partnerships with other organizations doing work to promote development through access to and transfer of knowledge and technology.

The Council recognized that because of developments in information and communication technology and the changing economics of information, knowledge was now more readily available in principle than ever before in the history of the human race.  However, there were numerous constraints to accessing knowledge.  These were particularly faced by developing countries and countries with economies in transition.  The Council welcomed the forthcoming World Summit on the Information Society, which was to be organized in two phases, the first one in Geneva in 2003 and the second one in Tunis in 2005.

The Council said that international trade, foreign investment and international cooperation were among the main channels of knowledge and technology transfer to developing countries and countries with economies in transition.  A new and emerging dimension to international trade was e-commerce and growth of integrated financial production and supplier networks.

The agreed conclusions stated that sustainable development on a global basis required, among other things, accelerated transfer of knowledge and technology, especially ICT, from developed to developing countries.  In order to bridge the digital divide and promote access to and effective use of ICT in developing countries, transparent and consistent legal and regulatory frameworks had to be established, along with sound policies in relation to ICT.  It was noted that there was an urgent need for action to overcome infrastructural bottlenecks, and the Council called upon relevant organizations of the United Nations system to give high priority to providing relevant assistance, including technical and financial assistance, to developing countries.  It said the United Nations system should also take into account the specific needs of countries with economies in transition in these areas.

The Council welcomed the establishment of the ICT Task Force as a major recent practical step.  It said effective meaningful and collaborative efforts were required to enhance the developmental impact of ICT, and such efforts should include transfer of technology, particularly to developing countries, on concessional and preferential terms.  The Council stressed the need to ensure coherence and complementarity between the ICT Task Force and other ICT

initiatives.  It also stressed that the Task Force should build upon expertise that already existed within the UN system, and it called upon Member States, United Nations organizations and other stakeholders to extend their full support to the Task Force.

The Council noted that establishment of the Task Force resulted from the acknowledgement that the digital divide was widening and the recognition of the need to narrow the gap between developed and developing countries.  It said that in order to overcome the gap, effective collaborative efforts were required.  It acknowledged that the private sector played an important role, and was an

essential source of innovation in the field and that it generated economic growth.  The sector had the financial and technological wherewithal to make a positive contribution to ICT for development within the context of genuine partnerships. Market forces alone would not suffice to put ICT at the service of development.

The Council called, among other things, for support for national and regional efforts in ICT as well as support for national efforts for relevant technological development and for improvement of coordination, complementarity and mutual links among knowledge networks existing within individual United Nations organizations.  It also favoured support for the recently established ICT Task Force; assurance that the principles and approaches that governed partnerships and arrangements were built on the firm foundation of United Nations development goals.  Without imposing any rigidity, agencies of the United Nations should continue to adhere to a common principled approach to partnership which included the principles of common purpose and transparency, and the bestowing of no unfair advantages.  It said partnerships should not compromise the independence and neutrality of the United Nations system in general.

The Council said programmes and projects for relevant education should be strengthened.  The private sector should be encouraged to accept and implement the principle of good corporate citizenship, bringing values and responsibilities to bear on conduct and policy premised on profit incentives in conformity with national laws and regulation.  Special programmes should be designed in cooperation with other partners for the least developed countries and Africa in the field of ICT.  Assistance should be provided to civil society institutions in developing countries, especially their small- and medium-sized enterprises and non-governmental organizations, to enable them to participate fully in United Nations partnerships and partnerships with industrialized countries.  Mechanisms and tools should be developed to monitor, measure and evaluate the effectiveness of knowledge and technology transfer programmes.

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