Sixty-third General Assembly

Second Committee

16^th Meeting (AM)

stepping up financing of digital solidarity fund would help build

 

inclusive information society, delegate tells second committee

Members Debate Information and Communications Technology for Development

Development partners, the private sector, civil society and other stakeholders must step up voluntary contributions to the Global Digital Solidarity Fund, in order to help reduce the global digital divide, build a solidarity-based and inclusive information society and put technology at the service of development, Kenya’s representative said today, as the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) considered information and communications technology for development.

Speaking on behalf of the African Group, he stressed the need for adequate resources and sustainable investments in information and communications technology infrastructure and services, capacity-building and technology transfer in order to close the digital gap.  Information and communications technology was part of a fundamental social process, a basic human need and the foundation of all social organization.  It could offer many opportunities to society’s disadvantaged groups, particularly in Africa, by unlocking potential investment, promoting development and determining their future living standards.  The Millennium Development Goals could not be achieved without bridging the digital gap.

The representative of Antigua and Barbuda, speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, also called for greater efforts to transfer such technology to the developing world and to disseminate it within those countries.  The cost of the technology, including broadband connections, must be reduced, and capacity-building for greater technological use and application increased, so that developing nations could better adapt technology to meet local needs.  While progress towards implementing the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society seemed to be on track, uncertainties persisted.  There was a need for benchmarks to measure progress towards specific targets and goals set forth in the Geneva Plan of Action and the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society.  The Group of 77 and China urged the United Nations and the international community to take concrete action to monitor implementation of those outcomes.

Indonesia’s representative, speaking on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), noted that despite annual progress in bridging the digital divide, the world had yet to address its root causes.  In order to reduce inequalities between the developed and developing world in terms of quality and capacity, States must work together to speed the development of technological infrastructure and services, for the benefit of all communities.  Information and communication technologies were already helping to mitigate natural disasters through disaster relief, and protect the environment through energy efficiency, especially in the disaster-prone ASEAN region.

France’s representative, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the Internet of the future, which would serve as a powerful new catalyst for technology innovation, would make it easier to tackle major international society issues such as environmental risks, ageing populations and shortages of raw materials.  The European Union, in compliance with the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society, was working to reinforce cooperation on Internet governance, and it had made closing the digital divide a real priority.  In keeping with that theme, an International Conference on Digital Solidarity, the central theme of which would focus on new forms of solidarity for development, would be organized in Lyon, France, on 24 November.

At the outset of the meeting, Khalil Rahman, Officer-in-Charge of the Division for Technology and Logistics at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and Suzanne Bilello, Senior Public Information and Liaison Officer for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), introduced the documents under the Committee’s consideration.

Other speakers included the representatives of Tunisia, China, India, Senegal, Morocco, Bahrain, Belarus and Brazil.

Also making statements were representatives of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

In other business earlier, the Committee concluded its general discussion on poverty eradication and other development issues, hearing from the representatives of Afghanistan and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

The Second Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Monday, 27 October, to consider sustainable development.

Background

Meeting to conclude their general debate on eradication of poverty and take up information and communications technology for development, members of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) had before them the Secretary-General’s report on Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels (document A/63/72-E/2008/48), which reviews and assesses international and regional progress in implementing the World Summit’s outcome, identifies related obstacles and constraints, and summarizes information from the United Nations system and elsewhere on their 2007 efforts to implement the outcome, with a view to sharing best and most effective practices, as well as lessons learned.

Noting that the digital divide is still broad, the report says mobile telephones provide the greatest promise for shrinking it, particularly in the least developed countries and sub-Saharan Africa.  At current growth rates, half the world’s population is expected to have access to a mobile phone by the end of 2008.  There are also renewed commitments to Connect Africa, a global initiative to bride major gaps in the continent’s information and communications technology infrastructure.

The report concludes that progress towards implementing the World Summit outcome seems to be on track, but, as underscored by the 2007-2008 Commission on Science and Technology for Development intersessional panel, there is a need to benchmark progress towards achieving the specific targets and goals set out in the Geneva Plan of Action and the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society.

Also before the Committee was the Secretary-General’s note transmitting the Report of the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 50/130, including the recommendations of the tenth United Nations Inter-Agency Round Table on Communication for Development (document A/63/180), which discusses the engagement of the Organization’s agencies and other entities in implementing communications for development programmes and inter-agency collaborative mechanisms for effective and integrated follow-up to related actions.

The report discusses specific steps by United Nations agencies, funds and programmes to promote the survival, development and protection of children and women, prevent avian influenza and other diseases, as well as raise awareness about reproductive health and HIV/AIDS, human rights, polio eradication and environmental conservation.

Statements

BERTRAND DE LOOZ KARAGEORGIADES, Sovereign Military Order of Malta, said that while the Committee was meeting under difficult and unique circumstances, it must continue to work on eradicating poverty as part of the United Nations.  It had a duty to listen, study and make recommendations regarding the present critical moment in the world and its attendant crises.  Furthermore, it was up to the Committee to demonstrate that the United Nations was capable of making a difference.  As a result of the global crises, economic uncertainty had spread like a dreadful tsunami across the globe.  Sadly, the poor were at the forefront as victims of those crises.

Emphasizing that words were no longer sufficient, he said the Committee must help get that message out.  Greed was the clearest form of moral underdevelopment, for people, as well as nations.  The world had been bewitched by the shimmering bubble of wealth, but had forgotten the bubble of poverty.  Even the most attractive of bubbles would burst.  The poverty bubble was now more visible, but it had always been there.  The world had simply forgotten about it and set it aside.  As such, it was always the poor who paid the price of the greed and irresponsibility of the powerful.  On the threshold of the Second Decade, the elimination of poverty was an absolute social, political and ethical requirement.

WALI NAEEMI ( Afghanistan) said that given the necessary political will, commitment and vigorous action on the part of the world community, poverty would be eradicated at the global, regional and national levels by the end of the Second United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty, which gave special attention to the needs of least developed and landlocked developing countries.  In a highly globalized world, the Decade should be used to promote fairness in development.  Poverty was a critical problem of global concern, and its eradication should be undertaken from a committed, comprehensive and strong position.  The current crises had exacerbated poverty and increased the potential inability of some countries to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

Also contributing to the deterioration of poverty were fragile security, weak infrastructure and lack of access to technology and energy, he said.  Other factors included the relative decline in agriculture, the increase in oil prices and the uncertainty of the exchange rate, growing energy demands, factors limiting international financial assistance and cooperation in capacity-building, as well as rural-sector development.  Agricultural development was crucial in responding to the food crisis and controlling poverty globally.

Critical steps in agriculture were required for countries with special needs, particularly post-conflict countries, he stressed.  Most countries in special situations, such as Afghanistan, were experiencing numerous challenges posed by insecurity, sharp food-price hikes and soaring commodity prices.  Eradicating poverty was a collective responsibility based on the understanding that it threatened peace, security and prosperity everywhere.

Introduction of Reports

KHALIL RAHMAN, Officer-in-Charge, Division for Technology and Logistics, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), introduced the Secretary-General’s report on progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels (document A/63/72-E/2008/48).

He said the report highlighted trends in mobile telephony and broadband connectivity, as well as the renewed commitment to Connect Africa.  The year 2008 was an important marker in the history of progress towards a global information society.  It was the year in which half the world’s population would obtain at least some level of connectivity, via mobile telephony.  There had been an estimated 3.3 billion mobile subscriptions at the end of 2007, and compensating for countries with more than 100 per cent mobile penetration, the expected double-digit growth this year would put the worldwide number of people with access to information and communications technology at about 50 per cent by the fall of 2008.  Aside from the convenience of mobility and the ability to provide service where there was no fixed infrastructure, growth in mobile phone use had also been fuelled by the ability to provide short message services (SMS).

Turning to the Internet, he said the gap between north and south was also closing, although more slowly.  Although a large segment of the world’s population still lacked even the most basic levels of connectivity, the current developing world double-digit growth rates in mobile and Internet use meant the digital divide was increasingly moving away from basic connectivity to issues of speed and availability of local services.  In that respect, the “broadband divide” was becoming an increasingly important issue, considering that most local Internet services could neither thrive nor be used efficiently without low-cost broadband, and that the gap between developed and developing countries in terms of broadband penetration had changed only marginally between 2002 and 2006.

Referring to Economic and Social Council resolution 2008/31, adopted on 18 July 2008, he recalled that it noted the emergence of a new digital divide in terms of quality and speed of access to information.  It also noted a disparity in cost and quality of access between developed and developing countries, and that the average cost of a broadband connection in developed, high-income economies was significantly less than in developing countries, both in nominal terms and as a percentage of average monthly income.

SUZANNE BILELLO, Senior Public Information and Liaison Officer, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), introduced the Secretary-General’s note transmitting the report of the agency’s Director-General (document A/63/180), saying poor and marginalized communities in the developing world needed information, knowledge and communications for development.  That was a basic human right.  Just and effective governance required the open exchange of information and ideas promised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

She pointed out that UNESCO and the Minister for Education of Iraq had launched the educational TV channel, IRAQI EDU, this week as a response to the difficult security conditions in the country, which kept many children from school.  It would allow teachers and pupils to follow the school curriculum through distance learning tools.  With messages promoting values such as peace and tolerance, it would also contribute to peacebuilding and reconciliation in Iraq.

She concluded by saying that said UNESCO’s comprehensive approach to communications for development comprised programmes in information and communications technology; promoting freedom of expression, as well as press freedom and legislation guaranteeing media independence and plurality; media development and capacity-building; media literacy education; and community media and community multimedia centres.

Discussion

The representative of Antigua and Barbuda asked whether the complexity of the issue of information and communications technology helped or hindered the implementation of follow-up processes of the World Summit outcomes.

Mr. RAHMAN replied that many stakeholders had participated in the World Summit, one of the few such events where even non-governmental organizations had been able to make proposals.  The issue of information and communications technology, which was relatively new, was very complex and its implications were still being seen.  While there were many action lines where measures must be taken by all kinds of stakeholders, it was very difficult to assign responsibilities because it was not very clear who would do what.  Another difficulty of measuring progress was the unavailability of data on the use of information and communications technology, because national systems lacked built-in collection processes.  It would take a bit of time before States got a free hand on such issues, but they were going in that direction.

JANIL GREENAWAY (Antigua and Barbuda), speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said science and technology, including information and communications technology, held tremendous potential for poverty eradication and promoting socio-economic development, yet that development potential remained largely unfulfilled.  The technological divide between rich and poor countries remained wide, despite significant advances in the development of a broad spectrum of new technologies.  There was a severe lack of progress on Millennium Development Goal 8, on the global partnership for development, particularly making the benefits of new information and communications technology available to support development.  That key target should become a focal point for the international community’s efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and the outcome of the World Summit on the Information Society.

Calling for greater emphasis on transferring such technologies to the developing world, and on disseminating them within those countries, she cited the Secretary-General’s report, which concluded that progress towards implementing the World Summit outcomes “seems” to be on track, suggesting some uncertainty about how much progress had been made.  It also pointed to the need to benchmark progress towards attaining specific targets and goals set forth in the Geneva Plan of Action and the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society.  The Group of 77 and China urged the United Nations and the international community to take concrete action to monitor implementation of the outcomes and other intergovernmentally agreed mandates on information and communications technology.

She said that should include providing more support to the Global Digital Solidarity Fund, the only existing financing mechanism aimed at helping to reduce the digital divide, as indicated in the Secretary-General’s report.  There was also a need to place greater emphasis on reducing the cost of communications technology, including the cost of broadband connections, and on capacity-building for greater use and application, so as to support national efforts to increase access to such technology and the ability to adapt it to meet local needs.

PHILIPPE DELACROIX (France), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the diverse communications strategies for development mobilized numerous United Nations organizations, funds and programmes.  The European Union attached high importance to implementing outcome documents arising from the World Summit on the Information Society, particularly those regarding development under the auspices of the United Nations system.  Two themes had a major impact on development and poverty reduction:  Internet governance and reducing the digital divide.

He said Europe’s ambition for the information society had been reaffirmed at the Ministerial Conference on the Internet of the Future, held in Nice on 6 October 2008, as had the current major role of the Internet in terms of strategic infrastructure.  Thanks to its role as a powerful new technology innovation catalyst, the Internet of the future would make it easier to tackle major international society issues such as environmental risk, ageing populations and shortages of raw materials.

The European Union was aware that inequality among developed and developing countries comprised an additional factor of the digital divide, he said.  In compliance with the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society, the bloc had been working to reinforce cooperation on Internet governance.  It placed high importance on combating the digital divide, which was now an inescapable issue in development policies.  The Global Digital Solidarity Fund had seen wider involvement by African countries in the World Summit on the Information Society.  The Fund promoted innovative development funding, such as the voluntary “1 per cent digital solidarity” principle.  An International Conference on Digital Solidarity, the central theme of which would focus on new forms of solidarity for development, would be organized in Lyon, France, on 24 November.

ZACHARY MUBURI-MUITA (Kenya), speaking on behalf of the African Group, said the report of the Millennium Development Goals Africa Steering Group identified practical steps and several key actions within the information and communications technology sector that could contribute to attainment of the Millennium targets.  It would have been preferable to include such technology in the Millennium Development Goals framework, since it made an important contribution to development and since the digital divide was a cross-cutting obstacle to achieving development targets.

Poverty in Africa had social, economic and digital dimensions, he stressed, pointing out that illiteracy was also digital, rather than merely cultural and educational.  Information and communications technology was part of a fundamental social process, a basic human need and the foundation of all social organization.  The digital divide was notably a social divide, and the Millennium Development Goals could not be achieved without bridging it.  Information and communications technology was a powerful tool for development and not an end in itself.  While it could not replace a real development strategy, it could offer many opportunities to society’s disadvantaged sectors.

Integrating information and communications technology into a framework of international cooperation and partnership could activate the development process in a meaningful way, he said.  It could determine future living standards and promote development and integration into the world economy.  For developing countries, the digital divide was, first and foremost, a question of infrastructure and social investment.  African countries were already taking measures and moving to unlock the vast potential of the content in terms of investment opportunities.

Bridging the digital divide required adequate resources and sustainable investments in information and communications technology infrastructure and services, capacity-building and technology transfer, he said.  The Global Digital Solidarity Fund could help reduce the digital divide, build a solidarity-based and inclusive information society, and put technology at the service of development.  The African Group called on development partners, the private sector, civil society and individuals to provide voluntary contributions to the Fund, particularly through its innovative “1 per cent digital solidarity” financing mechanism, also called the “Geneva Principle”.

DEWI SAVITRI WAHAB (Indonesia), speaking on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), noted that progress towards bridging the digital divide was being made every year, yet it was troubling that the gap remained significant.  Addressing the root causes and creating real and tangible solutions would help bring the digital world to developing countries.  There was a need to reduce the inequalities in quality and capacity between the developed and developing world.  In that regard, it was imperative that States continue working together to accelerate the development of information and communications technology infrastructure and services, so as to bridge the digital divide for the benefit of all communities.

Further focus on the use of information and communications technology by the poor to serve the wider purpose of stimulating social change and empowering them to change their circumstances was another important area of work, she said.  It included supporting actions that effectively placed information and communications technology in the hands of people living in poverty, so as to enable them to harness its potential, and particularly, to provide them with a means to participate in processes relating to their development.  Natural disasters were an area in which information and communications technology had already made an impact, and should continue to do so.  It could also enhance global efforts to address epidemics, food security and climate change.

She said the use of information and communications technology in environmental protection and disaster relief had become very important, especially since the ASEAN countries had borne witness to a number of natural disasters that had caused tremendous devastation in the region.  The energy efficiency of information and communications technology should also be considered.  In the context of the current global response on climate change, it was important to identify best practices for energy efficiency in information and communications technology to support mitigation and adaptation measures.  There was a need to explore different ways in which information and communications technology could be put to the best use in helping other sectors reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

HABIB MANSOUR ( Tunisia) stressed the synergy and interaction between information and communications technology and development goals.  Tunisia had launched the World Summit on the Information Society, and the world was making considerable progress in establishing information societies.  Tunisia was fully aware of the impact of information and communications technology on the development process; the digital revolution was an inevitable and historical process which had led to the modernization of infrastructure, economic growth, knowledge growth and improvements in productivity.  More than 23 per cent of the country’s more than 10 million people were Internet users, while schools and businesses were also connected.

In partnership with banks and credit institutions, the Tunisian Government had been able to provide computers at low cost, he said, noting that 85 per cent of the population had cell phones and 92 per cent had terrestrial telephones.  National and international public-private partnerships had been formed to promote and implement information and communications technology for development, but it had reproduced and deepened past disparities.  The digital divide was the most symptomatic expression of a social divide, and the challenge was not just technological; it was also socio-economic in nature.  Information and communications technology determined the life quality of all societies.  Two phases of the World Summit on the Information Society had led to outcomes that the international community must implement in order to reduce the digital divide.

CHENG MING ( China) described the Herculean efforts of his country’s information and communications technology industry in preparing for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.  With seven years of preparation, the 16 days of the Games had been staffed by more than 23,000 employees of Chine Netcom, using more than 20,000 telephone lines, 900 ISDN and 3,00 ADSL and dedicated lines, thousands of broadband card ports, 20 satellite dishes and 10 emergency vehicles to create “the first broadband Olympics”.  Providing the largest wireless broadband service in Olympic history, China Mobile’s innovative wireless info system had enabled instant transmission of photos, video and mobile phone newspapers to millions of viewers a day.

However, even with the tremendous potential to boost social progress and economic growth, the development of information and communication technology was very uneven across the world, he noted.  While some countries could boast 70 per cent to 85 per cent Internet access, others could only claim 5 per cent.  In Africa, which was home to 14 per cent of the world’s population, Internet users made up only 3.5 per cent.  With 126 million children lacking access to education, poverty and lack of education were “twin sisters”.  Not having the education to develop skills, or the skills to rise out of poverty became a vicious cycle.  Information and communication technology would play a more important role in the promotion of education and the eradication of poverty.

TARIQ ANWAR ( India) observed that half the world’s population would have access to a mobile phone by the end of 2008.  In light of the low numbers of fixed-telephone lines and the recent invention of the cell phone, that reflected the ability of developing countries to access new technology, regardless of development barriers.  However, Internet affordability and access remained a challenge in closing the digital divide.  Information and communications technology was a crucial component of development efforts, affecting or benefiting all aspects of progress, such as improving the marketing capabilities of the rural poor, and enhancing Government accountability and democratic participation.

He went on to say that India’s own expansion in that area had not only produced several large ancillary industries, it had also created a rising class of young consumers with high disposable income and, thus, an ensuing rise in direct-tax collections.  India’s information technology sector currently provided direct and indirect employment to more than 10 million people.  That growth was a result of proactive Government policies and successful public-private partnerships.

A $5 billion, five-year National e-Governance Plan had been developed recently to address road transport, taxes, agriculture and education, to name a few.  Additional attention was being paid to reducing the cost of access and expanding satellite-based communication, while implementing initiatives in rural areas, like tele-education and tele-medicine.  India was committed to supporting fellow developing countries; for example, through its pan-African e-network project, intended to use fibre optics and dedicated satellites to support, among other things, tele-education, tele-medicine, resource mapping and meteorological service across the continent.

EL HADJI MAGATTE SEYE ( Senegal), associating himself with the Group of 77 and the African Group, said the Secretary-General’s report highlighted the achievements in and weaknesses of information and communications technology.  There was no doubt that the use of information and communications technology supported knowledge and was the harbinger of great promise.  However, there was a risk that a large sector of mankind could be left behind.  That was why it was necessary to ensure that information and communications technology was not an end in itself, but an effective way to promote development and progress.

Noting that Africa had decided to include information and communications technology in its development priorities, he said that despite some advances, it remained the continent that benefited least from digital opportunities, and many of its people were still left out of the information society.  That was a worrying situation, but it could be explained by the lasting obstacles arising from the high cost of communication, particularly the absence of high-speed connections and infrastructure, among other things.  The noble intention to promote and facilitate the use of information and communications technology emphasized the concept of digital solidarity.  The Digital Solidarity Fund was intended to provide a win-win partnership by enhancing digital capacities in the southern hemisphere, but also allowing the undertaking of new partnerships.  It had been funded exclusively through voluntary public and private contributions.

ZAKIA MIDAOUI ( Morocco) said information and communications technology was a major factor influencing development, particularly in the context of the current global financial, energy and food crises.  Information and communications technology enabled countries to catch up in the development process, and was crucial in many economic sectors, including services and production.  The Secretary-General’s report highlighted global inequalities in technology, including the fact that there had been a 1,000 per cent growth in Internet usage worldwide from 2000 to 2008, in which Africa had accounted for only 3.5 per cent of Internet users.

Recalling that her country had organized the Third African Meeting on Free Software Access in November 2007, she said Morocco had also launched the Connect Africa initiative during the 2007 meeting of the International Telecommunication Union in Kigali, Rwanda.  The initiative aimed to mobilize human, financial and technical resources to Africa, and to bring technology to rural Africa by 2015.  Morocco led Africa in information and communications technology growth in terms of the index of digital opportunities.

She said her country’s work from 2004 to 2006 in that regard had been described by UNCTAD as a success story, adding that Morocco had a national strategy to concentrate efforts to develop Moroccan content, and make it useful and relevant by providing cost-effective access to information and communications technology, and adapting it at all levels.  The “E-Morocco 2010” programme aimed to end the digital divide and improve the country’s position internationally.

Mohamed Waleed Al-Murbati ( Bahrain), associating himself with the Group of 77 and China, said that since the creation of man, he had continued to discover the world.  Man had obtained greater knowledge of the world around him, which had reached a high point during the present civilization.  What was important now was the impact of that on economic life and society.  Information and communications technology had also developed, and some economies were now based on information networks that had changed the world in a radical way.  Governments had adopted research in the area of information and communications technology as the basis for further development.  The World Summit on the Information Society had played an important role in ensuring economic and social development.

He said the Government of Bahrain had signed an agreement with Microsoft in 2004 to train teachers in integrating information and communications technology into the education process.  That agreement had created more than 1,000 jobs in the area of education, in terms of policies to strengthen or efforts to develop education in the country, and in terms of the transfer from the traditional teaching system to an e-based system.  Bahrain had been among the first Arab countries to create other services through the Internet, and it had worked with the private sector to create services for foreign investors.  Moreover, the country had an online system for small and larger investors, which aimed to overcome the digital divide and facilitate the use of technology, as well as ensure cooperation among companies.

ANDREI METELITSA ( Belarus) stressed the importance of overcoming the digital divide between the developed world and developing countries and those with economies in transition, adding that the United Nations had an important coordinating role to play in that process.  It was important to enhance synergies and reinforce the work of the Information and Communications Technology Task Force.  The Secretary-General’s report stated the need for rapid development, dissemination and use of information and communications technology at the national level.  It also contained interesting practical recommendations on making use of the potential of the private sector, business circles and civil society to achieve the objectives of the World Summit on the Information Society.

Urging the international community to consider the proposal to establish benchmarks and goals, as called for in the Geneva Plan of Action and the Tunis Agenda, he said priority areas included enhancing the capacity of information and communications technology, reducing the digital divide between urban and rural areas, distance learning, and using biometrics for passports and visas.  Belarus had a leadership role in information and communications technologies among the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and was working to introduce an e-Government system.  It had also set up a one-stop shop for information and communications technology resources.  The Government was setting up automated support systems, and had created online archives, as well as an in-house catalogue system in the National Library.

GUILHERME DE AGUIAR PATRIOTA ( Brazil), associating himself with the Group of 77 and China, said the importance of information and communications technology for development had been widely recognized.  It was now necessary to focus on the best way to implement the Tunis Agenda.  States should express, in a resolution, a common view of how to proceed with placing information and communications technology at the forefront of development, with the idea of promoting consultations with representatives of all stakeholder groups, in order to facilitate common ground.  Unfortunately, the central element of enhanced cooperation had not progressed as much as expected.

Consultations initiated with several organizations had elicited a range of different views on the implications of what had been agreed at Tunis on the topic, he said.  The results of the consultations initiated by the Secretary-General must be conveyed to Member States as soon as possible, with his recommendations on how to move forward.  The Digital Fund clearly needed extra funds, especially to support the broader participation of stakeholders from developing countries.  The enhanced cooperation process must move ahead, under the Secretary-General’s leadership.

ANDA FILIP, Permanent Observer for the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), provided an update on the United Nations-IPU Global Centre for ICT in Parliament.  Established in 2006, the Centre was mandated to assist parliaments worldwide in using information and communications technology in the development arena and in the quest for democracy.  It invited all parliaments for discussions and hearings on the status of the information society in their respective countries, and conducted an inter-parliamentary forum that brought together members of parliamentary committees to exchange dialogue.

Common concerns highlighted, she said, included the need for a global response to cybercrime and cyberterrorism, while respecting basic rights such as privacy.  The Centre also called upon parliaments to provide Internet-available “authoritative, timely and complete” information on all stages of their legislative process by 2020.  The publication of the first World e-Parliament Report in February 2006 -- a joint production of the Centre, the IPU, and the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs -– had been a major step.  To better enable parliaments to improve their use of technology, IPU urged a significant increase in cooperation and coordination among parliaments, in addition to partnerships with other stakeholders.

GRAHAM CLOUGH, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), read out a statement on behalf of Director-General Kandeh Yumkella, saying the agency was fully committed to using information and communications technology for development, and helping bridge the digital divide.  In a world where constant innovation and international competition drove one another, countries must devote special efforts to advancing technological frontiers.  A key element of UNIDO’s approach was using the private sector’s technological expertise in the service of social and economic development, as it helped small and mid-sized entrepreneurs.

He said that in the last two years, UNIDO had signed partnership agreements with two major technology companies, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard.  Those partnerships could contribute to efforts to stimulate a competitive, knowledge-based economy, particularly in Africa.  The partnership with Microsoft included the creation of a business information centre network in Uganda through a public-private partnership, while the one with Hewlett-Packard helped graduates through the Hewlett Packard “Graduate Entrepreneurship Development Training through IT”, or GET-IT, programme.

The programme had been used in several African countries, including Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia and Uganda, he said, adding that it was expected to expand to other countries in Africa and the Middle East.  The partnerships aimed to reduce poverty in participating countries by using information and communications technology to develop students’ skills and job-seeking abilities.  There was a need to pay attention to gender issues, as rural women were less likely than men to have technology skills.  It was crucial to foster women’s equal participation in the information society.

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For information media • not an official record