Secretary-General, in Message to Informal Consultation, Welcomes Proposed Linking of World Summit on Information Society, 2030 Agenda Follow-ups

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message, delivered by Lenni Montiel, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, to the second informal interactive consultation with stakeholders of the World Summit on the Information Society, in New York on 19 October:

I send warm greetings to all participants in this second informal interactive consultation with stakeholders, including those following online.

I thank the President of the General Assembly for convening this consultation and the co-Facilitators — Ambassador Janis Maieiks of Latvia and Ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibeh of the United Arab Emirates — for guiding an inclusive preparatory process for the General Assembly’s review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society, also known as WSIS+10.

Taking place the day before the second preparatory meeting of WSIS+10, this consultation provides a timely opportunity for stakeholders to share thoughts and perspectives on the zero draft of the outcome document.  I am confident that those views will enrich the deliberations.

The United Nations welcomes strong engagement by all relevant stakeholders in the WSIS process.  Indeed, the rapid progress in information and communication technology over the last decade owes much to the active engagement of stakeholders.  As highlighted in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the advance of global interconnectedness has great potential to accelerate human progress, to bridge the digital divide and to develop knowledge societies.

The breadth and depth of this new agenda require a renewed effort to enhance statistical capacities and tap into the potential of new and non-traditional sources of data.  Our implementation efforts must be evidence-based, grounded in the data revolution.  In the 2030 Agenda, world leaders call for efforts to enhance the use of technology to promote the empowerment of women, and they pledge to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020.

In this context, I welcome the proposal to link the continued WSIS follow-up with the follow-up of the 2030 Agenda, and I welcome the specific actions proposed in the zero draft to enhance the contribution of information and communication technology to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

I also note with appreciation the proposed actions for enhanced participation, Internet governance, human rights and building confidence in the use of information and communication technology.

I encourage all of you to work together so that this important review process generates forward-looking, tangible and action-oriented outcomes.

I wish you a productive consultation.