Recognizing WSIS Impacts

PP RESOLUTION 128 (Rev. Antalya, 2006)

Support for the Agenda for Connectivity in the Americas and Quito Action Plan

The Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union (Antalya, 2006),

• considering
  • the provisions of the ITU Constitution, as contained in Chapter IV thereof on the Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D), particularly with regard, inter alia, to the functions of ITU-D for building awareness of the impact of telecommunications on national economic and social development, its catalytic role in promoting the development, expansion and operation of telecommunication services and networks, especially in developing countries, least developed countries and small island developing states, and the need to maintain and enhance cooperation with regional and other telecommunication organizations,
• recalling
  • a) Resolution 21 (Rev. Doha, 2006) of the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC), on coordination and collaboration with regional organizations, which resolved that ITU-D should actively coordinate, collaborate and organize joint activities with regional and subregional organizations and training institutions and take into consideration their activities, as well as providing them with direct technical assistance;
  • b) Resolution 39 (Istanbul, 2002), adopted by WTDC-02 and confirmed by WTDC-06, on the Agenda for Connectivity in the Americas and Quito Action Plan, which resolved to include among the high priorities of ITU support for initiatives under the Agenda for Connectivity in the Americas, recommending the use of mechanisms to help to achieve the necessary results for each country and region, and to promote the exchange of information on the development of connectivity activities globally;
  • c) Resolution 54 (Doha, 2006) of WTDC, on information and communication technology (ICT) applications, which replaced and updated the content of:
    • – Resolution 41 (Istanbul, 2002) of WTDC, on e-health (including telehealth/telemedicine), which, among other actions, directed the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) to continue its efforts to raise awareness of decision-makers, health professionals, partners, beneficiaries and other key players about the benefits of telecommunications for e-health applications and to support e-health projects in collaboration with government, public, private, national and international partners;
    • – Resolution 42 (Istanbul, 2002) of WTDC, on implementation of tele-education programmes, which instructed the Director of BDT to conduct studies of the viability of tele-education systems, provide technical assistance and support to help implementing various tele-education systems, and identify sources of funding for necessary equipment and training for the provision of tele-education applications;
  • d) Resolution 50 (Doha, 2006) of WTDC, on optimal integration of ICTs, which replaced and updated the content of Recommendation 14 (Istanbul, 2002) of WTDC, on pilot integration projects for information and communication technologies, recommending that BDT adopt all necessary measures to implement regional projects derived from non-exclusive integration models designed to link all stakeholders, organizations and institutions of the various sectors in an ongoing relationship of cooperation in which information is disseminated over networks, so as to narrow the digital divide, and also that BDT play a central role in this initiative, using the funds at its disposal to attain that objective, and that the Latin American region serve as the initial testing ground for such an initiative;
  • e) Resolution 32 (Rev. Doha, 2006) of WTDC, on international and regional cooperation, which resolves that ITU-D should strengthen its relations with regional and subregional telecommunication organizations to stimulate new initiatives such as the Agenda for Connectivity of the Americas,
• taking into account
  • the Geneva Declaration of Principles and Geneva Plan of Action adopted at the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) (Geneva, 2003) and the Tunis Commitment and Tunis Agenda for the Information Society adopted at the second phase of WSIS (Tunis, 2005),
• noting
  • that the third and fourth regular meetings of the Assembly of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) (held in Washington, DC in 2002 and in San José, Costa Rica in 2006), respectively, adopted and confirmed Resolution CITEL/RES. 33 (III-02) on the implementation of the Agenda for Connectivity in the Americas currently under way, wherein it is recognized that the above-mentioned Agenda and the Quito Action Plan, developed by CITEL, are a significant and positive contribution to efforts under way in a number of forums to bridge the digital divide,
• recognizing
  • that, in spite of the impressive growth and expansion in telecommunications/ICTs recorded in the Americas region since WTDC-98, many areas of major concern still exist and considerable disparities persist in the region, and the narrowing of the digital divide continues to be a priority,
• resolves to instruct the Secretary-General
  • to continue releasing appropriate financial resources under the ITU financial plan for 2008-2011 and subsequent plans to support and stimulate the implementation of projects aimed at fulfilling the objectives set in the WTDC-06 resolutions highlighted above, in particular from the ICT Development Fund,
• instructs the Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau
  • 1 to continue paying particular attention to implementation of the provisions of the Doha Action Plan relating to the initiatives under the framework of the Agenda for Connectivity in the Americas, as directed by Resolution 39 (Istanbul, 2002), which encompasses also the projects associated with the other resolutions cited above;
  • 2 to strengthen support to the Member States in this regard through the ITU Regional Office for the Americas, and to help identify additional financial resources to supplement those assigned by ITU for supporting the development of all related projects in the Americas region.