Recognizing WSIS Impacts

WTDC RESOLUTION 30 (Rev. Dubai, 2014)

Role of the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector in implementing the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society

The World Telecommunication Development Conference (Dubai, 2014),

• recalling
  • a) Resolution 71 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) of the Plenipotentiary Conference, on the strategic plan for the Union for 2012-2015;
  • b) Resolution 130 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) of the Plenipotentiary Conference, on strengthening the role of ITU in building confidence and security in the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs);
  • c) Resolution 139 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) of the Plenipotentiary Conference, on telecommunications/ICTs to bridge the digital divide and build an inclusive information society;
  • d) Resolution 140 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) of the Plenipotentiary Conference, on ITU’s role in implementing the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS);
  • e) Resolution 172 (Guadalajara, 2010) of the Plenipotentiary Conference, on overall review of implementation of the WSIS outcomes;
  • f) the documents adopted by both phases of WSIS, namely:
    • – the Geneva Declaration of Principles and Geneva Plan of Action;
    • – the Tunis Commitment and Tunis Agenda for the Information Society;
  • g) the outcomes of the Ministerial Round Table held at the WSIS Forum 2013, where the ministers “encouraged the WSIS process to continue beyond 2015”;
  • h) the outcomes of the WSIS+10 review process,
• recognizing
  • a) that WSIS stated that the core competencies of ITU are of crucial importance for building the information society, and identified ITU as a moderator/facilitator for implementing Action Lines C2 and C5, and as a partner in Action Lines C1, C3, C4, C6, C7 and C11, as well as Action Line C8 as stated in Resolution 140 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010);
  • b) that it was agreed among the parties to follow up the Summit outcomes to appoint ITU as moderator/facilitator for the implementation of Action Line C6, in which it was previously only a partner;
  • c) that the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU‑D) – in view of its purposes and objectives; the nature of the existing partnership among Member States and ITU‑D Sector Members; its experience over many years in dealing with different development needs and implementing a range of projects, including infrastructure projects and specifically telecommunication/ICT infrastructure projects, financed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and various funds and through possible partnerships; the nature of its five existing objectives, adopted at this conference to meet the needs of the telecommunication/ICT infrastructure, including building confidence and security in the use of telecommunications/ICTs and fostering an enabling environment, and to achieve the WSIS goals; and the presence of its authorized regional offices – is a key partner in the implementation of WSIS outcomes, in respect of Action Lines C2, C5 and C6, which are the cornerstone of the Sector’s work pursuant to the ITU Constitution and Convention, and also participates with other stakeholders, as appropriate, in the implementation of Action Lines C1, C3, C4, C7, C8, C9 and C11 and all other relevant action lines and other WSIS outcomes, within the financial limits set by the Plenipotentiary Conference;
  • d) that the WSIS process will be reviewed in 2015, and that process will consider the post-2015 development vision,
• recognizing further
  • that the Plenipotentiary Conference, in its Resolution 140 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010), resolved that ITU should complete the report on the implementation of WSIS outcomes concerning ITU in 2014,
• taking into account
  • a) Resolution 75 (Rev. Dubai, 2012) of the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly, on the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector’s contribution in implementing the WSIS outcomes;
  • b) Resolution 61 (Geneva, 2012) of the Radiocommunication Assembly, on the ITU Radiocommunication Sector’s contribution in implementing the WSIS outcomes;
  • c) the programmes, activities and regional initiatives being carried out in accordance with the decisions of this conference for bridging the digital divide;
  • d) the relevant work already accomplished and/or to be carried out by ITU and reported to the ITU Council through the Council Working Group on WSIS (CWG‑WSIS),
• noting
  • a) Council Resolution 1332, on ITU’s role in the implementation of the WSIS outcomes up to 2015 and future activities beyond WSIS+10;
  • b) Council Resolution 1334 (Modified 2013), on ITU’s role in the overall review of the implementation of the WSIS outcomes, which resolved to hold the ITU-coordinated WSIS+10 high-level event at which the adoption of the following outcome documents is envisaged:
    • • draft WSIS+10 Statement on implementation of WSIS outcomes;
    • • draft WSIS+10 Vision for WSIS beyond 2015, under the mandates of the participating agencies;
  • c) Council Resolution 1336, on the Council Working Group on international Internet-related public policy issues,
• noting further
  • that the ITU Secretary-General created the ITU WSIS Task Force to formulate strategies and coordinate ITU’s policies and activities in relation to WSIS, as noted by Council Resolution 1332,
• resolves to invite the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector
  • 1 to continue working in cooperation with the other ITU Sectors and with development partners (governments, specialized agencies of the United Nations, relevant international and regional organizations, etc.), through a clear plan and appropriate mechanisms for coordination among the different partners concerned at the national, regional, interregional and global levels, having particular regard to the needs of the developing countries1, including in the field of building the telecommunication/ICT infrastructure, building confidence and security in the use of telecommunications/ICTs, and implementation of the other WSIS goals;
  • 2 to continue to encourage the principle of non-exclusion from the information society and to devise appropriate mechanisms to this end (§§ 20-25 of the Tunis Commitment);
  • 3 to continue to facilitate an enabling environment encouraging ITU‑D Sector Members to give priority to investing in the development of the telecommunication/ICT infrastructure, encompassing rural, isolated and remote regions, through different technologies;
  • 4 to assist Member States in finding and/or improving innovative financial mechanisms to develop telecommunication/ICT infrastructure (such as the Digital Solidarity Fund and others mentioned in § 27 of the Tunis Agenda, and partnerships);
  • 5 to continue to assist developing countries in advancing their legal and regulatory frameworks in order to further the goal of building the telecommunication/ICT infrastructure and achieve the other WSIS goals;
  • 6 to promote international cooperation and capacity building in issues related to cyberthreats and building confidence and security in the use of ICTs consistent with Action Line C5, in which ITU is sole facilitator;
  • 7 to pursue its activities in the field of statistical work for telecommunication development, using the indicators required to evaluate progress in this area with a view to bridging the digital divide, inter alia, within the framework of the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development and consistent with §§ 113‑118 of the Tunis Agenda, acting on the content of Resolution 8 (Rev. Dubai, 2014) of this conference;
  • 8 to develop and implement the ITU‑D strategic plan, taking into account the need to give priority to building the telecommunication/ICT infrastructure, including broadband access, at the national, regional, interregional and global levels, and to achieve the other WSIS goals related to the activities of ITU‑D;
  • 9 to continue to propose at the forthcoming plenipotentiary conference appropriate mechanisms for funding the activities flowing from the WSIS outcomes that are relevant to the core competencies of ITU, specifically those to be adopted in relation to:
    • i) Action Lines C2, C5 and C6, in which ITU is now identified as the sole facilitator;
    • ii) Action Lines C1, C3, C4, C6, C7, including its eight sub-action lines, and C11, in which ITU is now identified as a co-facilitator, as well as C8 and C9, in which ITU is identified as a partner,
• instructs the Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau
  • 1 to continue to provide CWG-WSIS with a comprehensive summary of ITU‑D activities on implementation of the WSIS outcomes;
  • 2 to ensure that concrete objectives and deadlines for WSIS activities are developed and reflected in the operational plans of ITU‑D, in accordance with Resolution 140 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010) and with the objectives that will be set for ITU‑D by the Plenipotentiary Conference in 2014 with regard to the implementation by ITU of the WSIS+10 outcomes;
  • 3 to provide the membership with information on emerging trends based on ITU‑D activities;
  • 4 to take appropriate action to facilitate the activities to implement this resolution,
• further instructs the Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau
  • 1 to act as a catalyst in the development of partnerships among all parties, with a view to ensuring that initiatives and projects attract investment, and to continue to act as a catalyst in the following functions, among others:
    • – encouraging the implementation of regional telecommunication/ICT initiatives and projects;
    • – participating in the organization of training seminars;
    • – signing agreements with national, regional and international partners involved in development, when required;
    • – collaborating on initiatives and projects with other relevant international, regional and intergovernmental organizations, where appropriate;
  • 2 to promote human capacity building in developing countries relating to various aspects of the telecommunication/ICT sector, consistent with the mandate of ITU‑D;
  • 3 to foster, particularly with the ITU regional offices, the conditions required for a successful knowledge-based enterprise incubator process and other projects for small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in and among developing countries;
  • 4 to encourage the international financial institutions, Member States and Sector Members, in their respective roles, to address, as a priority issue, the building, reconstruction and upgrading of networks and infrastructure in developing countries;
  • 5 to pursue coordination with international bodies, with a view to mobilizing the financial resources needed in the implementation of projects;
  • 6 to take the necessary initiatives to encourage partnerships which have been given high priority pursuant to:
    • i) the Geneva Plan of Action;
    • ii) the Tunis Agenda;
    • iii) the outcomes of the WSIS review process,
• calls upon Member States
  • 1 to continue to give priority to the development of the telecommunication/ICT infrastructure, including in rural, remote and underserved areas, to building confidence and security in the use of telecommunications/ICTs, to fostering an enabling environment and to ICT applications, in order to build the information society;
  • 2 to consider the development of principles towards the adoption of strategies in areas such as telecommunication network security, consistent with WSIS Action Line C5;
  • 3 to submit contributions to relevant ITU‑D study groups and to the Telecommunication Development Advisory Group, where appropriate, and contribute to CWG-WSIS on implementing WSIS outcomes within ITU’s mandate;
  • 4 to continue to support and collaborate with the Director of BDT in implementing relevant WSIS outcomes in ITU‑D;
  • 5 to engage in the WSIS+10 process, in order to reaffirm the need to address remaining challenges of ICT for development to be addressed in the implementation of WSIS beyond 2015,
• requests the Secretary-General
  • to bring this resolution to the attention of the Plenipotentiary Conference (Busan, 2014) for consideration and required action, as appropriate, when reviewing Resolution 140 (Rev. Guadalajara, 2010).