Revised Input to the 7th meeting of the WSIS Group of Friends of the Chair (GFC) (September 5-7 2005)

Possible draft text for paras 10, 11 and 29 of the Operational Document and summary of new proposals from governments and other stakeholders


Source: President of the PrepCom of the Tunis Phase of WSIS

16 August 2005

Operational part of the final document / Tunis Agenda for Action / Tunis Plan of implementation


Part 1: The following text is a proposal from the President of the PrepCom of the Tunis Phase of WSIS in which:


If adopted by the Group of Friends of the Chair and approved by PrepCom-3, this new text would be subject to a first reading, during which further proposals on the text could be made. Thereafter, the new consolidated text of chapter one and four will be issued for further negotiations.


Original draft from Group of Friends of Chair (11 January 2005)

Possible revised draft


10. In order to assure the sustainability of the WSIS process after the completion of its Tunis phase, we agree to establish an implementation mechanism for the Geneva and Tunis Plans of Action, based upon co-operation among governments and all stakeholders, with the overarching goal of helping countries and societies to achieve the development goals of the Millennium Declaration. To that end, for each Action Line in the Geneva and Tunis Plans of Action (as identified in the Annex), a team of stakeholders will work together to promote implementation. We request the UN Secretary-General to nominate, from among existing UN bodies or specialised agencies, those that will [moderate/coordinate] the work of each team, based on respect for their mandates and leveraging on their expertise, and within their existing resources.

10. We acknowledge that multi-stakeholder participation in the building of the inclusive and development-oriented information society is essential. We underline that the continuous and substantial involvement of all stakeholders in implementing WSIS decisions on national, regional and international levels with the overarching goal of helping countries to achieve internationally agreed development goals is a key of success.


11. In order to assure the sustainability of the WSIS process after the completion of its Tunis phase, we agree to establish a process of follow-up to the outcomes of the [Geneva and Tunis phases of] WSIS, at national, regional and international levels. It may include, at each level, the following elements:

  1. implementation of the outcomes of the Geneva and Tunis phases of WSIS;

  2. evaluation of information society developments (including through a digital opportunity index);

  3. policy debate and review.


12. At the national level, based on the WSIS outcomes, we encourage governments to set up a national implementation framework with full and effective participation of civil society and business entities;

  1. National e-strategies, where appropriate, should be made an integral part of national development plans, including Poverty Reduction Strategies, aiming to contribute to the achievement of the goals contained in the UN Millennium Declaration;

  2. ICTs should be fully mainstreamed into strategies for Official Development Assistance (ODA) through more effective donor information-sharing and co-ordination, and through analysis and sharing of best practices and lessons learned from experience with ICT for development programmes;

  3. Existing bilateral and multilateral technical assistance programmes, including those under the UN Development Assistance Framework, should be used whenever appropriate to assist governments in their implementation efforts at the national level;

  4. Common Country Assessment reports should contain a component on ICT for development.


13. At the regional level:


  1. Upon request from governments, regional inter-governmental organizations could carry out WSIS implementation activities, exchanging information and best practices at the regional level, as well as organizing policy debate on the use of ICT for development, with a focus on attaining internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the UN Millennium Declaration;

  2. UN regional economic commissions, based on request of Member States and within approved budgetary resources, may organize regional WSIS follow-up conferences with appropriate frequency;

  3. We consider a multi-stakeholder approach and the full and effective participation in regional activities by civil society and business entities to be essential.

11. The [moderator/coordinator] of each team identified in the Annex should periodically prepare a report on the implementation of the Geneva and Tunis Plans of Action based upon the information provided by, and the outputs from collaboration among, stakeholders, focussing particular attention on the progress towards achievement of the internationally-agreed development goals of the Millennium Declaration, and submit it to [a defined coordination body]. The [head of a defined coordination body] will submit regular reports to the UN General Assembly, following its existing rules of procedure.


[Options for a defined coordination body (with participation of representatives of all stakeholders):

  • ITU/WSIS-ES;

  • “existing UN division” (within UN DESA) for following-up major UN conferences;

  • Newly-created UN Inter-agency task force, HLSOC-type, (supported by a 2-3 person secretariat);

  • Newly-created UN ICT Task Force-type forum (supported by 2-3 person secretariat);

14. At the international level:


  1. Implementation of the outcomes of the Geneva and Tunis phases of the Summit in the UN system should take account of the main themes and action lines in the Summit documents;

  2. Each UN agency, according to its mandate and competencies, and based on decisions of their respective governing bodies, could facilitate activities among different stakeholders, including civil society and the private sector, to help national governments in their implementation efforts. The facilitation could include information exchange, sharing of best practices, and assistance in developing public/private and multi-stakeholder partnerships. Facilitation should be carried out within the approved budgets of the respective agencies;

  3. Coordination of multi-stakeholder implementation activities would allow information exchange and avoidance of duplication of activities;

  4. The establishment of multi-stakeholder partnerships[, such as the ITU-led initiative “Connect the World”], which are aimed at bridging the digital divide, should be supported and encouraged;

  5. The modalities of coordination of implementation activities among the UN agencies should be defined by the UN Secretary General on the basis of existing practices within the UN system [and within the WSIS]. The experience of, and the activities undertaken by, UN agencies in the WSIS process—notably ITU, UNESCO and UNDP—should continue to be used to their fullest extent.

Chapter Four: The way ahead

Chapter Four: The way ahead


29. We request the Secretary-General of the United Nations to provide—with the collaboration of all stakeholders, and fully utilizing the existing coordination mechanisms within or related to the United Nations—sustained follow-up within the United Nations system to the agreements and commitments reached at WSIS and to ensure effective secretariat support. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is further requested to submit a periodic report to the General Assembly of the United Nations on those follow-up efforts.


29. Evaluation and policy formulation, at the national level, would remain the prerogative of governments. We consider the full and effective participation in the policy debate by the national civil society and business entities to be essential.


30. A realistic international performance evaluation and benchmarking (both qualitative and quantitative), through comparable statistical indicators and research results, including by using a methodology for a composite ICT development index (digital opportunity index), should be developed to follow up the implementation of the Geneva and Tunis outcomes, taking into account different national circumstances.


31. The stocktaking of activities related to the implementation of the Geneva and Tunis outcomes could be a valuable source of information in the evaluation process.


32. We request the Secretary General of the United Nations to submit an annual report to the ECOSOC and/or UNGA on implementation activities of the WSIS decisions within the UN family.


33. Review and policy debate should be organized in the framework of the follow-up to the outcomes of the major UN conferences and summits in the Economic and Social fields, as provided for in UNGA Resolution 57/270. It should be an integral part of the review process of the implementation of the UN Millennium Declaration.


34. Continuous involvement of all stakeholders in the policy discussion after Tunis Summit is essential and the modalities of such participation should be established.


Part 2: The following proposals originate from contributions from governments and other stakeholders on chapters one and four of the operational part received since the end of PrepCom-2 (17-25 February 2005). The full compilation of proposals is available in document DT/6 (Rev. 2).


In line with the Decision of PrepCom-2 (WSIS-II/PC-2/DOC/13 (Rev. 1)), the Group of Friends of the Chair is invited to draft new1 proposals which for chapters one and four which will be forwarded to PrepCom-3 for an appropriate decision on their use.


Chapter One: Implementation Mechanism

Source

Proposed text

Inter-parliamentary Union

New Para 2A. We call upon parliaments to establish the enabling environments for national e-strategies by adopting the necessary legal framework, by approving the budgets required to finance national e-strategies and by effectively overseeing the implementation by government of such strategies.

International Council on Archives

New Para 6b3. Encouraging good information management policies in public and private sectors to ensure on-going reliability and accessibility of public information; encouraging creation of technical solutions for technological obsolescence to ensure the survival and transmission of informational contents;

WSIS Youth Caucus

New Para 6b4. Digitizing our cultural treasures for the benefit of future generations;

CCBI / Ghana (African Group)

New Para 6k3 v. Establishing mechanisms that help local SMEs to customize products and applications to their particular market and cultural context, and providing support through capacity-building;

WSIS Youth Caucus / Informal Coalition on Financing and Gender Caucus (joint submission)

New Para 6o. Ensuring ICT enterprises commit to environment-friendly production processes and to product recycling and proper disposal of ICT waste products, to minimise negative impacts of the use and manufacture of ICTs on people and the environment;

Japan

New Para 6q6p. Building ICT networks and developing services that are available anytime, anywhere, by anything and anyone;

Informal Coalition on Financing and Gender Caucus (joint submission)

New Para 6r6q. Establishing programmes for academia, communities, industry, and governments for ongoing learning of good practices in the design and implementation of ICTs;

Ghana (African Group)

New Para 6t6r. Providing increased attention and support to human resource development and education for the information society with emphasis on the youth and women in order to increase contribution to the broader knowledge economy;

ECPAT International

New Para 6u6s. Incorporating policies and self-regulatory, co-regulatory or other effective frameworks to protect children and young people from abuse and exploitation through ICTs into national plans of action and e-strategies.

International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR)

New Para 7B. We also applaud research initiatives that contribute to the accomplishment of the WSIS goals. Research institutions should be promoted and supported at all levels, and recognized as a relevant stakeholder.

Chapter Four: The Way Ahead

Spain

New Para 30. We propose to establish a World Internet Day. This Day could help to raise awareness, on an annual basis, of the importance of this global facility, and more broadly on the issues dealt with in the Summit, especially the possibilities that the use of ICT can bring for societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide.


1 In this context, “new” proposals are understood to be those that introduce new elements or themes not covered in the existing text. Thus, those contributions which comment on or attempt to refine the existing text are not reported here but will be sent directly to PrepCom-3 in document DT/6 (Rev. 2) as well as in the existing compilations from PrepCom-2 (DT/2 (Rev. 3) , DT/4 (Rev. 1) and DT/5).

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