28 October 2015: UN Member States discussed information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the post-2015 era, and aligning the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) agenda with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) Second Committee (Economic and Financial).

The Second Committee discussed ICTs for development on 28 October 2015, in New York, US.

Member States welcomed the UN Secretary-General’s report (A/70/63-E/2015/10) on progress made in implementing and following up on the outcomes of WSIS, and highlighted that both the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognize ICTs as development enablers. Trinidad and Tobago, for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), called for aligning the WSIS agenda and the 2030 Agenda, while the EU said the WSIS+10 high-level meeting, to take place in December 2015, is an important opportunity in that regard.

Brunei Darussalam, for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), supported by CARICOM, expressed hope that the WSIS+10 high-level meeting will spur efforts to bridge the digital gap between and within Member States. Maldives for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), underlined that the digital divide continues to widen because access to information, in and of itself, does not result in knowledge and, therefore, the divide can only be bridged when content and technology are geared toward local needs and priorities while enhancing capabilities of end users to make productive use of data. CARICOM added that a significant amount of work remains to be done in order to address growing challenges in: the field of cyber security; the limited use of cloud networking as a result of unreliable and unavailable broadband access in developing countries; and the continued disparity between men and women in access to ICT.

Many developing countries, including South Africa for the G-77/ China, CARICOM, AOSIS, and Zambia for the Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) requested support for: gaining access to ICTs and know-how; mobilizing resources for investment in new technologies, particularly in infrastructure for broadband connectivity; establishing and enforcing ICT-related legal frameworks; research; expanding public awareness; and capacity building for both use of ICTs and for the development and maintenance of broadband infrastructure. AOSIS added that processes and discussions on ICTs should be transparent, and participation should be equitable, and called for small island developing States (SIDS) to be supported in finding a seat at the table, given that they have limited capacity.

Noting that only 5% of the households in the least developed countries (LDCs) have internet access, Bangladesh, for the LDCs, called on the international community, the private sector and other stakeholders to provide assistance. Since LDCs constitute almost 25% of the UN membership, but their concerns and constraints are not adequately addressed in WSIS documents and other UN reports, he said, he requested the Secretary-General to remedy this underrepresentation.

AOSIS, supported by CARICOM, called for looking into leveraging innovation in order to monitor, predict, mitigate and adapt to the adverse effects of climate change through: developing ICT networks; early warning systems; remote sensing; computer based systems for mapping; and wireless technologies. She underlined that mobilizing public finance is critical for coordinated assistance to groups of countries in special situations, including for disaster risk reduction (DRR).

The EU underlined its support for the Internet Government Forum (IGF), noting its value in enabling cooperation in the area of internet governance, by bringing stakeholders together to share best practices and shape policy debates.

The US said it is important to focus on WSIS+10 this fall, and not to engage in discussions within the Second Committee that would duplicate or undermine Member States’ ability to achieve a consensus outcome at the WSIS+10 high-level meeting.

The UNGA will convene the high-level meeting on the ten-year review of the implementation of the outcomes of the WSIS (WSIS+10) on 15-16 December 2015. The meeting will address issues for the implementation of WSIS outcomes, including progress, gaps and challenges, and future actions. An intergovernmentally agreed outcome document is expected to be adopted. [Second Committee Country Statements] [UNGA Press Release] [UNGA President’s Letter about WSIS+10]