Chair of Sub-Committee B

Chapter One: Implementation Mechanism
and
Chapter Four: The Way Ahead

[Chapter One: Implementation []

1. We recognise that it is now time to move from principles to action, considering the work already being done in implementing the Plan of Action and identifying those areas where progress has been made, is being made, or has not taken place. Governments and other stakeholders should identify those areas where further effort and resources are required, and jointly identify and where appropriate develop implementation strategies,, mechanisms and processes for WSIS outcomes at global, regional, national and local levels, paying particular attention to peoples and groups that are still marginalized in their access to and utilization of ICTs.

2. Taking into consideration the leading role of governments in partnership with other stakeholders in implementing the WSIS outcomes, including the Plan of Action at the national level referred in [the Political Chapeau], we encourage those governments that have not yet done so to elaborate, as appropriate, comprehensive, forward looking and sustainable national e-strategies, including ICT and sectoral e-strategies, as an integral part of national development plans and poverty reduction strategies, as soon as possible and before 2010.

3. We support regional and international integration efforts aimed at building a development-oriented global Information Society, reiterate that strong cooperation within and among regions is indispensable to support knowledge-sharing. Regional cooperation should contribute to national capacity-building and to the development, as appropriate, of national e-strategies, including ICT and sectoral e-strategies, as well as regional implementation strategies.

4. We affirm that the exchange of views and sharing of effective practices and resources is essential to implementing the outcomes of WSIS at the regional and international levels. To this end, efforts should be made to provide and share, among all stakeholders, useful knowledge and know-how, related to the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of national e-strategies[, including ICT and sectoral e-strategies] and policies, as appropriate. We recognize as fundamental elements to bridge the digital divide in developing countries, in a sustainable way, the reduction of poverty, enhanced national capacity-building and the promotion of local technological development.

5. We reaffirm that through the international cooperation of governments and partnership of all stakeholders, it will be possible to succeed in our challenge of harnessing the potential of ICTs as a tool, at the service of development, to promote the use of information and knowledge to achieve the internationally-agreed development goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals, as well as to address the national and local development priorities, thereby further improving the socio-economic development of all human beings.

6. We are determined to improve global, regional and national connectivity and affordable access to ICTs and information through an enhanced international cooperation of all stakeholders that promotes technology exchange and technology transfer on mutually agreed terms, human resource development and training, thus increasing the capacity of developing countries to participate fully, contribute and innovate, in the Information Society.

[6bis Recalling that international cooperation among all stakeholders is vital in implementation of this plan of action and needs to be strengthened with a view to promoting universal access and bridging the digital divide, [we undertake to assess regularly the impact of that cooperation and to work jointly in order to eliminate any obstacles against it.]]

Newest 6bis Plan of action International and regional organizations should assess and report regularly on universal accessibility of nations to ICTs, with the aim of creating equitable opportunities for the growth of ICT sectors of developing countries.

7. We reaffirm our commitment to providing equitable access to information and knowledge for all, recognizing the role of ICTs for economic growth and development. We are committed to working towards achieving the indicative targets, set out in the Plan of Action, that serve as global references for improving connectivity and universal, ubiquitous, equitable, non-discriminatory and affordable access in the use of ICTs, considering different national circumstances, to be achieved by 2015, and to using ICTs, as an additional tool to achieve the internationally-agreed development goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals, by:

 

1. mainstreaming and aligning national e-strategies, including ICT and sectoral e- strategies, across local, national, and regional action plans, as appropriate and in accordance with local and national development priorities, with in-built time-bound measures;
    
2. developing and implementing enabling policies that are reflective of individual countries and promote a supportive international environment foreign direct investment as well as the mobilization of domestic resources in order to promote entrepreneurship in particular Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) taking into account their particular market and cultural context. These policies should be reflected in a transparent, equitable regulatory framework to create a competitive environment to support these goals and strengthen economic growth.
    
3. Building ICT capacity for all and confidence in the use of ICTs by all - including youth, women, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities and rural communities - through the improvement and delivery of relevant education and training programmes and systems incorporating lifelong and distance learning;
    
4. promoting community [volunteering] ] as well as community access;
    
5. promoting public policies aimed at providing affordable access to hardware as well as software, connectivity, increasingly converging technological environment, capacity-building and local content;
    
6. developing and implementing e-government applications based on open standards in order to enhance the growth and interoperability of e-government systems, at all levels, thereby furthering access to government information and services, and contributing to building ICT Networks and developing services that are available anywhere and anytime, to anyone and by anything.
    
7. promoting libraries in their public service role of enhancing community connectivity and information literacy, and providing free and equitable access to information, paying particular attention to the needs of underserved communities.
    
8. supporting educational, scientific, and cultural institutions, including museums, libraries, and archives, in their role of developing, providing access to, and preserving diverse content, including in digital form, to support informal and formal education, research, and innovation.
    
9. encouraging effective information management policies in the public and private sectors, including the use of standards-based digital archiving and innovative solutions to overcome technological obsolescence, to ensure long term preservation of and continued access to information.
    
10. improving access to the world's health knowledge and telemedicine services, in particular in areas such as global cooperation in emergency response, access to and networking among health professionals to help improve quality of life and environmental conditions;
     
11. building ICT capacities to improve access and use of postal network and services;
     
12. using ICT to improve access to agricultural knowledge, combat poverty, and support production of and access to locally relevant agriculture related content;
     
13. [creating local and regional networks to improve the world’s system for the control warning surveillance and response to situation of emergency;]
     
14. [establishing standards-based monitoring and early-warning systems and facilitating emergency response in high-risk regions all over the world, using ICTs, accessible for all groups and individuals, to forecast, monitor and reduce the impact of natural and man-made disasters, as well as to disseminate understandable warnings to those at risk;]
    
    old o)+n) Establishing standards-based monitoring and worldwide early-warning system, and their integration into, national and regional networks as well as facilitating emergency response in high-risk regions all over the world, using ICTs, accessible for all groups and individuals, to forecast, monitor and reduce the impact of natural and man-made disasters, as well as enhance information and communication networks [including emergency communications networks] to disseminate understandable warnings to those at risk;
     
15. enhancing the capacity of communities in all regions to develop content in local languages;
     
16. improving global, regional and national connectivity and access to ICTs through enhanced international cooperation that promotes technology transferand human resources training and development so as to increase the capacity of developing countries, including Least Developed Countries and their citizens capacity to participate fully in the Information Society;
     
17. strongly encouraging ICT enterprises to commit to environment-friendly production processes, product recycling and proper disposal of ICT waste products in order to minimise the negative impacts of the use and manufacture of ICTs on people and the environment;
     
18. Incorporating regulatory, self-regulatory, [co-regulatory] and other effective policies and frameworks to protect children and young people from abuse and exploitation through ICTs into national plans of action and e-strategies;
    
    Old t) Promoting the use of traditional and new media in order to foster universal access to information, culture and knowledge for all people, especially vulnerable populations and populations in developing countries and using radio and television into educational and learning tools;
     
19. [strengthening freedom of the press and freedom of information, as well as independence, pluralism and diversity of media and reducing international unbalances affecting the media;]
    
    Newest s) Encouraging the development of domestic legislation that guarantees the independence and plurality of media, as well as taking appropriate measures – consistent with freedom of expression under certain restrictions provided by law for respect of rights or reputations of others and the protection of national security, public order and public morality. Reaffirming the responsible use and treatment of information by media in accordance with the highest ethical and professional standards.
     
20. digitizing our historical data and cultural heritage for the benefit of future generations.
     
21. [Motivating by means of effective actions in the areas of education and research (inclusive of science and technology), girls and women, to fully participate in the information society. These actions will promote women performance as workers, educators, researchers, civil society representatives and stake holders in the e-Government processes and in the decision making and political and action plan monitoring organizations;]
    
    Newest u) Implementing effective actions on training and education (in particular science and technology) that motivate the fully participation of girls and women in the Information Society. These actions will also promote women performance as educators, researchers, civil society representatives, as well as stakeholders in the e-government process including decision making and monitoring of public policies and plans of action related to Information Society.
     
22. paying special attention to the formulation of universal design concepts that promote access for all persons including those with disabilities

New 11Abis from political chapeau We recognize the intrinsic relationship between disaster reduction, sustainable development and eradication of poverty and that disasters seriously undermine investments in a very short time and remain a major impediment to sustainable development and poverty eradication. We are clear of the important enabling role of ICT at the national, regional and international levels including,

Enhancing the capacity of developing countries in utilizing ICT tools for national disaster early warning, management and emergency communications, including their integration in the global network;
 

Promoting technical cooperation on development and application of ICT tools for cost-efficient establishment and operation disaster early warning, management and emergency communication system;

Promoting regional and international cooperation for easy accessing to and sharing of technical and information resources for disaster management, including to promote the utilization of space infrastructure, and exploring resources for easier participation of developing countries. (Agreed).

[New child helpline. We commit ourselves to mobilising resources, including human resources, to: issue a three or four-digit toll-free number for each respective country’s child helpline. This number can be the universal access number earmarked for children, similar to emergency services numbers currently offered in many countries and should be accessible and free of cost from both landline and mobile phones.]

8. We accordingly call on international and intergovernmental organisations to develop within approved resources their policy analysis and capacity-building programmes, based on practical and replicable experiences of ICT matters policies and actions that have led to economic growth and poverty alleviation through improved competitiveness of enterprises.

9. [We recall that the WSIS Plan of Action identifies international performance evaluation and benchmarking, taking into account different national circumstances, as an important aspect of follow-up and evaluation . Recognizing the need to achieve a common set of core ICT indicators that are harmonized and mutually agreed-upon internationally, taking into account different levels of development, we welcome the progress made on a list of core ICT indicators and encourage further coordination with the work currently being done by the UN Statistical Commission and other relevant international fora on measuring progress towards the achievement of the internationally-agreed development goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals.]

9B Appropriate indicators and benchmarking, including community connectivity indicators, should clarify the magnitude of the digital divide, in both its domestic and international dimensions, and keep it under regular assessment, and tracking global progress in the use of ICTs to achieve internationally agreed development goals, including those of the Millennium Declaration.

10. We call upon and encourage national statistical offices and e-government agencies, UN agencies, Regional Commissions and intergovernmental networks, international organizations as well as other stakeholders to support these research efforts by providing technical support and data sharing including gender, age and other disaggregated data. We invite the international community to strengthen the statistical capacity of developing countries by giving appropriate support at national and regional levels.


12. We recognize that our goals can be accomplished through the involvement and cooperation of all stakeholders in the Information Society. We encourage strengthened and continuing co-operation between and among stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of the Geneva and Tunis outcomes, for instance through the promotion of multi-stakeholder partnerships including Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), the promotion of national and regional multi-stakeholder thematic platforms in a joint effort and dialogue with developing and less developed countries, donors development partners and actors in the ICT sector.


14. We commit ourselves to review and follow-up progress in bridging the digital divide, taking into account the different levels of development among nations, so as to achieve the internationally-agreed development goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals, assessing the effectiveness of investment and international cooperation efforts in building the Information Society, identifying gaps as well as deficits in investment and devising strategies to address them.


[15 Request that the ITU and relevant regional organizations report on a regular basis to the Summit’s follow-up mechanism on activities to safeguard the use of the radioelectric spectrum in the public interest, in accordance with the principle of legality and in full observance of relevant international laws and agreements, as well as national and international regulations.]


16. We acknowledge that multi-stakeholder participation is essential to the successful building of an inclusive and development-oriented information society. We underline that the participation of all stakeholders in implementing WSIS outcomes, and following them up on national, regional and international levels with the overarching goal of helping countries to achieve internationally-agreed development goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals is key to that success.

17. We agree, in order to ensure the sustainability of progress towards the goals of WSIS after the completion of its Tunis phase, to establish [implementation and] [a process of] follow-up [mechanism] to the outcomes of WSIS, at national, regional and international levels , as part of an integrated and co-ordinated process. That [process] [mechanism] may include, at each level, the following elements:

1. implementation;
    
2. evaluation;
    
3. review, policy debate and follow up

18. At the national level, based on the WSIS outcomes, we encourage governments, with the participation of all stakeholders, to set up a national implementation framework bearing in mind the importance of the enabling environment, in which:

1. National e-strategies,[ including ICT and sectoral 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 goals contained in the Millennium Declaration;
    
2. ICTs should be fully mainstreamed into strategies for Official Development Assistance (ODA) through more effective development partners 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.

19. At the regional level:

1. Upon request from governments, regional inter-governmental organizations in collaboration with other stakeholders could carry out WSIS implementation activities, exchanging information and best practices at the regional level, as well as facilitating policy debate on the use of ICT for development, with a focus on attaining the internationally-agreed development goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals;
    
2. UN Regional economic Commissions, based on request of Member States and within approved budgetary resources, may organize regional WSIS follow-up activities in collaboration with regional and sub-regional organizations with appropriate frequency as well as assist members states with technical and relevant information for the development of regional strategies and the implementation of the outcomes of regional conferences;
    
3. We consider a multi-stakeholder approach and the participation in regional WSIS implementation activities by civil society, business entities and others to be essential.

20. At the international level, bearing in mind the importance of the enabling environment:

1. Implementation and follow-up 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 with full participation of all stakeholders;
    
2. Each UN agency, within its mandate and competencies, and based on decisions of their respective governing bodies, and in line with UNGA Resolution 57/270 B, should facilitate activities among different stakeholders, including civil society and the business sector, to help national governments in their implementation efforts. The facilitation should include, amongst others, information exchange, creation of knowledge, sharing of best practices, and assistance in developing and multi-stakeholder public private partnerships. Facilitation should be carried out within the approved budgets of the respective agencies.

[
We stress the importance of the effective and timely implementation the outcomes of WSIS and agree that the modalities of coordination of implementation activities among UN agencies should be defined by the UN Secretary General on the basis of existing practices within the UN system.

Recalling that the system-wide integrated and coordinated of implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of major UN conferences and summits in the economic and social fields should follow the procedures set out in UNGA Resolution 57/270B, and, that the impact of ICTs cuts across several sectors, and therefore UN agencies, we further agree that the experience of, and activities undertaken by, UN agencies in the WSIS process should continue to be used to their fullest extent.

Recognizing that ICTs can serve as a catalyst for meeting the internationally-agreed development goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals, we urge all UN agencies, especially those whose mandate may have a significant impact on the development of an inclusive and development-oriented Information Society to consider, within their mandate and competencies, based on the decisions of their respective governing bodies and in line with UNGA Resolution 57/270 B, to facilitate activities among different stakeholders, including civil society and the business sector, in order to assist national governments in their implementation efforts.

Further recognizing that successful building of an inclusive Information Society is reliant on access to infrastructure and the development of content, We request ITU with close collaboration with UNESCO and UNDP to continue playing the leading managerial role and organize a meeting of coordinators of action lines as mentioned in Annex A.

We further request the Secretary General in his capacity as Chair of the Chief Executives Board for co-ordination to address the possibility of inter-agency co-ordination.
]

3. 
    
4. Coordination of multi-stakeholder implementation activities would allow information exchange and avoidance of duplication of activities;
    
5. The establishment of multi-stakeholder partnerships which are aimed at bridging the digital divide should be supported and encouraged. In that respect we welcome initiatives such as the ITU-led initiative “Connect the World”, ,
    

[21. We request in the follow up process of the Summit to assist those countries affected by any unilateral measure not in accordance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations, that impedes the full achievement of economic and social development by the population of the affected countries or that hinders their well-being, in overcoming the obstacles which prevent their population from fully enjoying the benefits of the information society.]



[Annex A

 
 ]

Chapter Four: The Way Ahead

40. Building an inclusive development-oriented Information Society will require unremitting effort. We thus commit ourselves to remain fully engaged, nationally, regionally and internationally, to ensure sustainable follow-up to the implementation of outcomes and commitments reached during WSIS process and its Geneva and Tunis phases of the Summit. Taking into account the multifaceted nature of building the Information Society, effective cooperation among governments, UN agencies, civil society and the private sector , according to their different roles and responsibilities and leveraging on their expertise, is essential.

[40A This cooperation must be [governed] [guided] by the provision of UNGA resolution 57/270 B and in terms of the decisions of the 2005 Summit]
40A EU

[40A 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 B. It should be an integral part of the review process of the implementation of the UN Millennium Declaration]

41. WSIS follow up mechanisms should be based on a multi-stakeholder approach. We recognize the need to establish appropriate mechanisms for implementation, evaluation, as well as policy debate and review, involving governments and other stakeholders and including national, regional, international and other bodies. [We note that the 2005 Summit Outcome Documents emphasize the role of ECOSOC as a quality platform for high-level engagement among Member States and with the international financial institutions, the private sector and civil society.]

1. Effective implementation of WSIS outcomes is important for achieving internationally-agreed development goals and objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals.
   In order to build a inclusive people-centred development oriented Information Society We call for the active participation of the private sector and civil society to work with Governments in implementing WSIS outcomes at the local, national, regional and international levels, in a collaborative manner, taking into account local and national priorities as well as the need to strengthen South-South cooperation.
    
2. Evaluation is an important element of assessing implementation of WSIS outcomes. We accordingly commit to follow up the implementation of the Geneva and Tunis outcomes through an internationally-comparable and mutually agreed upon framework for statistical indicators. This framework should include both qualitative and quantitative elements as well as take into account the different aspects of the development dimension and national circumstances and priorities.
    
3. Considering the dynamic nature of the Information Society and the development of ICTs and their applications, regular policy debate and review is essential. While recognizing that public policy decisions are the ultimate responsibilities of governments, we consider the participation in the policy debate by the national civil society, business entities and others to be essential, and invite all stakeholders to participate actively in the review and policy debate activities organized in the framework of the follow-up to the outcomes of the major UN conferences and summits in the economic and social fields.

42. Adequate financing mechanisms should be sought to implement the long term action plans dedicated to the building of the information society.

43. [We agree that the follow-up to Internet governance should be separated from the other issues and organized as outlined in Chapter Three.]

44. An effective international performance evaluation and benchmarking framework should continue to be developed. Recalling that the Plan of Action identified the need for international evaluation and benchmarking through comparable statistical indicators in order to follow up the implementation of the WSIS objectives, goals and targets, we welcome the launching of the Digital Opportunity Index (DOI) and that of the ICT Opportunity Index which are tools for measuring the ICT infrastructure capability of countries and call upon all stakeholders to contribute to their further development.

[New text to merge 44 and 45 The development of ICT indicators is important for measuring the digital divide. We support the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development, a multi-stakeholder partnership which aims to increase the availability of internationally comparable ICT statistics and to promote capacity building in developing countries for the monitoring of the Information Society. This could lead to the establishment of composite development indexes, such as the Digital Opportunity Index (DOI).]

45. The development of ICT indicators is important for measuring the digital divide. We welcome the launching in June 2004 of the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development, a multi-stakeholder partnership which aims to accommodate and develop further the different initiatives regarding the availability and measurement of ICT indicators at the regional and international levels. It provides an open framework for coordinating ongoing and future activities, and for developing a coherent and structured approach to advancing the development of ICT indicators globally, and in particular in developing countries.

46. Sharing of information related to the implementation of WSIS outcomes is important. We note with appreciation the launch of WSIS Stocktaking in October 2004, which will serve as a valuable tool for follow-up, beyond the conclusion of the Tunis Phase of the Summit. We encourage all WSIS stakeholders to continue to contribute information on their activities to the WSIS stocktaking public database In this regard, we invite all countries to establish an information gathering mechanism at the national level with the involvement of all stakeholders.

47. There is a need to build more awareness on The Internet in order to make it a global facility which is truly available to the public. We agree to declare [dates] a World [Internet] [ICT] [Information Society] Day to help to raise awareness, on an annual basis, of the importance of this global facility, 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.

47A. There is a need for efforts to be undertaken to advance the usage of ICTs including space technologies for knowledge-based disaster management as a priority task.

48. [We request the Secretary-General of the Summit to report to the General Assembly of the United Nations on its outcome.]

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

[49A We request ECOSOC, through its Commission on Science and Technology for Development, to oversee the systematic coordination, review and policy debate of the Geneva and Tunis outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society.]]