Second Meeting of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom-2) of the Tunis Phase of WSIS Subcommittee meeting (10H00-13H00) International Telecommunication Union Geneva, Switzerland - Friday 18 February 2005

Excellencies,
Distinguished Guest,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The International Telecommunication Union welcomes the two documents prepared by the Group of Friends of the Chair: a Political Chapeau (Tunis Commitment) and an operational Part (Tunis Agenda for Action) and congratulate the members of the Group as well as the chairman, Ambassador Karklins, for their significant work.

Access as a pillar of Information Society, ITU’s role in addressing this challenge

At ITU we believe that connectivity and access are the foundations of our collective desire to build an inclusive and development-oriented Information Society.

We are pleased therefore that the two documents build on the achievements of the Geneva phase and recognize the importance of this issue. It is vital that world leaders remain committed to this process and our draft outputs must reflect this need.

ITU addresses the issue of the Information Society in diverse ways, geared toward fostering connectivity and access:

• On the demand side, our activities foster deployment of networks that are responsive to users.
• On the supply side, we are helping governments to expand and adapt their infrastructures for the development of ICT applications and services in areas including e-health, e-commerce, and distance learning.

ITU contributes its expertise as part of a concerted international effort to generate innovative models for financing of infrastructure, fostering capacity building and developing an enabling environment. The draft documents recognize the linkages between these different elements.

Implementing the Geneva and Tunis Plans of Action, ITU’s input

In the Geneva phase, world leaders took a great step forward in building consensus on technical, political, social and economic issues raised by the Information Society.

However, we must build on the momentum created in the fist phase of WSIS and ensure that Tunis and its outputs demonstrate real solutions and concrete measures to achieve our common goals.

Many different stakeholders have already launched partnerships and initiatives aimed at giving shape to the Geneva Action Plan. But we must ensure that a consistent and thorough approach is taken if we are to achieve the targets set in the Action Plan. It is important that the appropriate mechanisms are put in place, and that the steps are taken to develop the necessary tools.

As the lead organizing UN Agency for the Summit, ITU has shown its ability to work on a broad range of issues related to ICTs. The Union is therefore ready to take a key role in continued activities to implement the goals of WSIS.

One key tool is the stocktaking database, mentioned in section 9 of Chapter 1.

As you know this database was intended to provide an inventory of activities undertaken by all stakeholders in implementing the Geneva Plan of Action and to track the progress made in achieving an inclusive Information Society and meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

We have to expand on this database, since it can serve as a dynamic catalyst before and after the Tunis Summit.

The information gathered will help us to:

• identify areas where more attention would be required;
• strengthen partnerships between stakeholders;
• learn from best practices (and bad) in an effort to improve cooperation projects and policies.

In order to ensure a real success of the Tunis Summit, we also need to foresee an effective implementation mechanism and reporting framework.

The ITU can coordinate with UN bodies so that each will take the lead in their respective sphere of competence to develop the necessary programs and to report on their progress. The HLSOC can help in this process.

ITU can serve  as a moderator for those Action Lines which are closely linked to its mandate and which appear in the Annex to the draft. These are:

• Information and communications infrastructure
• Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs
• Enabling environment

ITU can also serve to coordinate overall follow-up and evaluation as the organizing agency for the Summit.

Finally, ITU can keep the world community regularly informed of the progress that is being made.

Thanks you for your kind attention.