The United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Latvia today concluded the first phase of co-facilitating the United Nations’ review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), a landmark global process to work towards a vision of a people-centered, inclusive and development oriented Information Society.
The President of the UN General Assembly, Sam Kutesa, appointed on 1 June the Permanent Representatives of the UAE, Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh, and of Latvia, Ambassador Janis Mazeiks, to co-facilitate the review, the results of which will be captured in an outcome document for adoption at a High Level meeting of the UN General Assembly on 15-16 December 2015 in New York, according to UAE News Agency (WAM) today.
The appointment came to facilitate the review and adoption of an outcome document in December. In his statement to the meeting, which was read by Einar Gunnarsson, the Permanent Representative of Island, Mr. Kutesa highlighted the significance of the review process saying that it takes place at an opportune time as the international community works to formulate an ambitious and transformative post-2015 development agenda. "It is vital that through this review, we not only take stock of the progress that has been achieved in the implementation of the WSIS outcomes, but also gather momentum to further unleash the potentials of ICTs to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development," he added.
Commenting on her appointment as a co-facilitator, Ambassador Nusseibeh said, "It is an honor for the UAE to co-facilitate the UN’s review of the WSIS outcomes, and to work with Member States and of non-government stakeholders to arrive at a common vision for the future." She added, "The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector has undergone truly remarkable transformation since the WSIS process began in 2003, and we are identifying a range of opportunities and challenges that must be addressed at the global level."
The UN estimates that globally mobile subscriptions have grown from less than 20% in 2003, when the UN held the first WSIS conference, to 96% today. Internet access has increased from around 10% in 2003 to 46% today. At the same time, the UN has pointed to persistent gaps in ICT use and content creation between developed and developing countries, as well as between men and women. A number of ICT-related concerns – such as privacy, security, and cross-border Internet regulation – have also rapidly climbed the political agenda.
This week’s meetings saw discussions among Member States and non-government stakeholders on their expectations for the final outcome document, as well as presentations by UNCTAD, ITU and UNESCO of progress relative to goals set out since 2003, particularly for ICT’s contribution to global development.
The intergovernmental preparatory meeting on July1 was followed by an informal interactive stakeholder consultation on July 2, during which groups and individuals from the private sector, civil society, and academia shared their views and perspectives. Panelists included Microsoft, the Internet Society, ICANN (the organization-managing internet addresses worldwide) and many others.
The second preparatory meeting for the WSIS review will take place from 20 to 22 October 2015 in New York, WAM reported.
