27 July 2006

FINAL

Draft resolution of ECOSOC

on follow-up to WSIS and review of CSTD

The Economic and Social Council,

PP1. Welcoming the outcome of the World Summit on the Information Society¹, (agreed)

PP2. Recalling the Declaration of Principles and the Plan of Action, adopted in Geneva in 2003, and the Tunis Commitment and the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society, adopted in Tunis in 2005 by the World Summit on the Information Society and endorsed by the General Assembly², (agreed)

PP3. Recalling further the 2005 World Summit outcome³, (agreed)

PP4. Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on modalities of the inter-agency coordination of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society, including recommendations on the follow-up process⁴ and which reviews the actions taken since the convening of the Summit and emphasizes the need for full implementation of Summit decisions (agreed)

PP5. Taking note also of the ongoing United Nations reform process, (agreed)

PP.6 Recalling General Assembly resolution 60/252⁵, which requests the Council to oversee the system-wide follow-up of the Geneva and Tunis outcomes of the Summit, and to that end, requests the Council, at its substantive session of 2006, to review the mandate, agenda and composition of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, including considering strengthening the Commission, taking into account the multi-stakeholder approach, (agreed)

PP6.bis Bearing in mind Economic and Social Council decision 1992/218 of 30 April 1992, and resolution 1992/62 of 31 July 1992, by which the Council established the Commission on Science and Technology for Development and defined its terms of reference, as well as the Council’s Decision 2005/308 on methods of work of the Commission, (agreed)

PP6.ter Recognizing the need to strengthen the Commission on Science and Technology for Development in order to enable it to undertake activities defined by WSIS, taking into account the multi-stakeholder approach, (agreed)

PP7. Recalling General Assembly resolution 57/270B on integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields, (agreed)

PP8. Recognizing that the implementation and follow-up of the WSIS should be an integral part of the integrated follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields and should contribute to the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, and should not require the creation of any new operational bodies⁶, (agreed)

PP9. Acknowledging the urgent need to bridge the digital divide and to assist developing countries including those countries with special needs as they are stated in the WSIS outcome documents to benefit fully from the potential of information and communication technologies⁷, (agreed)

PP10. Stressing the importance of the WSIS outcomes to the building of a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented information society so as to enhance digital opportunities for all people in order to help to bridge the digital divide⁸, (agreed)

PP10 bis. Welcoming the multi-stakeholder participation in the WSIS and in its follow-up as a constructive way of dealing with present and future challenges in building the information society,

PP11. Reaffirming the need for ensuring an effective partnership and cooperation between Governments and the relevant actors of civil society, including non-governmental organizations, the academic and scientific community, and the private sector, in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the WSIS, (agreed)

PP12. Taking note of the action taken by the Secretary-General to convene the Internet Governance Forum, (agreed)

PP12bis. Taking note of the request to the United Nations Secretary-General to start a process towards enhanced cooperation as referred in paragraphs 69-71 of the Tunis agenda; (agreed)

PP13. Taking note of the establishment, within the UN system Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB), of the UN Group on the Information Society (UNGIS), consisting of the relevant UN bodies and organizations with the mandate to facilitate the implementation of WSIS outcomes, and noting the importance that the Council be kept informed of the progress in its work as a part of the annual reporting on the work of interagency bodies to the Council, (agreed)

PP14. Acknowledging with appreciation the role played by UNCTAD in providing secretariat support to the Commission, (agreed)

Follow-up to WSIS

OP1. Welcomes the strong developmental orientation of the outcomes of both the Geneva and the Tunis phases of the Summit, and urges their full implementation, (agreed)

OP2. Decides to carry out its responsibilities for overseeing the system-wide follow-up to WSIS outcomes in the context of its annual consideration of the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits in the coordination segment on the basis of a thematic approach and a multi-year programme in accordance with General Assembly resolution 57/270B, based upon the work of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development and drawing upon other relevant inputs, (agreed)

OP2.ter

Takes note of the important role of UN Regional Commissions and encourages them to undertake specific activities in accordance with the WSIS outcomes, (agreed)

Role of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development

Mandate

OP3. Decides that, in accordance with General Assembly resolutions 57/270B and 60/252, the Commission shall effectively assist ECOSOC as the focal point in the system-wide follow-up, in particular the review and assessment of progress made in implementing the outcomes of WSIS, while at the same time maintaining its original mandate on science and technology for development, also taking into account the provisions of paragraph 60 of the Outcome of the 2005 World Summit⁹; (agreed)

OP3.bis Agrees that the system-wide follow-up shall have a strong development orientation, (agreed)

OP4. Decides that, in the exercise of its responsibility as defined in paragraph OP3 above, the Commission on Science and Technology for Development shall review and assess progress made in implementing the outcomes of WSIS and advise the Council thereon, including through the elaboration of recommendations to the Council aimed at furthering Summit outcomes. To that end, the Commission shall:

1. review and assess progress at the international and regional levels in the implementation of Action Lines, recommendations and commitments contained in the outcome documents of WSIS;

2. share best and effective practices and lessons learned, and identify obstacles and constraints encountered, actions and initiatives to overcome them and important measures for further implementation of WSIS outcomes;

3. promote dialogue and foster partnerships in coordination with other appropriate UN funds, programmes and specialized agencies to contribute to the attainment of the WSIS objectives and implementation of its outcomes, to use ICT for development and the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, with the participation of governments, private sector, civil society and the UN and other international organizations according to their different roles and responsibilities;

Composition

OP5. Decides that the Commission on Science and Technology for Development shall be strengthened in its substantive capacity and enhanced through effective and meaningful participation of Member States in its work. It decides also that the Commission shall be enlarged by ten new members. The additional members shall be elected bearing in mind the principle of balanced and equitable geographical distribution and in accordance with procedures and timetables to be established by the Council, from among the States Members of the United Nations or States Members of specialized agencies;

Working methods

OP6. Also decides that the Commission shall meet annually for a period of five working days in Geneva on a trial basis with review in CSTD after two years and making recommendation to the Council thereon;

OP7. Decides that in line with the Council’s decision 2005/308, and in the exercise of its responsibilities as defined in OP3 above the Commission shall continue working on the basis of biennial action cycles; (agreed)

OP7bis. Taking into account the Commission’s mandates as contained in OP3 above, decides that in the next session the Commission shall develop its agenda and a multi-year work programme; (agreed)

OP7ter. Recommends that the Commission provide for governments, private sector, civil society and the UN and other international organizations to participate effectively in its work and contribute, within their areas of competence, to its deliberations,

OP8. Decides that its future sessions will increasingly be conducted as interactive dialogue; (agreed)

OP9. Decides that, in addition to its traditional working practices, the Commission will continue to explore development-friendly and innovative use of electronic media, drawing upon existing online databases on best practices, partnership projects and initiatives, as well as other collaborative electronic platforms, which would allow all stakeholders to contribute to follow-up efforts, share information, learning from the experience of others and explore opportunities for partnerships. (agreed)

Multi-stakeholder approach

OP10a Decides that while using the multi-stakeholder approach effectively, the intergovernmental nature of the Commission should be preserved;

OP10b Decides also that:

1. Pursuant to ECOSOC resolution 1996/31, non-governmental organizations and civil society entities without consultative status to ECOSOC, but which have received accreditation to WSIS, may participate, upon approval by ECOSOC in a timely manner, on an exceptional basis and without prejudice to the established rules of the United Nations, in the next two meetings of the Commission. This provision is based on the understanding that in the meantime, said organizations and entities apply for consultative status to ECOSOC in accordance with existing rules and procedures, and that in accordance with Council resolution 1996/31, the Committee on NGO is invited to consider such applications, in accordance with the rules and procedures of the United Nations and to do so as expeditiously as possible;

2. On an exceptional basis, without prejudice to existing rules of procedure, business sector entities, including the private sector, in particular those who have received accreditation to WSIS, may participate, upon approval by ECOSOC in a timely manner, in the work of the Commission in accordance with the rules of procedure of ECOSOC.

OP10c. Decides that every effort should be made by CSTD, in collaboration with relevant UN bodies and other interested parties, to mobilize and ensure meaningful and effective participation, including through providing assistance on a voluntary basis, of all stakeholders from developing countries, including non-governmental organizations, small- and medium-size enterprises, industry associations and development actors.

  Secretariat support

OP11. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure effective and adequate secretariat support by UNCTAD to the Commission, to enable it to fulfil its mandate as outlined in OP3 above, while ensuring, in this regard, close collaboration with other relevant United Nations organizations and specialized agencies;

Reporting

OP11.bis Requests the Secretary-General to inform the Commission on the implementation of WSIS outcomes as a part of his annual reporting to the Commission,

(agreed)

OP12. Requests the Commission to submit to the Council, within its annual report, information on the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to WSIS outcomes at the regional and international level; (agreed)

OP13. Decides to keep the General Assembly advised, through its annual report of progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to WSIS outcomes, taking into account the work of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development.

(agreed)

Recommended for adoption

27 July 2006 12:57 pm______________________________________________