ENSTA (Civil Society) contribution

16 July 2006

new text : blue underlined

13 July 2006 late

rev. 1

Presented by the Facilitator

Draft resolution of ECOSOC

on follow-up to WSIS and review of CSTD

The Economic and Social Council,

1. Welcoming the outcome of the World Summit on the Information Society¹,

2. 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,

3. Recalling further the 2005 World Summit outcome³,

4. 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,

5. Taking note also of on-going United Nations reform process,

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,

7. Recalling General Assembly resolution 57/270B on integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow up to the major UN conferences and summits in the economic and social fields,

8. 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,

9. Acknowledging the urgent need to bridge the digital divide and to assist developing countries including least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states, and countries with economy in transition to benefit fully from the potential of information and communication technologies⁷

10. 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,

11. Bearing in mind Economic and Social Council resolutions 1992/218 of 30 April 1992, and 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,

12. 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,

13. Taking note of the action taken by the Secretary-General to convene the Internet Governance Forum, as a new body able, inter alia, to identify emerging issues, and, where appropriate, make recommendations ( cf Tunis Agenda 72g).

14. Taking note of the process towards enhanced cooperation, to be started by the UN Secretary-General by the end of the first quarter of 2006,

16. Taking note of the establishment, within the UN system Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB), a 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 requests to be kept informed of progress in its work in the context of the reporting by the Secretary-General,

17. Acknowledging with appreciation the role played by UNCTAD in providing secretariat support to the Commission,

Follow-up to WSIS

1. Welcomes the strong developmental orientation of both the Geneva and the Tunis phases of the Summit and urges their full implementation,

2. 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, relying upon the work of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development and drawing upon other relevant inputs from all stakeholders;

Role of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development

Mandate

3. Decides that, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 57/270B, the Commission shall have the imary responsibilitypr new mandate to effectively assist ECOSOC 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, with equal or improved efficiency, its altradition current mandate on science and technology for development which was highlighted by the provisions of paragraph 60 of the Outcome of the 2005 World Summit⁹;

4. Decides that, in the exercise of its sibilityrespon mandate as defined in paragraph 2 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 the elaboration of practical recommendations 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. identify and disseminate effective practices and lessons learned, as well as identify gaps and obstacles encountered, in the implementation of WSIS outcomes [and suggest initiatives and make recommendations on actions required to overcome the latter]; and

3. [promote dialogue and foster partnerships to contribute to the attainment of the WSIS objectives, to use ICT for development and the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, with the participation of all stakeholders, including, inter alia, governments, international organisations, private sector and civil society, including existing multi-stakeholder groups and platforms, in accordance with the established practices in the ECOSOC [and WSIS] [and in conformity with paragraph 10 below]];

with the participation of all stakeholders, in their respective capacities, including, inter alia: governments, international organisations, private sector and civil society, the Digital Solidarity Fund and other WSIS related funds, multi-stakeholder groups, bureaux and platforms, in conformity with paragraph 10 below;

Composition

5. [Decides that the Commission on Science and Technology for Development shall be enlarged to 47 members to strengthen its substantive capacity and enhance participation of Member States in its work. 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 members of specialized agencies;]

Working methods

6. Also decides that the Commission shall meet annually for a period of [5] [7] [10] working days in Geneva;

7. [Decides that in line with the Council’s decision 2005/308, the Commission shall continue working on the basis of biennial action cycles, in the first year focusing on review session, the objective of which is to evaluate progress in implementing the Geneva Plan of Action and the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society, and in the second, a policy analysis session, the objective of which is to identify actions, initiatives, solutions and effective practices developed, as well as gaps and obstacles encountered in the implementation of WSIS outcome. In its next session, the Commission shall undertake a review of its agenda and develop a multi-year work programme, responsive to innovation, taking into account its role in the follow-up to WSIS and 2005 World Summit outcomes];

8. Decides that its future sessions, benefiting from WSIS best practises, will increasingly be conducted as interactive dialogue, and with broad-based participation of governmental delegations and of civil society, academic and scientific community, private sector, organizations of the United Nations system and other international organizations;

9. Decides that, in addition to its traditional working practices, the Commission will continue to explore innovative use of electronic media, that are, according the Tunis Commitment (28, 29), based on open or interoperable standards that are affordable and accessible to all, while reiterating the need to encourage and foster collaborative development, inter-operative platforms and free and open source software, in ways that reflect the possibilities of different software models, 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.

Multi-stakeholder approach

10. in accordance with the rules of procedure of the functional commissions, in the next two sessions of the Commission, this being on an exceptional basis and without prejudice to the established rules of procedure of the United Nations. This provision is based on the understanding that in the meantime, said organizations and groups apply for consultative status to ECOSOC in accordance with existing rules and procedures, and that in accordance with paragraph 53 of Council resolution 1996/31, the Committee on NGO is invited to consider such applications as expeditiously as possible;

10 bis. While using the multi-stakeholder approach effectively, the intergovernmental nature of the Commission should be preserved, and every effort should be made to mobilize and ensure meaningful and effective participation of all stakeholders from developing countries, including non-governmental organizations, small- and medium-size enterprises, industry associations and development actors.]

11. can participate, hat have been accredited to WSIS t[Decides that, subject to their approval by the Council, non-governmental organizations, private sector groups and civil society groups

Alt 10.

[Decides that

   a) 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, on an exceptional basis and without prejudice to the established rules of the United Nations, as observers 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 paragraph 53 of Council resolution 1996/31, the Committee on NGO is invited to consider such applications as expeditiously as possible. The WSIS Civil Society Bureau, under the additional provision of forming, within one year, a legal entity based in Geneva, shall benefit from above said provision.

   b) Following recent practice of ECOSOC and its functional commissions and without prejudice to existing rules of procedure, business sector entities and civil society entities that are not entitled de jure to an ECOSOC consultative status, may be invited by the Chairperson of the Commission to participate as observers in its work in accordance with the rules of procedure of ECOSOC. A list of business said entities having applied for invitation shall be circulated to states members of the Commission 45 days prior its annual meeting. As a rule, business entities accredited to WSIS, including ITU sector members, are invited as well as  civil society entities that are not entitled de jure to an ECOSOC consultative status.. The invitation of any abovesaid a business sector entity may be suspended or cancelled by the Chairperson of the Commission  on request of a member state not later than 7 days before the meeting. 

Alt 10bis. While using the multi-stakeholder approach effectively, the intergovernmental nature of the Commission should be preserved, and every effort should be made to mobilize and ensure meaningful and effective participation of all stakeholders from developing countries, including non-governmental organizations, small- and medium-size enterprises, industry associations and development actors.]

10 +1 , Decides that the Commission shall encourage the creation of think tanks by the academic or technological communities, with voluntary participation from other stakeholders, to better mobilize academic and technological resources towards WSIS implementation, within a multi-stakeholder approach.

10 + 2 Decides that the Commission shall encourage the creation of a special voluntary assistance Fund, operating only with the help of financial resources external to ECOSOC, jointly managed by the two host countries of WSIS, to preserve and ensure a meaningful and effective participation of all stakeholders that need financial assistance to attend ECOSOC sessions and WSIS-related events, and in particular Civil Society from developing countries,

Secretariat support

12. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure effective and substantive secretariat support to the Commission, currently successfully provided by UNCTAD, to enable it to perform its expanded role while ensuring, in this regard, close collaboration with other relevant United Nations organizations and specialized agencies;

Reporting

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

14. Requests the UN Group on the Information Society (UNGIS) to inform the Commission of progress being made as well as of obstacles encountered,

15. Requests each specialized agency and programme involved in the WSIS implementation to send an yearly report, itemized according to WSIS recommendations, to the Commission towards the goal of aggregating those reports as annexes to the Commission yearly report, in order to provide all stakeholders a convenient source of information and evaluation.

16. Encourage all stakeholders to provide to the Commission, WSIS implementation reports, that the Commission might quote, summarize or include, wherever appropriate, in its yearly report, taking into account the multi-stakeholder approach.

17. 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.