FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Terri Robl
U.S. Deputy Representative to the UN Economic and Social Council
New York, NY
October 14, 2014
AS DELIVERED
Mr. Chairman, the United States welcomes this opportunity to discuss the important work of the UN General Assembly in promoting and enabling information and communications technologies as a driver for sustainable economic and social development. The benefits of ICTs and the internet to development are well-known and their economic and social contributions continue to grow. ICTs have been one of the most effective and promising tools to help people and communities realize the objectives set out in the Millennium Development Goals.
As we continue the processes towards a follow-up to the MDGs, the ten-year review of World Summit on the Information Society, and the Post-2015 development agenda, all of which culminate next year, it is critical that we adequately recognize and promote the contribution of ICTs to our shared sustainable development goals, and continue to support the open and inclusive multi-stakeholder approach that maximizes the vibrancy and potential of ICTs to help people and communities all over the world improve their quality of life.
We must all be involved in this endeavor – governments, private sector, the technical community, and civil society – to ensure that all people have access to ICTs and information online; that costs for these technologies continue to decrease; that we redouble investments in networks and technologies; and that our efforts promote innovation, growth, and universal values of freedom of speech and expression. These goals will not be realized by erecting new barriers, fragmenting the global internet, or restricting the free flow of information.
In July, the General Assembly finalized the modalities for the conclusion of an important ten-year review of the WSIS in 2015. We strongly support this process and believe that this review of the implementation of WSIS outcomes that have helped foster ICT development for the past decade is crucial for ensuring and enhancing the contribution of WSIS outcomes to development for years to come.
From the beginning, the United States has been committed to a WSIS review that reaffirms our commitment to the Tunis Agenda and includes comprehensive and objective analyses of WSIS outcomes, as well as practical measures to realize the WSIS goals. The review should not be an attempt to renegotiate WSIS outcomes.
We support and applaud the critical work of all stakeholders who have already contributed to the review process, including the important work of the International Telecommunications Union and UNESCO for hosting numerous review events, and the Commission on Science and Technology for Development for coordinating the results of this process as the focal point in the system-wide follow-up to WSIS. The CSTD is very well-placed to provide an objective, evidence-based, and data-driven review, and we look forward to its report after its 18th session in 2015.
Likewise, the United States is committed to the continued success of the Internet Governance Forum. We would like to thank the government of Turkey for hosting a very successful 9th IGF this year in Istanbul. The IGF continues to be the premier and most dynamic venue for discussions regarding the Internet. We believe that the multi-stakeholder nature of the IGF underpins its unique ability to have open and candid conversations about difficult issues and provide timely direction on best practices, without the need for negotiated outcome documents. This multi-stakeholder process presents some challenges, but these are small relative to the opportunities it provides for dealing effectively with the dynamic nature of the internet.
These characteristics have led the United States to support the IGF through financial contributions and we encourage other stakeholders to do the same. We support the renewal of the IGF mandate as soon as possible in order to plan properly for future IGFs and encourage potential donors to the IGF Trust Fund.
We believe that 2015 offers an important opportunity to promote the use of ICTs in development and the multi-stakeholder model that makes them so dynamic and accessible. We look forward to working with all delegations, in this Committee and in the important review and agenda-setting exercises during 2015, for which the recognition and elevation of ICTs as an important enabler of economic and social development will be so vital to our success in the years ahead. Thank you.
