IIS follows the course of the PrepCom-2 and keeps its partners informed on major discussion points and proposals.

Pressing Ahead with ICT Financing and Political Principles

Some 150 countries, along with the various stakeholders in the Information Society, strove to narrow their positions on texts pertaining to financial mechanisms for ICT development and the implementation of the Geneva Plan of Action adopted at the first phase of WSIS in December 2003. These are two key topics on the agenda of PrepCom 2.

On 22 and 23 February the debate hinged on proposals by the Chair of the WSIS Subcommittee for the chapter on financial mechanisms which forms part of the operational part of the final document. The first day saw extensive multilateral cooperation to refine the text but by day two the number of bracketed, or clauses not agreed upon, text increased. This was in some part due to the fact that delegations reopened language in the Geneva Action Plan in order to address the difficulties facing small islands and least developed countries. Ad hoc drafting groups were then formed to expedite work on compromise texts and thus remove roadblocks in the contentious paragraphs.

Several members of WSIS Bureau, or steering committee, also requested the holding of an intersessional meeting between PrepCom-2 and PrepCom-3 to achieve consensus. ITU Secretary-General Yoshio Utsumi was asked to consider the feasibility of organizing the meeting.

The primary sticking points surfaced in a paragraph dealing with the challenges for developing countries to bridge the digital divide in view of competing demands for development imperatives and scant resources (paragraph 14), and the paragraph on encouraging donors to align aid with the priorities of developing countries, particularly poverty reduction strategies (paragraph 21). The Chair reminded delegates that the text was subject to consensus, whereby nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.

Additionally, States met with impediments in the paragraph on the emerging opportunities for a powerful commercial basis for ICT infrastructure investment in developing countries and the access of the latter to ICT-enabled services (paragraph 18); also, the paragraph addressing current approaches to ICT financing, which may prove inadequate, since demand for financing may outstrip existing resources also gave rise to an animated debate.

The Subcommittee again took up the paragraph on the Digital Solidarity Fund (paragraph 27). The proposal originally made by Senegal and to be launched officially next month, is a voluntary and complementary financing mechanism to supplement existing financial mechanisms. Debate saw both developed and developing nations seeking accommodation with each other's standpoints. The US, however, baulked at the notion that it should be financed by voluntary contributions of 1% on contracts obtained by private ICT service providers that will allow them to use the “Digital Solidarity” label.

The paragraph on improving financial mechanisms to make financial resources stable, predictable, untied and sustainable (paragraph 26) took the best part of the morning of the second day. This important paragraph went to the heart of fundamental matters such as infrastructure or " ICT backbones". It dealt with related matters such as providing affordable access to ICTs by reducing Internet interconnection costs charged by backbone providers, a key bone of contention.

A number of observers made statements. Ayesha Hassan of the Coordinating Committee of Business Interlocutors (CCBI) acknowledged that, in some cases, the private sector had not been able to deliver all needed investment to bring inclusive development and access for everyone. She advocated empowering people, choice for consumers and promoting innovation and productivity.

One World South Asia focused on strengthening grass-roots communications, including community-based radio.

The World Meteorological Organization highlighted ICT applications in forecasting natural disasters and delivering early warning. The International Migration Organization found that ICTs enabled knowledge transfer between diasporas and communities of origin.

A ‘Political’ Vision of the Tunis Commitment

The final PrepCom 2 document will comprise two parts: an operational component, alongside the Tunis commitment, which is the overarching political vision that will inform second phase of WSIS in Tunis.

Chairman Janis Karklins indicated that ITU Secretary-General Yoshio Utsumi recommended that further commitments be taken in addition to those reached at WSIS first phase and the financial and human resources to commensurate with those undertakings. Ambassador Karklins reported that the Group had not come up with a formula concerning the matching of commitments with resources and would thus look to PrepCom for substantive guidance on the matter. Japan, Cuba and El Salvador later offered proposals for consideration.

States considered the conceptual opening clauses entitled "From Geneva to Tunis" in the Chair's draft paper. New Zealand pointed out that December's tsunami tragedy in Asia had drawn attention to the human toll it had taken; however, the catastrophe had also obliterated repositories of culture and knowledge sources. This episode served to highlight the need to safeguard cultural heritage and national identity.

Russia said that the text did not allay fears of countries about the transborder nature of ICTs and their implications. He therefore asked for explicit reference to the sovereignty of States.
Cuba and other States felt that no existing UN document, such as the UN Charter or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, should be given undue weight.

Norway called for more provisions in the text for protecting the freedom of information. Morocco endorsed the mention of "freedom of the media". Switzerland felt that the focus was too technology-centred and was in danger of losing sight of the human dimension to the question. In that connection, Ghana emphasized the need to reinforce the gender perspective, as articulated by the Accra regional meeting on WSIS.

Turning to development orientation, Russia and China supported the inclusion of an additional provision on strengthening network information security. Japan stated that a "ubiquitous network society" should come into being and would make proposals to that effect at an upcoming thematic meeting.

Cybersecurity an Issue for All

An ITU intervention on cybersecurity by Reinhard Scholl, Deputy Director of ITU’s Standardization Bureau, brought attention to the importance of this issue in the Geneva Plan of Action, which recognizes that confidence and security are among the main pillars of the Information Society. The growth in the use of ICT infrastructure and our increased reliance on electronic communication networks has heightened concerns around the world on cybersecurity. ITU has a long-standing track record on security for ICTs and as Mr Scholl noted, “ ITU is ready, in collaboration with all involved stakeholders and international expert bodies, to continue to play a key role to implement one of the goals of WSIS, namely to increase confidence and security in the use of ICTs.” He provided an overview of ITU work in the area. This focused on the following areas:

• Security standards for so-called Next Generation Networks as well as ITU’s standardization work on security and safety issues related to users such as Spam;
• ITU is publishing studies on different security topics, ranging from network attacks to telebiometrics for authentication, from theft of identity to physical security for emergency telecommunications.

Mr Scholl stated that particular attention needs to be given to the security issues that are being wrestled with by developing countries. ITU provides support to national e-government projects, including enhancing security and trust in the use of public networks and it has been increasing awareness among stakeholders through various cybersecurity workshops and symposia. Upcoming events include a Cybersecurity Symposium in Moscow on 29 March 2005 and an ITU WSIS Thematic Meeting on Cybersecurity (28 June to 1 July) which will examine the recommendations in the WSIS Plan of Action that relate to promoting global confidence and security in the use of ICTs. ITU is also in contact with leading companies to work on standards against Spam, and will organize technical workshops on this topic.

ICT4PEACE

Ambassador Daniel Stauffacher of Switzerland and Dr William Drake, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (US), made a presentation on ICT4Peace, an initiative of the Swiss Government. The goal of the ICT4Peace project is to identify ‘best’ practices and a clear framework for organizations using information and communication technologies in humanitarian and peace operations. Peace is an obvious prerequisite for sustainable social development as a single conflict can wipe out years of development efforts.

They noted that WSIS Geneva in its preoccupation with negotiating complex issues contained in the Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action overlooked the dimension of peace; but it should be incorporated as it fits in with the WSIS process and the larger objectives of the United Nations. ICTs can be used to monitor potential flashpoints and use early warning capabilities to prevent conflict. In the event of a breakout of hostilities, ICTs can be used to mitigate damage and aid in post-conflict reconstruction and peace building.

To fully explore the potential of ICTs for peace, it will be necessary to address the issue in the Tunis phase, drawing on expertise within governments including defence establishments, civil society and the UN to prepare a comprehensive roadmap for conflict resolution that incorporates ICTs. This work has been started by representatives of governments and civil society as well as think-tanks at the University for Peace and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which have been exploring the use of ICTs as an effective tool in conflict and crisis management, humanitarian efforts and peace. More information on ICT4Peace is available here.

Civil Society and Private Sector Form Working Group

Ayesha Hassan, International Chamber of Commerce, and William Drake of the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, chaired the meeting “Civil Society & Private Sector”. As both Civil Society and the Private Sector have observer status at the WSIS, they agreed to work together to ensure maximum impact of their views during the time available to them in Tunis, particularly with respect to the multi-stakeholder principle. To this end, they decided to create a permanent forum, open to everyone to develop joint positions to present to governments.

Telecentre Caucus Sees True Potential

A meeting of the Telecentres Caucus was held in order to further its work to articulate a vision regarding the role of telecentres, community technical centres, telecottages, and similar institutions, in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The caucus currently has 200 members from more than 60 nations. Many of the participants represent local, national and regional telecentre initiatives, as well as public libraries and educational institutions. There are also numerous observers from government, the private sector and international agencies.

The Telecentres Caucus is promoting sustainable, multi-purpose telecentres that enable disenfranchised communities to bridge the digital divide and join the knowledge society. More than just providing Internet access, telecentres help people build new skills, gain access to important health information, become producers of local content and engage civically within their communities.

The caucus, chaired by Andy Carvin of the Digital Divide Network, said that “he hopes that the second phase of the summit will help catalyze ongoing interactions between stakeholders in government, civil society and the private sector that see telecentres as an important tool for achieving the MDGs.” Telecentres are often under-resourced, with limited financial and human capacity, yet they have enormous development mandates within their communities. “We hope that the summit will enable an ongoing exchange of best practices, sustainability models, curricula and other resources that will allow telecentres achieve their true potential and help marginalized communities cross the digital divide.”

Other issues covered on 22-23 February were:

• Advocacy for ICT for Poverty Reduction in South Asia;
• ICT for Health Action in the Tsunami Crisis;
• Telecoms for Disaster Relief: Tampere Convention.

Please refer to the PrepCom-2 Newsroom to read more about them.