MACHINE NAME = WEB 1

Implementing World Summit on the Information Society outcomes, 2016-2017

UNCTAD Research Paper No. 12

The Secretary-General is requested by the General Assembly to report annually, through the ECOSOC, on progress made in implementing the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), which was held in two phases in 2003 and 2005. This report complements the report of the Secretary-General on "Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels" (A/72/64-E/2017/12).

The General Assembly completed its ten-year review of the implementation of WSIS outcomes in December 2015. In the outcome document from that review (A/RES/70/125), the Assembly reiterated the commitment of all stakeholders, articulated in the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society, to build 'a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society.' It emphasised the importance of integrating the Information Society with the international community's work to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and fulfil its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The WSIS+10 review and the 2030 Agenda provide the framework for continued efforts by the international community to implement WSIS outcomes for the next decade.

The first section of this report outlines current levels of ICT access and use and considers ongoing digital divides. Subsequent sections address, in turn, linkages between ICTs and SDGs and constraints inhibiting developmental outcomes; emerging trends in information and communication technologies and services including e-government and e-commerce; and challenges facing WSIS implementation in areas including governance, employment and capacity-building and data gathering.