Tunis Declaration and Plan of Action

Tunis Declaration and Plan of Action Achieving an Inclusive, People Centered, Development Oriented and Knowledgeable Information Society for All Ten-Year Plan (2005 2015) NGO/Civil Society Forum Tunis, Tunisia, 23-26 April 2005 Content: I. Introduction II. Political Will III. Challenges, Threats and Opportunities IV. Commitments: Tunis Declaration V. Implementation: Tunis Plan of Action I. Introduction 1. For the first time in human history, on 10-12 December 2003 the nations of the world gathered in Geneva in order to discuss the issues related to the growing impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The Geneva Summit culminated the preparatory process for Phase I of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). 2. During the Geneva Summit the governments adopted a Declaration of Principles and agreed on a Plan of Action, which outlines eleven lines of action in the following areas and directions: the role of governments and other stakeholders in promoting the ICTs for development; information and communication infrastructure; access to information and knowledge; capacity building; building confidence and security in the use of ICTs; enabling environment; ICT applications; cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content; media; ethical dimensions; international and regional cooperation. 3. On 5 December 2003, in adopting the WSIS Civil Society Declaration entitled Shaping Information Societies for Human Needs, diverse groups of civil society representatives reaffirmed their commitment to shaping a people-centered, inclusive and equitable concept of information and communication societies. 4. While appreciating the governments commitments, civil society representatives identified two fundamental ICT-related areas of concern for which states did agree on a consensus approach: existing social imbalances and commitment to human rights standards as a basis for information society. Civil Society Declaration confirmed that communication is a basic human need and everyone should have equal access to information and knowledge in an enabling environment. 5. The Civil Society Declaration recognizes the outstanding potential of ICTs for eliminating the devastation of poverty, hunger, and natural disasters, as well as for reaching equality. In May 1

2004 International Gender E-Forum on the access of women and family to the New ICTs took place in Hammamet, Tunis, followed by the International Seminar on ICTs and Children Rights in January 2005 and the International Conference on Gender Mainstreaming and the MDGs in Islamabad, Pakistan, on 28-30 March 2005. All of them came up with adopted Declarations and Plan of Action. 6. Since the beginning of Phase II of the WSIS, two meetings of the preparatory committee took place (PrepCOM-1, 24-26 June, 2004 in Hammamet (Tunisia), and PrepCOM-2, 17-25 February 2005, in Geneva (Switzerland)). The PrepCOM-2 came out with the provisional draft of the Tunis Commitment and Tunis Plan for Action, which highlighted the need for a wider discussion on financial and implementation mechanisms in order to meet the challenges of ICT development and e-governance as well as internet governance. Also several preparatory regional conferences and thematic meetings took place and draw out recommendations, particularly on the role of ICT in disaster prevention and effects reduction, on economic and social implications of ICTs, Internet governance, countering spam and the role of media in the Information Society. 7. As a preparatory event for Phase II of the WSIS, the International NGO/Civil Society Forum of Tunis, Tunisia, 23-26 April 2005 identified crucial areas for the information society, which have been overlooked or not agreed upon during the official preparatory meetings of multistakeholders (PrepCOM 1 and PrepCOM 2). After three days of discussions the NGOs and civil society representatives came up with concrete and helpful recommendations and a comprehensive Tunis Plan of Action which constitutes a relevant update to the 2003 WSIS Civil Society position. II. Political Will 8. The international agreement of the Phase I of the WSIS, Geneva 2003 and the conferences and meetings which followed represent the extensive political will and global action to achieve the MDGs within an inclusive information society. In supporting the global campaign and action to implement the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs with ICTs, all member states, UN agencies and institutions, in partnership with a number of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations are enhancing the political will in addressing ICTs and their interrelation with and impact on the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs. 9. The recommendations of these various agencies and international conferences as well as the results and best-practices of diverse global efforts facilitated by inter-governmental and nongovernmental organizations provide a vital conceptual and policy direction and represent an enhanced global political will and extensive contribution to the MDGs and ICTs. 10. Governments and all relevant actors, including NGOs, academia, parliamentarians, local authorities, the business community, the United Nations and civil society are invited to participate in a process that will advance the implementation of the MDGs, focusing on concrete actions and comprehensive approaches, and improving global, regional, national and local priorities in order to take full benefit from ICTs potential to build an inclusive information society for all. 11. Global efforts and political will are also needed to stimulate public-private and civil society partnerships to effectively implement the Millennium Declaration and the major UN Summits and Conference Recommendations and Action Plans for a people centered, development oriented and knowledgeable information society for all. This must include concerted efforts to improve 2

collaboration and enhance the effectiveness of local, national, regional and international actors to carry out integrated ICT sensitive programmes, generate new activities and strengthen existing ones towards an effective achievement of the MDGs. III. Challenges, Threats, Opportunities The main challenges, threats and opportunities identified during the Tunis NGO/Civil Society Forum are as follows: 12. While many countries have made significant steps in improving the access to ICTs, the role and particular needs of children, young people, women, marginalized and vulnerable groups of society including migrants, internally displaced people and refugees, unemployed and underprivileged people, minorities and nomadic people, people with disabilities, poor people, particularly living in remote rural and marginalized urban areas, indigenous peoples and people in least developed countries and in countries facing difficult economic and political situations, geographic isolation, conflicts or natural disasters have been overlooked. 13. The absence of universal, fair, equitable and affordable access to ICT leads to unequal distribution of resources and the deepening of a digital gap between and within societies, preventing those which are left behind from achieving the MDGs time targets. 14. According to recent reports, progress towards improving national ICT capabilities is on the track, but there is a significant difference between and among regions as for instance, the number of mobile phones per thousand people in Europe and Central Asia is at least eight times larger than the number in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. 15. Remaining challenges include the lack of holistic sustainable development, ICT policies and regulating environment, which creates obstacles for comprehensive financial mechanisms to meet the challenges of the ICTs for development. This includes the need for huge investments for poverty alleviation, in ICT infrastructure and services, and capacity building as well as attracting innovations and financial resources from the private sector, and obtaining development funds in high demand from donor countries. 16. Finally, the challenge will be to include ICTs into all discussions, activities and programmes to implement the MDGs. While there is not MDG directly related to ICTs, technologies are intervening into all aspects of life in the 21 st century. 17. Inequalities in access and use of ICTs need to be especially addressed in the fields of human rights, poverty alleviation, health, education, ageing and disability, rights of children, women, and indigenous people, and cultural, ethnical and linguistic identity. 18. ICTs are more often being used for the purposes of the information warfare, including jamming, blocking or destruction civilian communication systems, promotion of hatred and genocide. Governments make a choice to increase spending on military communications over developing peaceful communication tools and applications. 19. Public sector is significantly behind private and civil sectors in adopting ICTs as a management tool. Use of ICT potential in E-governance is essential for increasing transparency and accountability, fostering efficiency of national public administration and development 3

policies, as well as enlarging partnership for development, improving competitiveness of national human resources in the era of globalization, and ensuring safety from all threats. 20. The world is committed to achieving the globally agreed Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The commitments to reach the MDGs time targets are based on the access and use by all ICT potential, which will provide more efficient methods of production, improve the delivery of public service, facilitate management and allow transfer of knowledge. IV. Commitments: Tunis Declaration We, the participants of the International NGO/Civil Society Forum on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), assembled to celebrate the National Tunisian NGO Day in El Gazala Technopole, Tunis, Tunisia from 23 to 26 April 2005, in preparation for the Second Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and for the 2005 ECOSOC High-Level Segment: Appreciating the insightful and comprehensive deliberations of all participants of the Forum; the strong support of the President of Tunisia, HE Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and the Tunisian Government and the tremendous preparatory work - in cooperation with the UN-NGO- IRENE/NGO Section - of the host Organization, the Tunisian Mothers Association, Coordinator of the UN-NGO-IRENE/Africa, as part of its commitment to strengthen civil society contribution to the ECOSOC work in implementing the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs, and to celebrate the Tunisian National Day of NGOs; the extensive support and sponsorship of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), and the partnership of UNDP and other stakeholders especially civil society and the private sector; the outcomes of the First Phase of the WSIS, Geneva 2003 and the previously held meetings in preparation for the Second Phase of the WSIS, Tunis 2005 as well as for the 2005 ECOSOC High-Level Segment on the review of the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs implementation; Recognizing that the year 2005 marks the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations, the +5 Review of the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs, and the organization of the Second Phase of the WSIS, Tunis 2005, for which civil society has to efficiently contribute; Encouraging all stakeholders to make every possible effort to achieve the objectives outlined in this document and in other ICT, Millennium Declaration and MDGs related partnerships and agreements, in order to unify their efforts to promote participatory governance and partnerships, and use ICTs and innovations as an important tool for efficient MDGs implementation at all levels (national, sub regional, regional and global); Taking into account the current threats, challenges and opportunities, and the necessary work needed in order to achieve greater equality in access to and use of ICTs, and include new technologies in reaching the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs; We the participants of the NGO/Civil Society Forum, hereby commit ourselves to disseminate the present Declaration and work towards its implementation; we call upon Governments, NGOs, Civil Society, the private sector and other regional and international institutions, as well as the United Nations to increase their efforts to fully integrate the ICTs into all spheres of life to achieve the MDGs by 2015, and more specifically to: 4

1. Urge Governments of all countries to: 1.1 Act upon their commitments to increase the access to and the use of ICTs, to achieve the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs, to implement the WSIS Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action, and to promote the integration of these goals into their respective policies, activities, legislation and developmental programmes in partnership with all stakeholders; 1.2 Promote ICT-related innovative applications in specific areas such as governance, women, family, children, health and disabled people, and initiatives that engage municipal and local authorities, private sector, and civil society through education and training, vocational training, micro-finance and credit, tax incentives, infrastructure development, financial and human resources management and development; 1.3 Support mobilization of financial and technical resources, secure adequate and efficient financial mechanisms, and ensure enabling environment to attract investments and incorporate ICTs in a sustained way in all spheres of human activities, paying special attention to women, children, persons with disabilities and population in rural or impoverished areas, and areas affected by natural disasters or conflicts; 1.4 Facilitate incorporation of ICTs in all aspects of participatory governance to ensure transparent, accountable and efficient delivery of good-quality public services to all citizens. 2. Urge NGOs, civil society and all other stakeholders to: 2.1 Promote ICT-related applications and innovative initiatives, projects and programmes in partnership between multiple stakeholders (Governments, NGOs, Civil Society, private sector, Media, local authorities, parliamentarians, International community and the United Nations) in fulfilling their commitments to the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals to establish an Inclusive, People Centered and Development Oriented Information and Knowledgeable Society for All; 2.2 Address cultural, ethnical and linguistic dimensions of ICTs through diversification and adaptation of ICT services to the specific needs of each group, expanding existing capacities; 2.3 Incorporate human rights based approach in all programmes, policies and initiatives related to the ICTs; 2.4 Work to remove gender barriers in access to ICTs resources by creating specialized ICT centers and technical skills training programmes for women, children and families by promoting equal access to, and employment opportunities in, ICT-related fields; 2.5 Increase the use of the ICTs for in-class, distant and vocational educational and training programmes to foster the achievement of the MDGs; 2.6 Involve people with disabilities into activities associated with the ICTs through training courses, easier access to the means of information, and to develop technology to facilitate better life quality for people with disabilities; 2.7 Define clearly ICT-related measurable goals, targets and standards to strengthen the international monitoring, evaluating, auditing, reporting and follow-up processes in all countries to access progress to use the ICTs for the accomplishment of the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs. At the same time, we, the participants, emphasize and call upon all members of the national and international community and vital stakeholders to: 1. Enhance their political will and their financial support to translate commitments into action through relevant and integrated e-strategies and policies, adapted and efficient 5

financial mechanisms, and multilateral, transparent and participatory internet governance at all levels for sustainable development and peace for all; 2. Acknowledge effective and efficient ICTs and innovations as a tool for achieving the Millennium Declaration, the MDGs and an Inclusive Information Society for All; 3. Reaffirm international support for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Millennium Declaration, recognizing the role of gender equality as fundamental to development efforts, including the global efforts to achieve and implement the MDGs; 4. Support participatory follow-up, regular monitoring and evaluation at all levels (national, regional and international) of the process and fully contribute to the outcomes of the current +5 Review of the MDGs as well as of the Second Phase of the WSIS; 5. Support NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC to follow-up the implementation of the Tunis Declaration and Plan of Action with other stakeholders, and regularly report on its progress. An international meeting held each year at the initiative of a different host country could ensure their effective implementation; 6. Request Tunisian Mothers Association to submit the Tunis Declaration and Plan of Action in the format of a statement to the 2005 High-Level Segment of ECOSOC, to be considered in the Ministerial Declaration of the ECOSOC; 7. Request Tunisian Mothers Association to disseminate the Tunis Declaration and Plan of Action, submit it to the WSIS and hold a parallel event during the Summit in November 2005 to present it. We the participants, therefore, reiterate that we will always bear in mind, dedicate and commit ourselves to our responsibilities, to fully realize, to work towards and to implement the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals, using the information and communication technologies as an effective tool for establishing and building the Inclusive, People Centered, Development Oriented and Knowledgeable Information Society for All women and men on the earth. 6

V. Implementation: Plan of Action Article 1 ICTs, Information Society, the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs 1. The MDGs are mutually reinforcing; progress towards achieving one target of the MDG 8 to cooperate with the private sector, making available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communication - will facilitate progress towards achieving the targets of the other seven goals and vice versa; 2. It is necessary to reflect and build upon the advances and gains of the World Summit on the Information Society as well as of the ICT documents of the Millennium Project Task Force, the UN ICT Task Force s work and all other UN and stakeholders relevant partnership initiatives and projects in order to achieve the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs. 1.1. Adhere and align efforts with existing agreements that promote ICTs, including the WSIS Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action; 1.2. Create or use existing financial successful partnerships, utilizing a variety of resources, including multilateral, governmental, municipal, private and individual donors and actors in the ICT sector, for reduction of technology ICT gap, especially in developing countries; 1.3. Launch the international campaign to raise awareness about the WSIS outcomes for various groups of stakeholders in order to address the most important problems facing society related to the MDGs; 1.4. 1.4 Create an interactive network between multiple stakeholders (academic institutions, research, medical and cultural centers, municipal, regional, and national government authorities, NGOs and private sectors) with the major purpose of sharing the information to avoid the duplication of services to ensure transparency and improve the efficiency of management toward achieving the MDGs; 1.5. 1.5 Utilize the lobbying capacity building; train the trainers on the use of ICTs in order to help achieving the MDGs and other effective efforts at national level as a mechanism for solutions of the major problems of society; 1.6. 1.6 Encourage national governments to create incentives for the corporate and private sector to increase its contribution to achievement of the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs (such as tax incentive/rebates); 1.7. 1.7 Create a regularly updated database of detailed and gender-specific information regarding for the benefit of the interactive network of stakeholders; 1.8. 1.8 Bridge the democratic divide that will help achieving the MDGs in terms of freedom of expression, attention to the cultural specificities, freedom of entrepreneurship, freedom of scientific research; 1.9. 1.9 Add the ICT as a major objective to obtain the best implementation of the MDGs. Article 2 Women, Family and ICT 1. For the process of development the top priority is poverty alleviation through sustainable economic growth; 2. The ICTs can empower women and families, and help them overcome gender inequality by raising their social, economic and political status and creating a quality of opportunities; 3. ICT can provide various channels to bring educational opportunities to illiterate people, children living in rural areas or excluded from education due to traditional or religious practices; 7

4. ICTs can provide illiterate people and children with knowledge and skills to contribute to a productive economy. 2.1 Empower women and families, in particular girls and place them in the center of the poverty reduction policies; 2.2 Take action towards reducing the gender gap in access to ICT resources by creating specialized ICT centers for women and families, increasing availability of and access to computer skills training and Internet; 2.3 Work on removing the gender barriers to ICT education and training and promoting equal employment opportunities in ICT-related fields for women and families; 2.4 To increase the participation of women and families in decision-making processes in all areas related to ICTs; 2.5 To use culture-specific methodologies, especially in relation to ensuring gender equity; 2.6 Make computer education compulsory in schools; 2.7 Develop educational and training programs using ICTs to eradicate illiteracy; 2.8 Use ICTs to develop lifelong distance learning, training and other forms of education for children, women and families. Article 3 Health, Disabled People, ICTs and WSIS 1. ICTs is an invaluable tool for health care workers and for the international community in their combined effort to address three of the MDGs which are directly related to health: Goal 4- reducing child mortality; Goal 5 - improving maternal health; and Goal 6 - combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; 2. ICTs can be used to make health care services more efficient and effective. ICT has the ability to play a critical role in facilitating access to information and to health care services, transmitting health messages to the public, so that they may be educated about preemptive measures to limit the spread of devastating diseases; 3. The progression of ICT permits persons with disabilities to fully use their intellectual capacities to compete with the rest of society. 3.1 Promote better use of ICT in health education and develop specific, targeted and lifelong informational programs for diseases prevention; 3.2 Ensure equal participation of people with disabilities in ICT-related activities by promoting computer literacy among people with disabilities (through training courses for people with disabilities and their families, as well as through maximum discounts on hardware and software, purchased by them); 3.3 Develop up to date and adapted to specific needs of people training materials and infrastructure and promote local ICT technology to facilitate better life quality for people with severe disabilities and their families, including Independent Living ICT Support systems; 3.4 Strengthen and support NGO networking to foster exchange of experiences among people with disabilities at all levels through better use of ICT and NGO twinning; 3.5 Formulate a 10-year programme of action to expand use of ICT by disabled people. Article 4 Internet Governance 1. ICTs have been promoted by the international community as a tool to build a peoplecentered, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society, where everyone can access, utilize and share information and knowledge, enabling individuals, communities and 8

people to achieve their full potential in promoting sustainable development and improving their quality of life; 2. Every individual, regardless of his or her economic, educational, political, or social status, geographic location, age, gender, health conditions must have equal and affordable access to the means of information and communication in order to defend and promote their human rights and freedoms. 4.1 Support access to new ICT for all and encourage distribution of free software; 4.2 Decrease the cost of software, promote long-distance learning and improve the Internet access in developing countries, countries with economies in transition, Least Developed Countries, Small Island Developing States, Landlocked Developing Countries, countries and territories under occupation, and countries recovering from conflict or natural disasters; 4.3 Increase cultural and linguistic diversity of information available on the Internet by expanding all websites capacities to display information in languages other than English. The availability to information only in English is a barrier to non-english speakers who are willing to exchange information, ideas and knowledge with others; 4.4 Encourage governments and the UN system to take further steps in recognizing and supporting sound practices and the work of NGOs working in the areas of education and access to ICTs; 4.5 Provide ICT-related training to regional and UN-NGO-IRENE local and regional coordinators and governmental officials, as well as to SMME representatives in order to support government initiatives; 4.6 Ensure equitable representation of governments, Civil Society and private sector in Internet Governance. Article 5 ICT, Solidarity and Financial Mechanisms 1. ICTs are an important enabler of growth through efficiency gains and increased productivity. Partnership for the development of the Information Society is important for economic growth in both developed and developing economies; 2. Attracting investment in ICTs depends on the existence of favorable ICT policies and supportive and regulatory environment for poverty reduction and sustainable development; 3. Continuing support of all stakeholders as well as adapted and efficient financial mechanisms at all levels are a must for digital gap reduction to ensure sustainable development and peace for all. 5.1 Strengthen the International Solidarity Fund to ensure poverty alleviation, eradication of illiteracy, and sustainable development; 5.2 Strengthen the Digital Solidarity Fund to reduce of digital gap between developed and developing countries, and especially LDCs; 5.3 Promote and fund ICT projects and increase financial and in kind resources for access, training and capacity building in partnership between governments, NGOs, the private sector and the donor community; 5.4 Develop a United Nations technical cooperation programme for NGOs to enhance their ICT capacities, improve their negotiation skills and foster technical knowledge and information exchange among civil society components, including participation in international events, particularity related to ICT and the WSIS; 5.5 Support and promote national, regional, South-South and North-South cooperation for ICTs and the MDGs; 9

5.6 Create enabling tax, tariff, import, and business regulation policies to attract ICT investors, facilitate fundraising and encourage NGO work for poverty alleviation and sustainable development; 5.7 Foster ICT-supported productivity gains and innovations. 5.8 Encourage the further development of secure and reliable online transactions. 5.9 Ensure confidence and security as main pillars of the Information Society; 5.10 Support the right to gather, communicate and receive information and pay special attention to the role of ICTs, especially in conflict, post-conflict societies, as well as in conflict-prevention scenarios; 5.11 Enforce stricter national laws for cyber-crime and misuse of ICTs; 5.12 Ensure human rights protection through better availability and security of information; 5.13 Promote user education and awareness about online privacy and the means of protecting privacy. Article 6 The Way Ahead Post Tunis 1. ICT allows anybody, anywhere in the world, to access information and knowledge almost instantaneously, fostering intellectual creativity, technological innovations and effective use of technology for achieving the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs. 6.1 Effectively implement the Tunis Declaration and Plan of Action through concrete and result-oriented multi-stakeholder partnership initiatives, projects and programmes for establishing an Information and Knowledgeable Society for All in a sustained way; 6.2 Develop ICT capacity building and training programmes for trainers of trainers, trainers and users to ensure good use of and access to ICT by all; 6.3 Involve governmental agencies in converging technology innovation in society; 6.4 Narrow the scientific, technological and informational gap between developed and developing countries; 6.5 Create community media to increase population s awareness about e-health, e- education, e-leisure, and e-culture; 6.6 Provide population with equipment and software at reasonable cost through sale tax reduction and software local development taking Tunisian experience as a model for developing countries; 6.7 Reduce technological dependence in infrastructure, software and substance through developing countries governments, civil society, and the private sector capacity building strengthening; 6.8 Foster unrestricted exchange of information between academia, industries, and civil society; 6.9 Involve individual NGO s publications and/or websites to disseminate information about and effectively contribute to the implementation of the outcomes of the WSIS Geneva 2003 Tunis 2005; 6.10 Ensure that ICT-related efforts and programs are fully integrated into national development strategies; 6.11 Ensure equitable distribution of benefits in order to contribute to the eradication of poverty and promote social development. 10