Resolution

The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific,

Recognizing the particularly rapid development in information and communication technology and its applications, and their implications for economic and social development, which have posed unprecedented challenges for developing countries in need of efficient, informed and timely access to information, information services, tools, best practices and other information and communication technology-related resources,

Expressing grave concern over the prevailing digital divide between countries and within countries and communities, and its implications for development and the persistence of poverty,

Acknowledging the importance of information and communication technology for development and for building inclusive knowledge societies, as well as the role of the United Nations in promoting regional cooperation through partnerships with all relevant stakeholders,

Recalling the Declaration of Principles and the Plan of Action adopted on 12 December 2003 at the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, which called for capacity-building with an emphasis on creating a critical mass of qualified and skilled information and communication technology professionals and experts, the promotion of regional cooperation in the field of capacity-building by the United Nations and its specialized agencies, and fostering effective international and regional cooperation among Governments, the private sector, civil society and other stakeholders, including international financial institutions,

Also recalling the Tokyo Declaration adopted on 15 January 2003 by Governments of the Asian and Pacific region as the region's input to the World Summit, which identified information and communication technology development, capacity-building and fostering of partnerships as priority areas for action in advancing the region's information society,

Reaffirming its resolution 57/4 of 25 April 2001 on regional cooperation in information and communication technologies for development, and recalling General Assembly resolution 55/279 of 12 July 2001 on the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010,

Recalling General Assembly resolutions 55/2 of 8 September 2000, by which the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Millennium Declaration and resolved, inter alia, to ensure that the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communication technologies, were available to all, and 57/144 of 16 December 2002 on the follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit,

Also recalling General Assembly resolutions 57/295 of 20 December 2002 on information and communication technologies for development and 56/189 of 21 December 2001 on human resources development, in which the Assembly made several references to information technologies,

Bearing in mind General Assembly resolution 57/270 of 20 December 2002 on integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields,

Noting with appreciation Economic and Social Council resolution 2002/2 of 19 July 2002 on restructuring the conference structure of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, including the establishment of a subcommittee on information, communications and space technologies,

Noting with satisfaction the outstanding success achieved by a number of countries in the region in the long-term development of their information and communication technology sectors and in harnessing new technologies for their national development,

Noting also with satisfaction the work of such international organizations as the International Telecommunication Union and the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity,

Acknowledging, in particular, the important work of the Telecommunity in facilitating capacity-building in information and communication technologies based on demand by its member States,

Recognizing the advantages of regional resource centres on information and communication technology development issues in Asia and the Pacific that may optimize the sharing of expertise on information and communication technology in the region and further improve the effectiveness of regional capacity-building activities and the sharing of tools and processes,

Expressing appreciation to the Government of the Republic of Korea for its offer to host the Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development and to bear its institutional and operational costs,

Cognizant of the need to avoid any possible duplication between the work of the Centre and the human resources development work of the Telecommunity and other concerned international organizations,

1. Decides to establish the Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development, which will contribute to the ESCAP programme of work in the area of training in information and communication technology;

2. Adopts the statute of the Centre, the text of which is annexed to the present resolution, as the basis for its operation;

3. Requests the Executive Secretary to take all necessary steps for the prompt establishment of the Centre, including the conclusion of a headquarters agreement between the host country and the United Nations;

4. Encourages the United Nations and other international organizations and agencies, as well as non-governmental organizations in the field concerned, to provide support to the Centre and cooperate in the implementation of its work programme;

5. Calls upon the Executive Secretary to establish mechanisms for close coordination between the Centre and the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity in its human resources development work programme, and to avoid possible duplication with the Telecommunity in the formulation of the Centre's work plans;

6. Invites all members and associate members to participate actively in monitoring and evaluating the work of the Centre in order to ensure that its activities do not duplicate those of other institutions and agencies in the region;

7. Requests the Executive Secretary to report annually to the Commission on the progress made by the Centre in (a) capacity-building to bridge the digital divide, (b) creating a sustainable institutional framework for the training of trainers in the field of information and communication technology and (c) enhancing regional cooperation in human resources development in that field;

8. Also requests the Executive Secretary to submit a report in 2008 on the performance of the Centre, in particular regarding the complementary and value-added contribution of its work to that of other relevant international organizations, which would serve as the basis for a mid-term review by the Commission at its sixty-fourth session, in 2008;

9. Further requests the Executive Secretary to submit a comprehensive report on the Centre's work based on the findings of the mid-term review, including an assessment of its financial sustainability and the complementary and value-added contribution of its work to that of other concerned international organizations, which would serve as the basis for a comprehensive review by the Commission at its sixty-sixth session, in 2010;

10. Decides to assess the performance of the Centre, on the basis of the findings of the comprehensive review, at its sixty-sixth session and to determine whether the Centre should continue to operate thereafter.

5th meeting