EU Statement – UN General Assembly 2nd Committee: Information and communications technologies for sustainable development

Mister Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries North Macedonia^*, Montenegro^*, Serbia^*, Albania^*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina^* and Georgia, as well as Andorra and Monaco align themselves with this statement.

I wish to commend the work of the co-facilitators, Ms Gabriela Horosanu from the Permanent Mission of Romania and Ms Nora Alawadhi from the Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates, who have led the informal consultations in an exemplary manner. I also wish to thank the Secretariat and other delegations for their dedication and tireless work on this resolution.

The EU welcomes the adoption of this resolution, which takes place against an important backdrop, as preparations for the WSIS+20 review are underway. ICTs and digital technologies are crucial for sustainable development and should therefore be harnessed to accelerate progress towards the SDGs. Here, it will be essential to integrate the implementation of the Global Digital Compact and the World Summit on the Information Society, building on and reinforcing the multistakeholder processes and fora emanating from the WSIS.

We regret that agreement could not be reached on this year’s resolution being a technical rollover, despite a clear justification for it. Nevertheless, we acknowledge efforts to limit the scope of the revisions made in the text.

We also welcome that consensus was reached on the two paragraphs that were voted last year. For this reason, the EU can support the text as a whole this year.

We recognize that the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) makes it necessary to integrate it in our deliberations on sustainable development. However, these discussions should take place in an appropriate setting. As AI is not an information and communication technology, we regret the tendency to introduce new AI language in this resolution.

In line with the broader discussion on revitalization of the General Assembly, as well as the ongoing UN80 reform, the EU remains committed to exploring ways to make our collective work more efficient and fit for purpose. In this context, the EU welcomes the biennialization of this resolution, which will now alternate with the STI one. We remain open to considering further options towards revitalization, including merging the ICT and STI resolutions into one.

Mr Chair, finally, we regret that a vote has been called on this normally consensual resolution – noting last year’s voting was an unfortunate exception. We believe this undermines our collective effort and the constructive spirit of striving for consensus which has been a tradition in this committee and has also guided the negotiations on this resolution this year. 

Let me conclude by reaffirming that the EU remains committed to continuing working closely with partners worldwide to advance an inclusive, open, safe and secure digital space for all.

Thank you. 

* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.