World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-06)
Programme 6-Revised 1: Special Programme for Least Developed Countries,
Small Island Developing States {TCOM ≠21} and Emergency Telecommunications
(ET) 1 {GPA #C7 (f)}, {TAIS #91}, {GPA #20c}, {GED para#16}.
1) Vision
The Special Programme for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island
Developing States (SIDS) (TCOM ≠21), (GED 
16) will be valued for its quality and timely service aimed at integrating LDCs and SIDs into the world economy through telecommunication development and emergency telecommunications for disaster mitigation {GPA #C7 (f)}, {TAIS #91}, {GPA #20c} and its ability to impact positively on the delivery of assistance to LDCs and SIDS. In this effort, BDT will work with all other like-minded entities to promote multi-stakeholder partnerships {TCOM
≠27.b}
aimed at promoting sustainable development while paying special attention to the particular needs of these countries {TCOM ≠21} in line with Article 21 and 40 of the Constitution of the ITU.
2) Background
2.1 Ever since ITU started giving assistance to the least developed countries (LDCs) under Resolution 19 of the Plenipotentiary Conference (Malaga-Torremolinos,
1973), the assistance was provided on an ad hoc basis to meet certain gaps at administrations’ request. From 1998, delivery of assistance has been based on special programming resulting in ITU providing concentrated assistance to a select group of LDCs for a period of one year. In 2002, the period of providing such concentrated assistance was increased to two years. The second year of extension introduced proved that the project implementation can be completed and the assistance given evaluated in real terms. Although there has been a positive impact resulting from this assistance, most of the LDCs continue to require increased assistance due to extreme poverty, structural weakness of their economies and lack of capacities related to growth and development, often compounded by geographical handicaps and vulnerability to disasters that tend to hamper efforts by these countries to effectively improve the quality of life of their people. For some of the LDCs, there have been noteworthy successes, but for others the situation remains almost the same due to various reasons that include civil strife, political instability, shortage of competent staff and outright lack of resources. In response to this, in the absence of a set budget for
Countries in Special Need, some projects co- financed by Member States, development partners and ITU’s TELECOM Surplus Funds were successfully launched.
2.2 Small Island Developing States (SIDs) have not been treated by ITU in the past as a special group of countries with special needs. Many of them face the same challenges as LDCs that have tended to increase their vulnerability, which principally arises from their isolation, their small size, small population, limited local capital for productive investment, and topography. It is important to include the SIDS into the current concentrated assistance being provided to LDCs since
1 Although this Programme primarily focuses on LDCs and SIDS, it will also respond in a timely manner to special needs of Countries with Economies in Transition.
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these countries have well defined special needs {GPA #9i} that need focused attention in line with Articles 21 and 40 of the ITU Constitution. While doing so, coordinated assistance for countries referred to in paragraph 16 of the World
Summit on the Information Society / Geneva Declaration of Principles {GDP
#paragraph 16}, particularly Least Developed Countries and Small Island
Developing States, is urgently required in order to improve the effectiveness and to lower transaction costs associated with the delivery of international donor support {TAIS #23.e}.
2.3 In the past, assistance for disaster reduction through Emergency
Telecommunications has been provided on an ad hoc basis in response to various ITU resolutions e.g. WTDC-02 resolution 34 and recommendation 12, and Marrakech PP-02 resolution 36. In January 2005, the United Nations held the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Hyogo, Kobe and adopted the
Hyogo Declaration for the decade 2005-2015. The Declaration recognizes that disasters remain a major threat to the survival, dignity, livelihood and security of peoples and communities, in particular the poor such as those in LDCs and SIDS.
There is urgent need to integrate Emergency Telecommunications into this programme focusing on assistance to LDCs and SIDS as they remain the most vulnerable when disasters strike. This assistance will however be extended to other developing countries, paying particular attention to the needs of countries with economies in transition.
3) Objectives a) The programme seeks to increase the average telephone density in LDCs to 5 main lines (ML) per 100 inhabitants and the number of Internet connections to 10 users per 100 inhabitants by 2010 (year of the fourth United Nations Conference for LDCs). b) The programme promotes universal access to ICT in LDCs and SIDS and to make these technologies play a catalyst role in the attainment of the internationallyagreed development goals such as the Millennium Development Goals that should be achieved by the year 2015 {TAIS #12}.
4) Strategy
A biennial approach in providing concentrated assistance to an average of 12 countries under this programme was adopted during the cycle 2003-2006. It is proposed that the same strategy should also be adopted for the next cycle 2007-2010. Projects and operational plan activities are generally launched in the first year and completed either during that same year or the second year. In all cases, activities are evaluated during the second half of the second year so as to assess the effectiveness of the assistance.
While the said biennial assistance is provided, ad hoc assistance may also be given to developing countries, countries with economies in transition, Least Developing Countries,
Small Island Developing Countries, countries and territories under occupation, countries recovering from conflict and countries and regions with special needs, as well as to the conditions that pose severe treats to development, such as natural disasters.{GDP, #16}
5) Priority areas
It is of critical importance to define the priority areas for telecommunication development and disaster risk reduction for LDCs and SIDS. This is where the activities of BDT and
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its development partners should be focused during the cycle 2007- 2010. If all stakeholders adequately address these issues, it is hoped that the major bottlenecks to
ICT development will be removed and the countries will be geared for high growth of their networks. A general programme of action is proposed below, in order of priorities: a) Universal Access: Telecommunication Networks and related ICT-enabled E-services and applications are critical in integrating LDCs and SIDS into the world economy. For this reason, it is essential that well conceived large scale projects be designed and implemented aimed at making low-cost, affordable and appropriate technologies accessible to all populations in urban, semi-urban and rural areas. It is also important to promote E-employment (teleworking) to allow citizens, particularly in the LDCs and
SIDS, to live in their societies and work anywhere, and to increase employment opportunities for women, and for those with disabilities. In promoting teleworking, special attention should be given to strategies promoting job creation and the retention of the skilled working force. {GPA # 19(c)}
Universal Access to ICT can pave way for ease access to government, health and education services {GPA #11j}, markets, and vital information that is much needed for a more meaningful economic participation by the majority of the people leading to sustainable development. The basic pillars of universal access in LDCs and SIDS should include appropriate and low-cost technologies and strategies for: rural telecommunications development, development of appropriate information and communication infrastructure and introduction of new technologies and services/applications, sector restructuring, human resources development/management, and partnership building {TAIS #98} .
There is need to raise financial resources for communications access and connectivity for ICT-enabled E-services and applications in remote rural areas of Least Developed Countries, Small Island Developing States,
Landlocked Developing Countries, Countries with Economies in Transition and other locations presenting unique technological and market challenges. {TAIS #23b}.
Coordinated assistance is needed for countries referred to in paragraph 16 of the
Geneva Declaration of Principles, particularly Least Developed Countries and Small
Island Developing States, in order to improve effectiveness and to lower transaction costs associated with the delivery of international donor support. {TAIS #23e} b) Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Information and Communications
Infrastructure for Countries with Special Needs: Various WTDC and Plenipotentiary
Conferences have adopted a number of resolutions requiring that special assistance in reconstructing countries emerging out of war, civil strife, and disasters be provided for the purpose of helping them increase the pace of ICT-enabled development of Eservices and applications in their countries. Without concentrated timely assistance coming from executing UN Specialized Agencies with proven records like ITU-D and from other partners, it might take decades to restore the level of development to where they were before the disasters. Direct Assistance, Bilateral and Multilateral sources of financing is strongly recommended to be used for this purpose. c) Emergency Telecommunications: This is a critical area for LDCs and SIDS that suffer from fragile economies. Implementation of this priority area is in line with Article 40 of the ITU Constitution that addresses the ‘priority of telecommunications concerning safety of life.
’ In this area, the focus will be on:
● Promoting technical cooperation and enhancing the capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition particularly LDCs and SIDS,
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● in utilizing ICT tools for disaster early warning, preparedness, response and relief including dissemination of understandable warnings to those at risk; ●
Fosterinf regional and international cooperation for easy access to and sharing of information for disaster management, and exploring modalities for the easier participation of LDCs and SIDS;
Working in close cooperation with ITU-T towards the establishment of standardbased monitoring and worldwide early-warning systems linked to national and regional networks and facilitating emergency disaster response all over the
● world, particularly in high-risk regions; {TAIS #91} {GPA #20c}
Ensuring that disaster resilient features in all telecommunication networks/information and communication infrastructure projects are incorporated at all the stages of project management;
●
●
Strengthening and expanding ICT-based initiatives for providing rapid medical and humanitarian assistance in disasters and emergencies; {GPA #C7 (f)}
Deploying satellite based and wireless equipment to speed-up and enhance the response and relief efforts when disasters strike; and
● assist countries in reconstructing and rehabilitating information andcommunication infrastructure destroyed by disasters.
6) Actions
Specific actions, within the ambit of BDT activities, will be prepared annually for the operational plan in accordance with the formal requests submitted to ITU by the countries concerned.
7) Tasks
7.1 Creation of Tools and Guidelines
“E-srategies and ICT-enabled E-Services and Applications”.
Create or recommend appropriate planning tools for emergency telecommunications and effective telecommunication development initiatives that address the specific needs of
LDCs and SIDS.
7.2 Creation of training material
Develop training materials on appropriate technologies, strategies, and policies related to universal access, emergency telecommunications, and overall telecommunication development. The materials include handbooks, guidelines, and web-based platforms.
7.3 Assistance to Member States and/or Sector Members
Refer to section 6 on Priority Areas above .
Under close coordination of Activity 2 ”Partnership and Promotion”, foster further partnership platform formal agreements with relevant partners and donors.
Member States
Assist LDCs and SIDS in taking policy, strategic, and technological measures aimed at attaining universal access to ICT and disaster mitigation. This may include , forums, symposia, seminars, workshops and round tables as appropriate but subject to budgetary appropriations.
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Sector Members
Work with Sector Members to build platforms for private and public sector partnerships
(PPPP) through triangular arrangements (south-south and north-south). The partnerships should seek to help Member States in LDCs and SIDS achieve their goals of attaining universal access, mitigating disasters, and using ICT as a catalyst to attaining the Millennium Development Goals. In so doing, Sector Members will also seek market opportunities through investments into the telecommunication sector.
7.4 Information Sharing a) Establish an updated website that showcases projects and ongoing work in
LDCs, SIDS, countries with economies in a transition and countries with b) c) d)
Special Needs, as defined in GDP/paragraph 16, in the area of Emergency
Telecommunications;
Publish handbooks and other publications on ICT development and
Strategies for LDCs, SIDS, and on Emergency Telecommunications;
Hold partnership round tables and Global ICT Fora for LDCs and SIDS aimed at promoting projects and bringing together development partners and
Member States;
Collect and collate best practices from those LDCs and SIDS that have made e) f) progress in ICT development;
Work in close coordination with subregional and regional organizationsinvolved in ICT development, so as to maximize the use of resources; and
Work with the United Nations and International Organizations in line with
Article 49 and 50 of the ITU Constitution so as to coordinate development work in LDCs and SIDS, especially with the Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Land Locked Countries, and Small Island
Developing Countries at the United Nations in New York, ECOSOC, the
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, and OCHA.
7.5 Handling of Special Needs
While LDCs, SIDs and Countries with Special Needs are already ‘special needs countries’, within these countries there are special groups that should be mainstreamed such as women and children, people with disabilities, and families in very remote nonprofitable areas where services are normally not provided due to lack of viability in doing so.
7.6 Coordination within ITU
It is critical that coordination is maintained within ITU through: a) provision of relevant input to Study Group questions that relate to LDCs,
SIDS, Countries with Special Needs and Emergency Telecommunications; and b) exchanging information and holding joint events with ITU-R and ITU-T, regional offices, centers of excellence, and with other ITU-D programmes, activities, and initiatives.
9) Resolutions and Recommendations relevant to this Programme
Reference Title
{Resolution.16 (Rev.Istanbul, 2002) Special actions for the least developed countries
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Resolution.25 (Istanbul, 2002) Assistance to countries in special need:
Afghanistan, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, East Timor, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Rwanda,
Resolution.26 (Istanbul, 2002)
Sierra Leone, Somalia
Assistance to countries in special need:
Afghanistan.
Telecommunication resources in the service Resolution 34 (Istanbul, 2002)
Recommendation 12 (Istanbul, 2002) of humanitarian assistance
Consideration of disaster telecommunication needs telecommunication development activities} in
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