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United Nations Tackles Tech Issues
by William New
A series of recent initiatives and reports shows that the United Nations is trying to take the lead on access to information technology and the Internet.
The United Nations has launched a global task force to "help build universal interconnectivity and spread the benefits of the digital revolution to the world's poor," it said. The Information and Communication Technologies Task Force, established Nov. 20 by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, will partner with regional development banks, international donors and nonprofit organizations on specific programs.
The task force includes the U.N. Development Program (UNDP), the World Bank and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). It has representatives from governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, foundations and U.N. bodies.
The United Nations recently appointed Jose Maria Figueres Olsen, the former President of Costa Rica, as special representative on information and communications technologies (ICT). The task force has launched four regional nodes to act as "one-stop" ICT facilities and has six working groups examining issues such as regulatory frameworks, low-cost technology connections, and applications for health and education, U.N. officials said.
In other U.N. news, a U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report released on Friday finds that e-commerce and the Internet will continue to power growth worldwide. But it cautions that least-developed nations that fail to keep up technologically risk falling further behind economically.
E-commerce continues to grow despite the dot-com crash of the past year, the E-Commerce and Development report said. Two strong areas are business-to-business sales and financial transactions. But questions of jurisdiction in online disputes and the potential for e-commerce taxation are among the threats to e-commerce growth. Currently, income taxation may be imposed on Web servers, though not Web sites, UNCTAD said.
The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), meanwhile, has published a book called "Child Abuse on the Internet," which calls for a "social response from all sectors of society," according to a release on the book. It looks at efforts in Africa, Albania, Brazil, Guatemala, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. It also looks at information sharing and contains a reference section.
ITU Conferences Going Underground
The State Department's series of public meetings to prepare for two upcoming events at the ITU rapidly are becoming closed sessions, State Department officials said this week. Public meetings of the International Telecommunication Advisory Committee scheduled for Nov. 27 were postponed until Dec. 6. But as officials move toward the formation of U.S. delegations to the meetings, the doors will close to the public, officials said.
The ITU plenipotentiary conference, from Sept. 23 to Oct. 18, 2002, will set ITU plans and management for the following five years. According to the ITU, "it is the key event at which all ITU member states decide on the future role of the organization, thereby determining the latter's ability to influence and affect the development of issues such as convergence, telephone tariffs, the Internet, universal [telecom] service and electronic commerce."
The other State Department preparatory meetings are for the ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference to be held in March 18-29, 2002, in Istanbul, Turkey.
Separately, the ITU will hold a joint meeting on multilingual domain names with the World Intellectual Property Organization on Dec. 6-7. The meeting in Geneva will address problems of making Internet addresses available in non-Roman characters. The Internet was developed in a Roman-character format, so even countries with non-Roman-based alphabets -- such as Asian and Arab nations -- must use them.
USTR Looking For A Few Good Executives
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced in a Federal Register notice last week that it is seeking senior executive-level candidates from the U.S. private sector to serve on a U.S.-Japanese, public-private commission launched in June by the two nations' leaders.
The aim is to better integrate both countries' private sectors into the economic work of the governments. The first meeting, in the first quarter of next year, will look at raising productivity, and revitalizing and governing corporations. Letters of interest must be received by Dec. 20.
In other USTR news, agency officials are in Miami this week for the ninth round of trade talks for a bilateral agreement with Chile, but the talks are not expected to be the last. According to a USTR statement, this round will conclude Dec. 4 after "significant progress," and another round of talks will begin in January. The Chile talks would be the first to include e-commerce language within the agreement.
NTIA's Victory Seeks Spectrum Coordination
Nancy Victory, the head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, on Monday told a meeting of the Latin American Wireless Industry Association that the Western Hemisphere should have more coordination on spectrum allocation.
Wireless communications could boost economies and provide communications access to remote regions, she said.
Victory said she plans to hold discussions with telecom officials from across the hemisphere in coming months, and she will organize a communications policy workshop for Caribbean telecom regulators in spring 2002.
Somalian Site Closed Because Of Terrorist Ties
BBC reported that the United States has forced the closure of Somalia's only Internet company, the Somalia Internet Company, and a critical telecommunications company called al-Barakaat on suspicion of having links to terrorists. The closure disrupts telephone service and blocks money transfers. Both companies have denied the charges.
In other Internet news, the online company NewIdeaTrade.com has established a forum for trading industrial and copyrighted intellectual property, a market estimated to be worth more than $100 billion, the company said. The site gives global access to small businesses, research institutions, independent inventors, artists, writers and others, it said.
Business Group Updates E-Commerce Guidelines
The Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce has updated its four-year-old guidelines for ensuring trustworthy transactions over the Internet.
The group's General Usage in International Digitally Ensured Commerce was modified to reflect recent technological and legal developments. The new version recommends principles of fair electronic contracting and outlines problems to be avoided. Other topics include e-signatures and public key infrastructure for encrypting computer information.
Canadian Official Urges Innovations In Border Security
Michael Kergin, Canada's ambassador to the United States, has called for innovation in the use of information technologies to move people and goods across the U.S.-Canadian border securely.
Speaking to the Association for Canadian Studies at a biennial conference in San Antonio, Texas, on Nov. 16, Kergin also said he foresees greater investment in border infrastructure. He further said it would take patience and compromise to find the balance between new tools for law enforcement and the protection of national sovereignty.
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