OEA - AG - Resolución AG08389E03

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

FIFTY-FIRST REGULAR SESSION OEA/Ser.P November 10 to 12, 2021 AG/doc.5738/21 Guatemala City, Guatemala 5 November 2021

VIRTUAL Original: Spanish Item 21 on the agenda

DRAFT RESOLUTION

PRIORITY ROLE OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES IN DEVELOPING

TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

THROUGH THE INTER-AMERICAN TELECOMMUNICATION COMMISSION (CITEL)

(Agreed upon by the Permanent Council at its virtual meeting of October 20, 2021, and referred to the plenary of the General Assembly for its consideration) THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, RECALLING: Resolution AG/RES. 2953 (L-O/20 ), “The Leading Role of the Organization of American States in Developing Telecommunications/ Information and Communication Technologies through the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission,” adopted on October 20, 2020; and, Resolution AG/RES. 2957 (L-O/20), “Program-Budget of the Organization for 2020,” adopted on October 20, 2020, as regards the mandates relating to Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL); NOTING resolution CITEL/RES. 80 (VII-18), “Strengthening CITEL within the OAS,” adopted by the seventh regular meeting of the CITEL Assembly, in which CITEL invites the OAS General Assembly to renew its commitment to the financial sustainability of CITEL; and CONSIDERING: That telecommunications and information and communication technologies (ICTs) are key enabling tools for social, economic, cultural, and environmental development and, therefore, for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; That CITEL is the specialized agency of the OAS for telecommunications and ICTs and, as such, effectively contributes to the implementation of the four OAS pillars and the mandates and

initiatives of the Summits of the Americas, to which end it has encouraged, along with the region’s political leaders, actions such as the launch of the public-private 2030 ICT Alliance for the Americas, calls for greater investment in broadband infrastructure, the promotion of broadband access in the interests of social inclusion, and the Rural Women’s Alliance – Empowering Rural Women Through ICTs;- 2That, reflecting its unique membership-based role and its ability to bring academia, the private sector, the technical community, and government together, CITEL promoted the interests of the entire Hemisphere at the World Telecommunication and Radiocommunication Assemblies and Conferences of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) through the adoption of more than 300 interAmerican proposals; That according to the ITU, a third of the region’s people currently have no access to broadband connectivity, and that it is important to continue strengthening CITEL as the crucial arena for cooperation in communications and ICTs in the Americas, most particularly in its role in discussing and reaching agreements on digital inclusion, the development of telecommunication infrastructure, radio spectrum use, and the creation of an enabling environment for investment in ICTs; That the exchange of experiences, as a result of the series of round tables and forums coordinated by the CITEL Secretariat, made a positive contribution to the responses of OAS member states to better address the inequalities arising from COVID-19 from the standpoint of telecommunications/ICT and helped in the drafting of recommendations on relevant aspects that must be kept in mind when drawing up regulatory policies for telecommunications during and after the COVID-19 pandemic; That it is necessary to improve coverage and identify models to bridge the digital divide, CITEL made recommendations for expanding telecommunications/ICT in rural areas and in unserved or underserved areas; That CITEL undertook actions in coordination with ITU, CTU, and COMTELCA to improve

communications and response capabilities with a view to building resilience to disasters and emergency situations in the region, and That, having assessed the positive results of the work it has been doing, CITEL needs to be made financially sustainable in order to ensure that it is equipped with the tools required to continue with its tasks and to implement its 2018–2022 Strategic Plan in line with the Organization’s Comprehensive Strategic Plan,

RESOLVES:

1. To encourage OAS member states to intensify horizontal cooperation and the exchange of information, experiences and best practices among them in the area of telecommunications and information and communication technologies (ICTs), with the support of the Executive Secretariat

of Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL).

2. To encourage OAS member states to implement activities in their countries and in the region to advance connectivity and broadband access as key drivers of sustainable development, and to invite them to participate in the various activities organized by CITEL.

3. To request that in the draft program-budget for 2022 for consideration by the Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Affairs and adoption by the General Assembly, the OAS General Secretariat continue taking into account the financial needs of CITEL in keeping with resolution CITEL/RES. 80 (VII-18), adopted at the seventh regular meeting of the CITEL Assembly, and with resolution AG/RES. 2957 (L-O/20), “Program-Budget of the Organization for 2020,” adopted3at the fifty regular session of the OAS General Assembly, so the Commission can continue fulfilling its goals and mission and functioning optimally.

4. To request that the CITEL Secretariat report to the OAS General Assembly at its fiftysecond regular session on the implementation of this resolution, execution of which will be subject to the availability of financial resources in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.

AG08389E01