I.4-1​ Reports and other inputs to UN inter-agency, multilateral and inter-governmental processes [102]

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" comprising 17 SDGs and 169 targets, seeks to eradicate poverty, promote environmental sustainability and build peaceful, inclusive societies for all by 2030, with the commitment to leave no one behind. On 1 January 2017, Mr António Guterres of Portugal succeeded Mr Ban Ki-moon as Secretary-General of the United Nations.  The new Secretary-General's priorities reinforced the need to ensure that the UN is 'fit for purpose' to provide Member States with development support, through necessary reforms in management, peace and security architecture focusing on conflict prevention, and repositioning of the UN development system.

Three targets under the SDGs explicitly recognize the role of ICTs (education and scholarships (4.b), gender empowerment (5.b), and universal and affordable access to the Internet in the Least Developed Countries (9.c)). So in broader terms does Goal 17, on strengthening the means of implementation and revitalizing the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, which calls for efforts to enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular ICTs. ITU, as part of the UN system, is has a critical role to play in supporting Member States and in bringing its stakeholders together in supporting countries in their efforts to achieve the SDGs.

Since 2016, ITU has also provided inputs to the global SDG follow-up and review process carried out annually at the High-level Political Forum (HLPF). ITU has also enhanced its outreach with countries presenting their voluntary national review reports annually at the HLPF, to raise the visibility of the critical role of ICTs for sustainable development. It has engaged in collaboration with other stakeholders to promote ICTs for the SDGs, through joint publications and side events. For example, ITU coordinated a publication presented at the 2017 HLPF "Fast-forward progress: Leveraging tech to achieve the global goals" featuring opinion pieces from 25 UN Executive Heads on the role of ICTs to deliver on the SDGs.  It has also embarked on strengthening joint collaboration with UN entities through collaboration agreements, for example, in agriculture with FAO, or industry with UNIDO, or mHealth with WHO.

ITU has also continued to follow the work of UN bodies such as the General Assembly and ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies. In this respect, ITU has ensured that key ITU activities and the important role of ICTs for sustainable development are reflected in relevant reports of the UN Secretary-General and General Assembly, ECOSOC/CSTD resolutions, UNGA resolution on ICTs for development, and ECOSOC/CSTD resolutions on science, technology and innovation for development.

ITU also contributed to other major conferences, summits and high-level meetings, including: the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (2015); the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (2015); the High-level meeting of the General Assembly on the review of the WSIS outcomes WSIS (2015); The World Humanitarian Summit (2016); the High-Level Midterm Review of the Implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action for the LDCs for the Decade 2011-2020 (2016); Habitat III (2016); the annual United Nations Climate Change Conferences; and the annual Internet Governance Forums, among other UN events.

In terms of inter-agency coordination, ITU increased its visibility and leadership within the Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB). The Secretary-General of ITU chaired the ICT-Network Information Security Special Interest Group of the High-Level Committee on Management (HLCM) from 2015 until 2017.  ITU also successfully led and won endorsement for the UN-wide Framework on Cybersecurity and Cybercrime, and a UN System Internal Coordination Plan on Cybersecurity and Cybercrime.  Most recently, ITU has been leading within the CEB/HLCP on Frontier Issues, in particular facilitating discussions on AI. 

ITU also advanced in establishing a mechanism for considering UN Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) reports and adopting and implementing relevant recommendations emanating from system-wide reviews, including full adoption and implementation of the review of management and administration in ITU carried out in 2016.

See also ITU Council reports C11/INF/6, C12/INF/1(Rev.1), C13/INF/10, C14/INF/7, C15/INF/4, C16/57, C17/INF/10, and C18/INF/4.

ITU tracks three gender-related indicators from the SDG Indicators Monitoring Framework. ITU's Gender Dashboard reports on the digital gender divide, gender representation at ITU meetings, and gender balance in ITU staffing and decision-making.

Various ITU initiatives aim to close the digital gender divide, including the international Girls in ICT Day, EQUALs, the Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age, and the EQUALS in Tech Awards. Efforts to balance the representation of women in ITU meetings involve concerted efforts to invite and encourage gender-balanced delegations and nominations of women, particularly in key roles such as chairmen and vice-chairmen. Women in main conferences are supported through the Network of Women for WRC (NOW) and the Women in Standardization Expert Group (WISE).

ITU reports annually under the UN System-wide action plan for gender equality and mainstreaming (SWAP), an accountability framework to measure and drive progress towards gender equality. As from 2017, planning is aligned with the UN-SWAP performance indicators. Full reports on ITU's activities related to Resolution 70 may be found in documents C15/6, C16/6, C17/6, C18/6, and C18/13.

ITU has advanced in the implementation of Resolution 198 (Busan, 2014), which establishes ITU's mandate in the area of empowering youth through telecommunication/ICT. The implementation of Resolution 198 followed the lines of action indicated in the roadmap for 2016-2018 established by ITU Council Resolution 1374.

One of the main deliverables has been the strengthening of ITU´s work with academic institutions. ITU currently has over 150 Academia members and is preparing the new ITU Journal ICT Discoveries, as well as the tenth edition of the ITU Kaleidoscope academic conferences (Argentina, 26-28 November 2018). Kaleidoscope 2017, kindly hosted by Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, China, attracted 300 academics from 26 countries. ITUT also organized the Young ICT Policy Leaders (YIPL) Programme in the 2015, 2016 and 2017 sessions of the Council, as well as  the Busan Young Policy Leaders Programme, organized in cooperation with the city of Busan in 2015, 2016 and 2017. These programmes strengthened the participation of young professionals in ITU's work. H.E. President Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera of Costa Rica was appointed as the ITU Patron for Youth and ICTs, and International Girls in ICT Day is held annually.  ITU and ILO launched their Digital Skills for Decent Jobs for Youth campaign during the WSIS Forum, with the aim of incentivizing stakeholders around the world to train 5 million young people and provide them with job-ready digital skills. 

Further information about ITU's activities for young people is available at www.itu.int/youth, and in documents C15/91, C16/20, and C17/35.