52/184 Science and technology for development

The General Assembly,

Reaffirming the continuing validity of the Vienna Programme of Action on Science and Technology for Development, ⁽²¹⁾ adopted in 1979, its resolution 50/101 of 20 December 1995 and all other relevant United Nations resolutions and decisions, as well as the outcomes of United Nations major conferences concerning science and technology for development,

Taking note of the Meeting of Experts on Science and Technology of the Non-Aligned Countries held in Cartagena, Colombia, in March 1997, in the field of biological diversity,

Recognizing the importance for developing countries of having access to science and technology so as to enhance their productivity and competitiveness in the world market, and stressing the need to promote, facilitate and finance, as appropriate, access to and transfer of environmentally sound technologies and the corresponding know-how, in particular to the developing countries, on favourable terms, including concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed, taking into account the need to protect intellectual property rights as well as the special needs of developing countries,

Stressing, given the fact that much of the most advanced environmentally sound technology is developed and held by the private sector, that the creation of an enabling environment, on the part of both developed and developing countries, including supportive economic and fiscal measures, as well as a practical system of environmental regulations and compliance mechanisms, can help to stimulate private-sector investment in and transfer of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries, as affirmed by the General Assembly in paragraph 90 of the annex to its resolution S/19-2 of 28 June 1997,

Also stressing that further efforts should be made by Governments and international development institutions to facilitate the transfer of privately owned technologies on concessional terms as mutually agreed, to developing countries, especially least developed countries, as affirmed by the General Assembly in paragraph 90 of the annex to its resolution S/19-2 of 28 June 1997,

Expressing concern over the risk of marginalization of many developing countries, in particular the least developed and the African countries, in the process of globalization, which has resulted in increased benefits from advances in science and technology,

Recognizing the importance of developing countries' own efforts in the field of science and technology for development,

Noting the proposal by the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to convene, in 1999, a world science conference,

Recognizing that information technologies are important requisites for planning, development and decision-making in science and technology, and recognizing also their far-reaching implications for society,

Reaffirming that the United Nations should play an important role in the promotion of cooperation in science and technology, as one of its priorities, and in the enhancement of support and assistance to developing countries in their efforts to achieve sustainable development, and emphasizing the need to enhance the capability of the relevant United Nations organizations, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, to address relevant issues in the field of science and technology,

Noting the work being undertaken by the Commission on Science and Technology for Development on its work programme for member States, especially the developing countries, and reaffirming its unique role as a global forum for examining science and technology questions, improving the understanding of science and technology policies, and formulating recommendations and guidelines on science and technology matters within the United Nations system, all in relation to development, without prejudice to the Economic and Social Council review of its subsidiary bodies, as initiated under General Assembly resolution 50/227, bearing in mind other relevant Assembly resolutions,

Recognizing the need for adequate resources to be devoted to fostering science and technology for development,

Recognizing the need for Governments, and regional and international bodies to take measures to ensure women better access to and participation in scientific and technological areas, especially where they are not represented or are under-represented,

Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General entitled "Macroeconomic policy questions: science and technology for development", ⁽²²⁾

1. Reaffirms Economic and Social Council decision 1997/306 of 25 July 1997, in which the Council approved the provisional agenda for the fourth session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development on the basis of the report of the Commission on its third session; ⁽²³⁾

2. Recognizes the ongoing work of the Commission for Science and Technology for Development, emphasizes the importance of the activities that are to be pursued within the framework of the Commission, including a broad spectrum of new global challenges in science and technology, encourages support to those undertakings and, in that regard, reaffirms that the substantive theme for the inter-sessional period 1997-1999 of the Commission will be "Science and technology partnerships and networking for national capacity-building";

3. Reaffirms that capacity-building in science and technology in developing countries should remain a priority issue on the United Nations agenda, and urges that international cooperation efforts be intensified and strengthened towards developing countries' endogenous capacity-building in science and technology, including their capacity to utilize scientific and technological developments from abroad as well as to modify and adapt them to suit local conditions;

4. Also recognizes the role of Governments in science and technology for development, in particular in providing appropriate regulatory frameworks and incentives for the development of science and technology capabilities;

5. Further recognizes the role of the private sector in science and technology for development, in particular in the transfer and development of science and technology capabilities;

6. Stresses the need to strengthen the important role of the United Nations in the field of science and technology as a cross-cutting concern within the work of the United Nations, particularly through effective policy guidance and better coordination, including international cooperation in technology assessment, monitoring and forecasting, as well as in the area of information and communication technologies, and in providing an environment conducive to the development of new environmentally sound technologies, and calls upon the organizations, funds and programmes of the United Nations to continue to work in a coordinated and expeditious manner to develop a catalogue of proved technologies to enable effective technology choice, by developing countries, of state-of-the-art technologies;

7. Reaffirms the need to fulfil the commitments on the provision of financial resources and transfer of technology contained in chapter 34 of Agenda 21, ⁽²⁴⁾ the outcome of the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly and the Agenda for Development; ⁽²⁵⁾

8. Reaffirms the need for adequate financial resources on a continuous and assured basis to foster science and technology for development, in particular to promote endogenous capacity-building in developing countries in accordance with their priorities;

9. Stresses that the current forms of cooperation involving the public and private sectors of developing and developed countries should be built upon and expanded, and in that context, also stresses the importance of identifying barriers and restrictions to the transfer of publicly and privately owned technologies, as affirmed by the General Assembly in paragraph 88 of the annex to its resolution S/19-2 of 28 June 1997 as well as other relevant General Assembly resolutions and decisions, with a view to reducing such constraints while creating specific incentives, fiscal and otherwise, for the transfer of such technologies;

10. Recognizes the importance of cooperation among developing countries in the field of science and technology, building on their complementarities, and the need for further advancing such cooperation through the establishment and/or strengthening of national technology and information centres in developing countries and networking on regional, subregional, interregional and global levels to promote technology research, training and dissemination as well as joint projects in developing countries, and urges the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and other relevant international, regional and subregional organizations and programmes to provide continued and enhanced support through technical assistance and financing for such efforts;

11. Reiterates the affirmation of the General Assembly, as set forth in paragraph 93 of the annex to its resolution S/19-2 of 28 June 1997, that the creation of centres for the transfer of technology at various levels, including the regional level, could greatly contribute to achieving the objective of transfer of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries, and that, for that purpose, existing United Nations bodies and mechanisms, including, as appropriate, mechanisms for technical and environmental cooperation among developing countries, the Centre for Science and Technology for Development, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme and the regional commissions, should cooperate;

12. Invites the relevant bodies of the United Nations system to assess their capability to provide assistance and promote cooperation in the area of information and communication technologies, and to suggest areas in which they are best able to assist interested countries, in particular the developing countries, in the design and implementation of national strategies on such technologies;

13. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session a report on the progress made in the implementation of the present resolution.

21. Report of the United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development, Vienna, 20-31 August 1979 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.79.I.21 and corrigenda), chap. VII.

22. A/52/320.

23. Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1997, Supplement No. 11 (E/1997/31).

24. Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992, vol. I, Resolutions Adopted by the Conference (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8 and corrigendum), resolution 1, annex II.

25. Resolution 51/240, annex.