– As delivered –
Remarks by H.E. Mr. Volkan Bozkir, President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly
27 April 2021
Your Majesties,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for joining the High-Level Thematic Debate on Digital Cooperation and Connectivity.
Today’s discussion reflects both the unparalleled pace of global digitization and the widening digital divide, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our gathering is a direct response to Member States’ requests that this issue be addressed at the highest levels of the UN. By taking the initiative to convene today’s debate, I aim to ensure that this topic is prioritized. It is my hope that by building political momentum on digital issues we can accelerate progress and move rapidly to empower people everywhere.
The fact of the matter is that some 3.7 billion people remain digitally disconnected, with no options to work, learn, trade, or connect online. In a world of unparalleled innovation, where our loved ones are but a video call away, billions struggle to access even the most basic elements of connectivity or live with none at all. Truly, for billions of people the pace and scale of sustainable development is reliant upon digital connectivity.
The digital divide threatens to become the new face of inequality. It is those already furthest behind, in developed and developing countries alike, and across rural/urban, language, and gender divides, who remain disconnected. The starkness of the divide is bordering on immoral. This brings new urgency to securing digital connectivity for all, particularly for those in Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States, who remain the least connected.
Dear colleagues,
The digital divide threatens to become the new face of inequality. It is those already furthest behind, in developed and developing countries alike, and across rural/urban, language, and gender divides, who remain disconnected. The starkness of the divide is bordering on immoral. This brings new urgency to securing digital connectivity for all, particularly for those in Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States, who remain the least connected.
And now is the time to act.
Recovery from COVID-19 is an inflection point, one that offers us a chance to undertake truly transformational changes. As I have frequently stated, we must use the SDGs as a guide to our post-COVID recovery. This means ensuring that no one is left behind, no one is left offline, and that we apply a whole-of-society, multi-stakeholder, and intergenerational approach to our efforts. This is particularly important for the world’s 1.8 billion young people, who must be equipped with the skills and resources to thrive in an ever-changing, tech-driven future.
The United Nations and the General Assembly in particular, must be a leader in this regard, including by bringing together all stakeholders. Past General Assembly action has led to implementation mechanisms and entities, such as the Technology Facilitation Mechanism, and the UN Technology Bank for Least Developing Countries. We can do so much more. Inspired by today’s spotlight on best practices, and transformative coalitions and ideas, I urge you to consider what decisions the General Assembly can and must take.
Together, we can strengthen implementation of global, regional, and multilateral initiatives, including the Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation.
We can work together to close both the energy and digital divides simultaneously, connecting the almost 800 million people who lack electricity. This is especially important ahead of the High-level Dialogue on Energy this September.
We can strengthen global digital governance, financing, and investments, to help expand access while managing breaches, which range from data and privacy policies, to online crime and harassment, to misinformation and disinformation.
And we can help build synergies across both the UN System and the SDGs, highlighting how digitization can support the entire 2030 Agenda, including efforts to address desertification, biodiversity, climate, and pollution
On this, I would point to the Coalition on Digital Environmental Sustainability, CODES, launched in support of the Secretary-General’s Roadmap, as a strong example of where the environment and digital connectivity worlds meet.
Dear colleagues,
The digital divide was real long before COVID-19. The global pandemic has only exacerbated and underscored this problem, starkly highlighting the digital-haves and the digital have-nots. This is an issue that may only grow in importance the longer the pandemic persists.
We cannot afford to wait. By galvanizing political momentum today, we can focus our energies towards existing initiatives and processes, as well as plant the seeds for new initiatives and partnerships for action.
As the world’s most inclusive multilateral forum, the United Nations General Assembly has an obligation to reflect the needs of people everywhere. With a widening digital divide that threatens to undermine progress across the entirety of the sustainable development agenda, we have an obligation to leave no one behind and to strengthen the tools and mechanisms needed to empower people everywhere.
I look forward to your ideas on how we can make this a reality.
Thank you very much.
