New York - Information Office - October 22
The State of Qatar has underlined that it attaches special importance to benefiting from and investing in the enormous potential of ICTs and considers them as essential elements for moving towards sustainable development.
This came in the statement of the State of Qatar before the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) of the United Nations General Assembly at its 73rd session on item 17 "ICT for Development" delivered by Ahmed Seif Al-Kuwari, third secretary in the Permanent Delegation of the State Qatar to the United Nations.
In recognition of the importance of the ICT sector, the State has followed policies in various fields to develop this sector and enhance its role, said Saif Al Kuwari, adding that the State of Qatar has been keen to promote the use of technology in implementing most of its economic, social, and environmental development programs aimed at improving the quality Life, and the establishment of sustainable societies where no one is marginalized, and significant steps have been taken in building the ICT sector that benefits all sectors of society.
In this context, he said, the Ministry of Transport and Communications in the State of Qatar plays an important role and the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), a member of the research and development sector of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, is the main platform for technology development projects. It seeks to support innovation and leadership, where the Assistive Technology Center (Mada) was also established as a non-profit organization that seeks to empower people with disabilities, narrow the gap by enhancing their ease of use of ICTs and overcoming barriers to being effective in their communities.
The Sustainable Development Plan for 2030 had recognized the importance of promoting the use of enabling technologies, particularly information and communication technologies, the role of technology and innovation in achieving sustainable development goals and stimulating economic growth, Al-Kuwari noted.
Al-Kuwari stressed the importance of further efforts to create an environment conducive to the promotion of science and innovation, the diffusion of technologies and the promotion of access to and use of ICT services by all segments of society, especially women, youth and children.
He pointed out that the crimes of cyber security and piracy constitute a large percentage of the crimes that threaten international peace and security and raise serious concern among the international community. This phenomenon must be dealt with in a manner commensurate with its gravity, by resorting to measures not only to prohibit and punish those involved in piracy for political or personal gain, but to deal with them as a major source of threat to international peace and security, he added.
He said that the report of the Secretary-General under this item noted the critical importance of international multi-stakeholder cooperation to address challenges such as cybersecurity that could undermine public confidence in the Internet and web services, thereby undermining its development impact, as referred to by the Doha Declaration on the Integration of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice on the broader United Nations agenda, adopted by the Thirteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, also highlighted the importance of exploring special measures aimed at providing a safe and robust electronic environment and preventing and combating criminal activities carried out through Internet.
Al-Kuwari noted that the State of Qatar has been subjected to cybercrime about a year and a half ago , which has been used as an excuse to impose illegal unilateral measures to achieve political goals that violate the principles of international law, international relations and human rights.
He stressed that the security of electronic information and cybersecurity is a great challenge for the international community saying that the world has witnessed serious violations of the electronic systems of countries and private institutions in recent years and in view of the risks posed by the rise of cybercrime and the urgent need to provide cybersecurity for countries and individuals, is critical to preventing such crimes and to taking advantage of scientific advances in information.
Concluding the statement, Ahmed Saif Al Kuwari said that, as a result of Qatar's responsibility and commitment to international cooperation in the face of common challenges, it announced its readiness to host an international conference on ways to regulate cybersecurity under the provisions of international law, stressing that the State of Qatar would remain an essential partner of the international community that could be relied upon to build international peace and security and would continue its ongoing quest to ensure progress towards achieving the goals of sustainable development for the year 2030.