Olufuye signs off @ UN CSTD

Vice-Chairman for Africa at the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) and former President, Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN), Dr Jimson Olufuye has signed off his assignment at the United Nations assignment at the UN Commission for Science and Technology for Development Working Group (WG) on Improvements to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

 
The three-day final meeting of this group ends today February 22, 2012, even as the report of the WG is expected to be translated into UN languages for consideration by the Commission on Science & Technology for Development in Geneva by May 21-25, 2012.

Also, the CSTD will transmit the recommendation to ECOSOC for final presentation to the General Assembly later in the year.

ITRealms Online recalled that Dr. Olufuye was appointed by the United Nations Commission on Science & Technology for Development (UNCSTD) on January 28, 2011 to represent the business community in the developing nations as one of the five global business representatives in the Working Group.

Noteworthy is that the group would have concluded its work in May 2011, but could not due to the complex nature of the internet governance issues.

The mandate of the WG, he said, was derived from the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) consensus resolution 2010/2 of 19 July 2010 on the "Assessment of the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society."

The WG at the first instance met twice in Switzerland; first on February 25-26, 2011 at the Hotel Majestic in Montreux and on March 24-25 in Geneva, in spite which WG could not submit a report of specific recommendations on improvements as mandated within the time frame of December 2010 and March 2011 due to insufficient time to arrive at consensus on specific recommendations.

It is expected that this time around the WG will conclude its assignment with sets of recommendations on the improvement of the Internet Governance Forum

Remmy Nweke
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