Science, Technology and Innovation for Development

A/RES/70/213View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 22b Science and technology for development, published in 2016.

What other versions does this mandate have?

3 versions · 2014–2018

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/72/228

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2018	A/RES/72/228	Science, technology and innovation for development	3,587	45%Compare
2016	A/RES/70/213	Science, technology and innovation for development	1,936	39%Compare
2014	A/RES/68/220	Science, technology and innovation for development	2,250	–

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

3 reports · 2015–2019

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2019	A/74/230	Science, technology and innovation for development report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/72/228
2017	A/72/257	Science, technology and innovation for development report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/70/213
2015	A/70/276	Science and technology for development report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/68/220

What subjects does this mandate have?

6 subjects

Developing Countries Science and Technology Science and Technology Policy Technical Cooperation Technological Innovations Technology Transfer

What’s in this document?

24 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the reports of the Secretary-General;⁶

⁶A/66/208, A/68/227 and A/70/276.

Reaffirms its commitment:

To the actions agreed upon by the least developed countries and development partners on science, technology and innovation, as outlined in paragraphs 52 and 53 of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011–2020, adopted at the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries;⁷

⁷Report of the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, Istanbul, Turkey, 9–13 May 2011 (A/CONF.219/7), chap. II.

To promote and support greater efforts to develop renewable sources of energy, including appropriate technology;

To support the efforts of developing countries, individually and collectively, to harness new agricultural technologies in order to increase agricultural productivity through environmentally sustainable means;

To support better coordination and coherence, including the application of best practices in coordination and the sharing of lessons learned among United Nations agencies and international organizations providing technical assistance and capacity-building in the field of science, technology and innovation directed towards development priorities and needs;

Also reaffirms the commitments that the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development⁸ has made in, inter alia, science, technology and innovation, as an important action area for sustainable development;

⁸Resolution 69/313, annex.

Recognizes the current role of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and other relevant United Nations entities, as well as other relevant organizations, in helping Governments, upon request, to ensure that science, technology and innovation policies are integrated into and are supportive of national development strategies and sustainable development in their countries and that their science, technology and innovation policies and programmes support national development agendas;

Also recognizes that science, technology and innovation, including information and communications technologies, are vital for the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,⁹ and for the full participation of developing countries in the global economy;

⁹Resolution 70/1.

Further recognizes that full and equal access to and participation in science, technology and innovation for women of all ages is imperative for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women, and underlines that addressing barriers to equal access for women and girls to science, technology and innovation requires a systematic, comprehensive, integrated, sustainable, multidisciplinary and multisectoral approach, and in this regard urges Governments to mainstream a gender perspective in legislation, policies and programmes;

Notes the importance of facilitating access to and sharing accessible and assistive technologies, through the transfer of technology on mutually agreed terms and other actions, to advance disability-inclusive development, ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities and promote their empowerment, recognizing that persons with disabilities make up an estimated 15 per cent of the world’s population;

Requests the Commission on Science and Technology for Development to provide a forum within which to continue to assist the Economic and Social Council as the focal point in the system-wide follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society1 and to continue its science, technology and innovation activities, including by sharing best practices;

Encourages the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, in collaboration with relevant partners, such as the World Intellectual Property Organization, the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the United Nations University, to continue to undertake science, technology and innovation policy reviews, with a view to assisting developing countries in identifying the measures that are needed to integrate science, technology and innovation policies into their national development strategies;

Encourages the World Intellectual Property Organization to continue to undertake technical support activities, including the development of national intellectual patent and innovation strategies;

Encourages Governments to strengthen and foster investment in research and development for environmentally sound technologies and to promote the involvement of the business and financial sectors in the development of those technologies, and invites the international community to support those efforts;

Encourages efforts to increase the availability of data to support the measurement of national innovation systems (such as the existing global innovation indices) and empirical research on innovation and development to assist policymakers in designing and implementing innovation strategies;

Also encourages the increase and use of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by sex, age, geography, income, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability and other characteristics relevant in national contexts, enhanced capacity-building support to developing countries, including the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States, for this purpose, and international cooperation, including through technical and financial support, to further strengthen the capacity of national statistical authorities and bureaux;

Further encourages existing arrangements and the further promotion of regional, subregional and interregional joint research and development projects, where feasible, by mobilizing existing scientific and research and development resources and by the networking of sophisticated scientific facilities and research equipment;

Emphasizes that science, technology and innovation are critical for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals;

Encourages the enhancement of capacity-building support for developing countries, including the strengthening of national data systems and evaluation programmes, particularly in African countries, the least developed countries, small island developing States, landlocked developing countries and middle-income countries;

Calls upon Member States and the United Nations development system, and encourages other stakeholders, as appropriate, to continue to strengthen their support for the different science, technology and innovation partnerships with developing countries in primary, secondary and higher education, vocational education and continuing education, for business opportunities for the private sector, for science, technology and innovation infrastructure and for science, technology and innovation advice for developing countries;

Welcomes the establishment of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism by the third International Conference on Financing for Development5 and its launch at the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda,¹⁰ and looks forward to its full operationalization;

¹⁰Ibid., para. 70.

Calls upon the relevant organizations of the United Nations system, within their respective mandates and resources, to ensure that no country is left behind in the implementation of the present resolution;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its seventy-second session a report on the implementation of the present resolution, and decides to include, under the item entitled “Globalization and interdependence”, a sub-item entitled “Science, technology and innovation for development” in the provisional agenda of its seventy-second session, unless otherwise agreed in the discussions on the revitalization of the Second Committee.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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