Information and Communications Technologies for Sustainable Development

A/RES/80/118View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 15 Information and communications technologies for sustainable development, published in 2025.

What other versions does this mandate have?

9 versions · 2018–2025

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/80/118	Information and communications technologies for sustainable development	8,880	86%Compare
2024	A/RES/79/194	Information and communications technologies for sustainable development	8,593	73%Compare
2023	A/RES/78/132	Information and communications technologies for sustainable development	7,243	87%Compare
2022	A/RES/77/150	Information and communications technologies for sustainable development	6,668	85%Compare
2022	A/RES/76/189	Information and communications technologies for sustainable development	6,066	92%Compare

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

9 entities

(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited
Programme 7	Economic and social affairs	291
Programme 15	Economic and social development in africa	165
Subprogramme 4	Economic cooperation and integration	6
Programme 18	Economic and social development in latin america and the caribbean	234
Subprogramme 5	Information and communications technology and space applications	15

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

9 entities

(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
Programme 7	Economic and social affairs	291	—
Programme 15	Economic and social development in africa	165	—
Subprogramme 4	Economic cooperation and integration	6	—
Programme 18	Economic and social development in latin america and the caribbean	234	—
Subprogramme 5	Information and communications technology and space applications	15	—

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

What subjects does this mandate have?

9 subjects

Artificial Intelligence Communication Technology Data Collection Developing Countries Digital Divide Governance Information Technology Sustainable Development Technology Transfer

What’s in this document?

76 operative paragraphs

Recognizes that information and communications technologies have the potential to provide new solutions to development challenges, particularly in the context of globalization, and can foster sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth and sustainable development, competitiveness, access to information and knowledge, trade and development, eradication of poverty, including extreme poverty, gender equality and social inclusion that will help to expedite the integration of all countries, especially developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, into the global economy;

Welcomes the remarkable evolution and diffusion of information and communications technologies, underpinned by the contributions of both the public and private sectors, which have seen penetration into almost all corners of the globe, created new opportunities for social interactions, enabled new business models and contributed to economic growth and development in all other sectors, while emphasizing that the unique and emerging challenges related to their evolution and diffusion require equitable and inclusive approaches and strengthened international cooperation to maximize the benefits of the information society;

Recognizes the potential of information and communications technologies and digital transformation to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development¹⁹ and other internationally agreed development goals, noting that they can accelerate progress across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals, accordingly urges all Governments, the private sector, civil society, international organizations, the technical and academic communities and all other relevant stakeholders to integrate information and communications technologies and digital solutions into their approaches to implementing the Goals, and requests United Nations system entities facilitating the World Summit on the Information Society action lines to review their reporting and workplans to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda;

¹⁹Resolution 70/1.

Reaffirms its commitment to bridging digital and knowledge divides, recognizes that its approach must be multidimensional and include an evolving understanding of what constitutes access, emphasizing the quality of that access, and acknowledges that speed, stability, affordability, language and local content accessibility for everyone, including persons with disabilities and other persons in vulnerable situations, are now core elements of quality and that high-speed broadband is already an essential enabler of sustainable development;

Emphasizes, in this regard, the vital importance of multilingualism and local content in the information society, including the promotion, protection and preservation of linguistic and cultural diversity in training data, particularly for the large language models of artificial intelligence, and urges all stakeholders to encourage the creation of, and access to, educational, cultural and scientific content online so as to promote quality of access and ensure that all people and cultures can express themselves and have access to the Internet in all languages, including Indigenous languages;

Recognizes that the Internet is a critical global facility for inclusive and equitable digital transformation, and that, to fully benefit all, it must be open, global, interoperable, stable and secure, while recognizing that Internet governance must continue to be global and multi-stakeholder in nature, with the full involvement of Governments, the private sector, civil society, international organizations, technical and academic communities and all other relevant stakeholders in accordance with their respective roles and responsibilities;

Stresses the important role played by Governments, the private sector, civil society, scientific, technical and academic communities, international organizations and relevant stakeholders in accordance with their respective roles and responsibilities in information and communications technologies;

Encourages strengthened and continuing cooperation between and among stakeholders from both developed and developing countries, within their respective roles and responsibilities, to ensure the effective implementation of the outcomes of the Geneva and Tunis phases of the World Summit on the Information Society, through, inter alia, the promotion of national, regional and international multi‑stakeholder partnerships, including public-private partnerships, and the promotion of national and regional multi-stakeholder thematic platforms in a joint effort and dialogue with developing countries, including the least developed countries, development partners and actors in the information and communications technologies sector;

Welcomes the operationalization of the Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries, and invites Member States, as well as international organizations, foundations and the private sector, to provide voluntary financial contributions and technical assistance to ensure its full and effective implementation;

Reiterates the call for support for the full operationalization of all components of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism and to explore a voluntary funding model in collaboration with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat and relevant United Nations entities;

Notes the progress that has been made by United Nations system entities in cooperation with national Governments, regional commissions and other stakeholders, including non‑governmental organizations and the private sector, in the implementation of the action lines contained in the outcome documents of the World Summit on the Information Society, and encourages the use of those action lines for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda;

Also notes that the digital economy is an important and growing part of the global economy and that connectivity is correlated with increases in gross domestic product, recognizes the critical importance of expanding the participation of all countries, in particular developing countries, in the digital economy, including by harnessing data for economic growth, particularly in developing countries;

Welcomes the establishment by the Commission on Science and Technology for Development of a dedicated working group to engage in a comprehensive and inclusive multi-stakeholder dialogue on data governance at all levels as relevant for development, encourages the working group to report on its progress to the General Assembly, by no later than the eighty-first session, including on follow-up recommendations towards equitable and interoperable data governance arrangements, which may include fundamental principles of data governance at all levels as relevant for development, proposals to support interoperability between national, regional and international data systems, considerations of sharing the benefits of data, and options to facilitate safe, secure and trusted data flows, including cross-border data flows as relevant for development, and looks forward to the continuation of discussions in the United Nations, building on those outcomes and recognizing the ongoing work of other relevant bodies and stakeholders, including the Statistical Commission, in our efforts to pursue common understandings for data governance at all levels, as relevant for development;

Recognizes the role of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development in reviewing follow-up on the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society;

Emphasizes the role of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development in the follow-up and review process of the Global Digital Compact and the need for ensuring the strongest possible convergence between the implementation of the World Summit on the Information Society outcomes and the Compact to avoid duplication and enhance synergies, efficiencies and thereby impact;

Encourages countries to take advantage of capacity-building mechanisms and opportunities from the entire United Nations system and from Member States, and urges the international community to provide necessary resources to support such efforts;

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on “Innovative voluntary financing options for artificial intelligence capacity-building”, which was developed in line with the request contained in resolution 79/1 and that took into account, inter alia, the recommendation on a Global Fund on AI;

Emphasizes the importance of increased investment, particularly from the private sector and philanthropy, to scale up artificial intelligence capacity-building for sustainable development, and recognizes the need to scale up AI capacity-building, leveraging existing United Nations and multi-stakeholder mechanisms to bridge AI divides, facilitate access to AI applications, and build capacity and high-performance computing and related skills in developing countries;

Urges a continued focus on maximizing development gains from e‑commerce, through initiatives such as eTrade for All and the e-trade readiness assessments and implementation tools launched by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, with a focus on providing technical assistance and building capacity for adopting and scaling e-commerce;

Looks forward to the holding of the sixth meeting of the Working Group on Measuring E-commerce and the Digital Economy, on 4 and 5 December 2025, and the ninth session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on E-commerce and the Digital Economy, from 11 to 13 May 2026;

Recognizes the need for international cooperation to examine and address the opportunities, risks and challenges associated with dealing with data, including data protection, and the need for urgent action aimed at reducing digital divides and inequalities in data generation, accessibility and infrastructure, within and among countries and regions, and encourages strengthening of international collaboration on inclusive and human-centric governance of data and greater interoperability in this regard, building on contributions from international organizations, including the United Nations system, and to find common ground on these issues, ensuring no one is left behind;

Calls for increased international cooperation and resources for capacity-building support to developing countries to support their efforts to collect, analyse and disseminate relevant, accurate, reliable and disaggregated data and statistics for better monitoring and policymaking to accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, while respecting privacy and data protection;

Further calls upon the international community to enhance its support to developing countries, including by increasing resources available, to build their capacities to equally and meaningfully benefit from data and participate in the digital economy;

Emphasizes that efforts to close all digital divides and ensure that no one is left behind in the digital economy, including by harnessing data for economic growth, particularly in developing countries, must be expanded;

Welcomes the work of the Information for All Programme of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which aims to assist Member States in formulating policies to bridge digital divides and ensure equitable knowledge societies, and also welcomes the holding of Global Media and Information Literacy Week from 24 to 31 October 2025;

Recognizes that, despite recent progress and significant gains, there is still uneven growth in access to and the use of information and communications technologies, and expresses concern over the substantial continued digital and broadband divides between and within developed and developing countries, including the fact that while 93 per cent of people use the Internet in high-income countries, only 27 per cent of the population of low-income countries is online, and that the cost of access is higher in developing countries in relation to average household income, resulting in a lack of affordable access to information and communications technologies;²⁰

²⁰International Telecommunication Union, Measuring Digital Development: Facts and Figures 2024 (Geneva, 2024).

Stresses the need to provide universal, meaningful and affordable access to the Internet by 2030, particularly in all developing countries, welcomes efforts by the United Nations to assist countries, upon their request, in achieving this, and calls upon all stakeholders, including the international community, to support further actions, including investment, to improve broadband access and connectivity in developing countries;

Recognizes the importance of broadband connectivity to users in rural and remote areas, and in this regard notes that small and non‑profit community operators, including community networks and other affordable, scalable and inclusive technology and business models that provide last-mile connectivity solutions, as appropriate and among others, can provide these services through, inter alia, appropriate regulatory measures that allow them to gain access to basic infrastructure;

Stresses the importance of rapid technological change in ensuring food security and nutrition by 2030, and information technology in agriculture systems with due regard for sustainability;

Encourages research and development, and the development of viable strategies that could result in further competitiveness, investment and rapid reductions in the cost of information and communications technologies, urges all relevant stakeholders to address the growing digital divides between and within countries through, inter alia, strengthened enabling policy environments at all levels, legal and regulatory frameworks conducive to increased investment and innovation, public-private partnerships, universal access strategies and international cooperation to improve affordability, education, capacity-building, multilingualism, cultural preservation, investment and technology transfer on mutually agreed terms, and supports the development, deployment and sustainable use of emerging and open-source technologies and supports policies towards open science and open innovation and know-how for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially in developing countries, as well as accelerated access to research capacity and capacity-building and high-performance computing and related skills in developing countries;

Acknowledges the importance of more inclusive and equitable access to the benefits of the emerging digital economy, and recognizes that collective efforts are needed towards new rule-setting that not only favours large digital enterprises, but also provides for an open, fair, competitive, inclusive and non‑discriminatory business environment, including support for the access of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, including those owned or operated by women, to finance, information and markets, while protecting and empowering consumers;

Recognizes that a gender digital divide persists and that, worldwide, 70 per cent of men use the Internet compared with 65 per cent of women, notes that in the least developed countries only 29 per cent of women use the Internet, compared with 41 per cent of men, and calls upon all stakeholders to close the gender digital divide, ensure the full, equal, effective and meaningful participation of all women in the information society and women’s access to information and communications technologies for development, including women’s and girls’ access to new technologies, in this respect reiterates its request for relevant United Nations system entities, including the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), to support the implementation and monitoring of the action lines contained in the outcome documents of the World Summit on the Information Society by enhancing the emphasis on gender equality and all women’s empowerment, and reaffirms the commitment to ensuring women’s full and meaningful participation in decision-making processes related to information and communications technologies, including policies and approaches to promote women’s online safety to facilitate their participation in the digital world, and to address any potential negative impacts of digital technologies on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, and committing to eliminating, preventing and responding to all forms of violence against women and girls,²¹ including sexual and gender-based violence that occurs through or is amplified by the use of technology;

²¹United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) and United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2025 (New York, 2025).

Notes the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional level, facilitated by the regional commissions, as observed in the report of the Secretary-General on the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit at the regional and international levels;

Encourages the United Nations funds and programmes and the specialized agencies to strengthen their collaborative efforts within their respective mandates and strategic plans, to contribute to the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society, and emphasizes the importance of allocating adequate resources in this regard;

Takes note of the World Summit on the Information Society process and 2030 Agenda-Global Digital Compact matrix prepared by the United Nations Group on the Information Society, which maps the Global Digital Compact objectives to existing World Summit structures, mechanisms and activities, offering a structured approach for effective follow-up and implementation of the Compact;

Acknowledges the existing mandate of the Internet Governance Forum, and looks forward to the high-level overall review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society, to be held on 16 and 17 December 2025;

Stresses the need for the enhanced participation of Governments and stakeholders from all developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, in all meetings of the Internet Governance Forum, and in this regard invites Member States, as well as other relevant stakeholders, to support the participation of Governments and all other stakeholders from developing countries in the Forum itself, as well as in the preparatory meetings;

Notes the work of the Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation, established by the Chair of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development as requested by the General Assembly in its resolution 70/125, to develop recommendations on how to further implement enhanced cooperation as envisioned in the Tunis Agenda, and also notes that the Working Group ensured the full involvement of Governments and other relevant stakeholders, in particular from developing countries, taking into account all their diverse views and expertise;

Also notes that the Working Group held five meetings between September 2016 and January 2018 at which it discussed inputs from Member States and other stakeholders, as stipulated by the General Assembly in its resolution 70/125;

Recalls the report of the Chair of the Working Group,²² which includes references to the full texts of all proposals and contributions, and expresses its gratitude to the Chair and all participants who submitted inputs and contributed to the work of the Working Group;

²²See E/CN.16/2018/CRP.3.

Welcomes the good progress made by the Working Group in many areas and the fact that consensus seemed to emerge on some issues, while significant divergence of views in a number of other issues persisted, and in that regard regrets that the Working Group could not find agreement on recommendations on how to further implement enhanced cooperation as envisioned in the Tunis Agenda;

Recognizes the importance of enhanced cooperation in the future, to enable Governments, on an equal footing, to carry out their roles and responsibilities in international public policy issues pertaining to the Internet, and notes the need for continued dialogue and work on the implementation of enhanced cooperation as envisioned in the Tunis Agenda;

Encourages the use of and engagement with forums and expertise available within relevant United Nations bodies, such as the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, by all relevant stakeholders in an inclusive and equitable manner to promote global digital cooperation;

Recognizes that a lack of access to affordable and reliable technologies and services remains a critical challenge in many developing countries, in particular African countries, the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing States, middle-income countries, countries in situations of conflict, post-conflict countries and countries affected by natural disasters, and that all efforts should be deployed to reduce the price of information and communications technologies and broadband access, bearing in mind that deliberate interventions, including through open science and open innovation, research and development and technology transfer on mutually agreed terms, may be necessary to spur the development of lower-cost connectivity options;

Also recognizes that information and communications technologies present new opportunities and challenges and that there is a pressing need to address the major impediments that developing countries face in engaging with and accessing new technologies, such as an appropriate enabling environment, sufficient resources, infrastructure, education and literacy, capacity, investment and connectivity, as well as issues related to technology ownership, setting standards and technology flows, and in this regard urges all stakeholders to consider ensuring adequate means of implementation, including appropriate financing for digital development and strengthened capacity-building of developing countries, particularly the least developed countries, towards a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy, and in this regard welcomes efforts by United Nations entities in providing such capacity-building support to countries, upon their request;

Recalls the commitment to strengthen international cooperation to address the challenge of misinformation and disinformation and hate speech online and mitigate the risks of information manipulation in a manner consistent with international law;

Encourages Member States, in particular developed countries and those developing countries in a position to do so, to increase capacity-building cooperation, including policy exchanges, knowledge-sharing activities and the transfer of technology on mutually agreed terms, technical assistance, lifelong learning, personnel training, skilling of workforce, international research cooperation, voluntary joint international research laboratories and artificial intelligence capacity-building centres, with full consideration of developing countries’ national needs, policies and priorities, and to hold training courses, seminars and workshops, among others for sharing experiences and best practices;

Recognizes the need to harness the potential of information and communications technologies as critical enablers of sustainable development and to overcome digital divides, and stresses that capacity-building for the productive use of such technologies should be given due consideration in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development and the Sevilla Commitment of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development;²³

²³Resolution 79/323, annex.

Notes that, while a solid foundation for capacity-building in information and communications technologies has been laid in many areas with regard to building the information society, there is still a need for continuing efforts to address the ongoing challenges, especially for developing countries and the least developed countries, and draws attention to the positive impact of broadened capacity development that involves institutions, organizations and entities dealing with information and communications technologies and Internet governance issues;

Recognizes the importance of assisting developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, to address the challenges and opportunities in relation to the use of the Internet and e-commerce to develop their international trade capacities, among other things;

Also recognizes the importance of the free flow of information and knowledge, and the need to reduce disparities in information flows at all levels, as the amount of information distributed worldwide grows and the role of communication becomes all the more important, and acknowledges that the mainstreaming of information and communications technologies in school curricula, open access to data, open science and open innovation, the fostering of competition, the creation of transparent, predictable, independent and non‑discriminatory regulatory and legal systems, proportionate taxation and licensing fees, access to finance, the facilitation of public-private partnerships, multi-stakeholder cooperation, national and regional broadband strategies, rational, equitable, efficient and economical use of the radio frequency spectrum by all radio communication services, infrastructure-sharing models, community-based approaches and public access facilities have in many countries facilitated significant gains in connectivity and sustainable development;

Calls upon all stakeholders to keep the goal of bridging digital divides, in their different forms, an area of priority concern, to put into effect sound strategies that contribute to the development of e-government and to continue to focus on pro‑poor information and communications technology policies and applications, including access to broadband at the grass-roots level, with a view to narrowing the digital divides among and within countries and, in turn, building information and knowledge societies;

Recognizes that digitally enabled innovation in the financial sector has contributed significantly to the rapid expansion of access to financial services and financial inclusion, enabling progress on the Sustainable Development Goals and showing impacts across the 2030 Agenda, as outlined in the Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2023, and supports concrete actions to advance digital financial inclusion and close digital divides between and within countries, while improving responsible and inclusive digital financial practices and promoting policy and regulatory responses, as appropriate, and build local capability to protect consumers’ interests, financial integrity and system stability, which are mutually reinforcing and also enablers of greater financial inclusion;

Calls for the promotion of new research and the development and transfer of technologies on mutually agreed terms, including in the areas of food and nutrition, health, water and sanitation, and energy, in order to contribute to the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions and the achievement of sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth, human well-being and sustainable development;

Notes the commitments made in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Sevilla Commitment, and recognizes that official development assistance and other concessional financial flows for information and communications technologies can make significant contributions to development outcomes, in particular where they can reduce the risk of public and private investment, and increase the use of information and communications technologies to strengthen good governance and tax collection;

Invites all relevant stakeholders to support more comprehensively those countries that are trailing in the digital economy in order to reduce the digital divides, strengthen the international enabling environment for value creation and build capacities in both the private and public sectors, with a view to increasing productivity and competitiveness;

Recognizes the critical importance of private sector investment in information and communications technology infrastructure, content and services, in full compliance with national law and relevant legal and regulatory frameworks, encourages Governments to create such frameworks conducive to increased investment and innovation, and also recognizes the importance of public-private partnerships, universal access strategies and other approaches to that end;

Encourages the promotion of digital solutions through access to and use and development of digital public goods, which include open-source software, open data, open artificial intelligence models, open standards and open content that adhere to international and domestic laws, in unlocking the full potential of rapid technological change to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and recognizes that digital public goods can empower societies and individuals to direct digital technologies to their development needs and can facilitate digital cooperation and investment;

Recognizes that resilient, safe, inclusive and interoperable digital public infrastructure has the potential to deliver services at scale and increase social and economic opportunities for all, that there are multiple models of digital public infrastructure, that each society will develop and use shared digital systems according to its specific priorities and needs, and that transparent, safe and secure digital systems and user-centred safeguards can promote public trust and effective use of digital services;

Welcomes the holding of the tenth annual Economic and Social Council forum on financing for development follow-up, takes note of its intergovernmentally agreed conclusions and recommendations,²⁴ looks forward to further advancement in the follow-up process, and welcomes the work of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Financing for Development, the progress made in operationalizing the three components of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism and the holding of the tenth annual multi-stakeholder forum on science, technology and innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals;

²⁴See E/FFDF/2025/2.

Reaffirms the commitment at the very heart of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind and commit to taking more tangible steps to support people in vulnerable situations and the most vulnerable countries and to reach the furthest behind first;

Recognizes the important role of information and communications technologies for attaining the Sustainable Development Goals and for a sustainable, inclusive and resilient recovery from the COVID‑19 pandemic, and calls upon all stakeholders in the information and communications technologies sector, including Governments and the United Nations system, to fully consider the health and socioeconomic impacts of the COVID‑19 pandemic as they strengthen their efforts to bridge the digital divides within and between developed and developing countries, with particular attention to the poorest and most vulnerable, as well as women and girls, and to ensuring affordable and reliable connectivity, the promotion of digital access, skills and inclusion, and the expansion of accessible and inclusive distance-learning solutions and digital health services;

Takes note of the report of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development on its twenty-eighth session,²⁵ including a summary of the substantive discussion on the 20-year review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society, as a major input to the preparatory process of the high-level overall review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit;

²⁵Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2025, Supplement No. 11 (E/2025/31).

Notes the report prepared by the secretariat of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development entitled Implementing World Summit on the Information Society Outcomes: A Twenty-Year Review, which was the basis for the substantive discussion at the twenty-eighth session of the Commission and an important input to the preparatory process of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly;

Looks forward, in accordance with its resolution 70/125, to its high-level meeting on the overall review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society in 2025, involving the input and participation of all stakeholders, including in the preparatory process, to take stock of progress on the outcomes of the World Summit and identify both areas of continued focus and challenges;

Takes note of the modalities resolution for the overall review by the General Assembly of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society, as contained in General Assembly resolution 79/277, and notes the appointment by the President of the General Assembly of two co-facilitators to convene open intergovernmental consultations, involving the input and participation of all stakeholders in the review process, including in the preparatory process;

Recognizes the immense potential of artificial intelligence systems to accelerate progress across all the Sustainable Development Goals and the importance of finding pathways to leverage artificial intelligence to this end in an inclusive and equitable manner, in this regard acknowledges the need to govern artificial intelligence in the public interest and promote international cooperation to support developing countries in building and strengthening artificial intelligence capacities and readiness, as well as efforts to address potential negative impacts of emerging digital technologies on sustainable development with the United Nations playing an important role in shaping, enabling and supporting the international governance of artificial intelligence, acknowledges the recommendations contained in the final report of the High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence, and recalls the commitments in the Global Digital Compact to enhance international governance of artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity;

Welcomes the establishment, within the United Nations, of the multidisciplinary Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence and of the Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance, in accordance with resolution 79/325 setting out their terms of reference and modalities, and looks forward to progress towards the fulfilment of their mandates;

Resolves to bridge the artificial intelligence and other digital divides between and within countries, and to enhance international cooperation on capacity-building in developing countries, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation, with full consideration of the needs, policies and priorities of developing countries, with the aim of harnessing the benefits of artificial intelligence, minimizing its risks, and accelerating innovation and progress towards the achievement of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals;

Calls upon Member States and invites other stakeholders to take action to cooperate with and provide assistance to developing countries towards inclusive and equitable access to the benefits of digital transformation and safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems, including by:

Enhancing the ability of developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, to address major structural impediments and lift obstacles to accessing the benefits of new and emerging technologies and artificial intelligence innovation to achieve all 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including through scaling up the use of scientific sources, affordable technology, research and development, including through strengthened partnerships;

Enabling international innovation-based environments to enhance the ability of developing countries to develop technical expertise and capacities, harness data and compute resources, and national regulatory and governance approaches, frameworks and procurement capacity, and create an inclusive enabling environment at all levels for safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems-based solutions;

Recognizes that quantum technologies have the potential to solve problems in a way that is not possible with current technologies, while also posing risks, and that it is necessary to encourage international cooperation in this field through initiatives such as the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology so that all countries can prepare for this new scenario;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its eighty-first session, through the Commission on Science and Technology for Development and the Economic and Social Council, an action-oriented report on the status of the implementation of and follow-up to the present resolution, taking into account the 2030 Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Sevilla Commitment, the review process of the World Summit on the Information Society, the summary by the Co-Chairs of the multi-stakeholder forum on science, technology and innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals²⁶ and other relevant processes, as part of his annual report on the progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels, looking forward to the outcome of WSIS+20;

²⁶E/HLPF/2025/6.

Invites the Co-Chairs of the multi-stakeholder forum on science, technology and innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals in 2026 to include an update on the midterm reviews of science, technology and innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals in the Co-Chairs’ summary;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its eighty-first session, thenceforth considering biennalization, the item entitled “Information and communications technologies for sustainable development”, unless otherwise agreed.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents

Who cites this mandate in the budget?