United Nations A/RES/56/258 General Assembly Fifty-sixth session Agenda item 12 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly [without reference to a Main Committee (A/56/L.68/Rev.1)] 56/258. Meeting of the General Assembly devoted to information and communication technologies for development The General Assembly, Recalling its resolution 55/2 of 8 September 2000, entitled “United Nations Millennium Declaration”, in particular paragraph 20 of the Declaration, the ministerial declaration of the high-level segment of the substantive session of 2000 of the Economic and Social Council, 1 agreed conclusions 2001/1 of the coordination segment of the substantive session of 2001 of the Council, 2 and other relevant resolutions, Recalling also its resolution 56/183 of 21 December 2001, in which it welcomed the fact that the World Summit on the Information Society would be held in December 2003 in Geneva and in December 2005 in Tunis, Recognizing that information and communication technologies are among the critical determinants for creating a global knowledge-based economy, accelerating growth, raising competitiveness, promoting sustainable development, eradicating poverty and facilitating the effective integration of all countries into the global economy, Recognizing also that the information and communication technologies revolution poses opportunities and challenges, and that there is a pressing need to address the major impediments to the participation of the developing countries in that revolution, such as lack of infrastructure, education, capacity-building, investment and connectivity, Mindful that market forces and the role of the private sector are fundamental, but that they alone will not suffice to bridge the digital divide and to promote digital opportunities, and convinced that partnerships involving Governments, multilateral development institutions, bilateral donors, the private sector, civil society and other relevant stakeholders will play a key role in bridging the divide, _______________ 1 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 3 (A/55/3/Rev.1), chap. III, para. 17. 2 A/56/3, chap. V, para. 7. For the final text, see Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 3. 01 49736 Distr.: General 4 April 2002