United Nations E/CN.5/2021/NGO/..
Economic and Social Council Distr.: General
15 November 2020
English only
Commission for Social Development
Fifty-ninth session
February 2021
Follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development and
the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly:
priority Theme: Socially just transition towards sustainable
development: the role of digital technologies on social
development and well-being of all.
Statement submitted by Casa Generalizia della Societa del Sacro
Cuore, Company of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de
Paul, Congregation of the Mission, Congregations of St. Joseph,
Fondazione Proclade Internazionale – Onlus, Institute of the
Blessed Virgin Mary-Loreto Generalate, International
Presentation Association, Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary,
Salesian Missions, Inc., Sisters of Charity Federation, Society of
Catholic Medical Missionaries, UNANIMA International, and
VIVAT International, non-governmental organizations in
consultative status with the Economic and Social Council*
The Secretary-General has received the following statement, which is being
circulated in accordance with paragraphs 36 and 37 of Economic and Soci al Council
resolution 1996/31.
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E/CN.5/2021/NGO/..
Statement
The oft-referenced tagline of the Sustainable Development Goals “leave no one
behind” is of special relevance to the Commission on Social Development whose
mandate focuses on reduction of social inequalities along many lines in the landscape
of human diversity. As members of the Justice Coalition of Religious, which unites
the voices of many United Nations-accredited organisations representing Catholic
Sisters, Brothers, and priests, we are particularly concerned with the latter, less
frequently cited part of the tagline: Reach the furthest behind first. Our faith -based
commitment to a preferential option for the poor, a core principle of Catholi c Social
Teaching, requires us to attune our ears and direct the work of our hands in response
to the cries of the most vulnerable among us and to the natural environment. We have
thus been working alongside “the furthest behind” toward sustainable development
for centuries.
From this vantage point, we have witnessed pandemic lockdowns widening pre -
existing socio-economic inequalities to a veritable chasm. Almost overnight, reliable
access to electrical power, broadband internet, and an internet-enable device became
pre-requisites for the enjoyment of many of the human rights; civil and political
participation rights; and economic, social, and cultural rights that serve as the
backbone of the UN System. Pivots to technology-based services have allowed for the
relative continuity of many vital services and jobs for the 85% of the global -north
population and the less-than-20% of the global-south population with internet access
(World Social Report 2020). For those on the other side of the digital divide, however,
education, employment, and participation in public life have all become less
accessible than ever.
In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Catholic Religious congregations have
adapted many of our grassroots ministries in an attempt to overcome the inc reasingly
consequential digital divide for the marginalised communities we serve. The Sisters
of the Divine Savior in Negombo, Sri Lanka, for example, have utilized a microphone
system to broadcast public health information to the “Boscoputa” complex that houses
204 families of fisher folk who were displaced by tsunamis in 2004. Another Sister
secured a federal grant to ensure each student at her tribal school on Lake Traverse
Reservation, South Dakota, USA had access to an internet-enabled computer for
ongoing access to native-language-based education. The Sisters of Notre Dame de
Namur’s Photovoltaic Project has been providing clean energy, clean water, and
internet access for tens of thousands of people, including the Sisters, students, and
patients in hospitals and clinics in nine remote communities in Nigeria and seven in
the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Still, deficiencies in electrical and digital access among the low-income, imprisoned,
indigenous, migrant, rural, older persons, and youth communities have hindered many
of our best efforts to reduce the inequalities they face. When the Religious of the
Sacred Heart of Mary were forced to close their schools for marginalised populations
in Zambia (girls in underserved areas of Southern Province, children with mental and
physical disabilities in Choma, and children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Lusaka),
unreliable electricity, lack of internet access for the majority of students and the
exorbitant cost of internet and mobile data rendered any online teaching e fforts
impossible.
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We therefore call on the agencies and Member States of the United Nations to
collaborate with us in bridging the digital divide by taking the following actions:
• Scale up investment in communications infrastructure and personnel in the United
Nations national offices to allow them to become communication hubs to which
both government and civil society speakers may travel in order to participate
remotely in conferences being held at the UN’s international offices and public
hearings or consultations being facilitated by the national government.
• Extend standard time frames in which United Nations document negotiations are
carried out to increase the system’s receptiveness to input submitted from a wider
range of contributors in remote locations.
• Establish an equitable access policy to govern technology infrastructure
utilisation at United Nations offices to ensure this infrastructure is not cost
prohibitive to civil society or low-income nations such that it ultimately
diminishes, rather than widens gaps in representation.
• Prioritise closure of the electrical divide as a critical precondition for closure of
the digital divide for the most neglected and marginalised communities. Bringing
culturally appropriate and environmentally sustainable electrification
infrastructure and education to remote and marginalised communities will have a
rapid, catalytic impact on their well-being. Even in some remote or very low-
income areas, public or NGO-run technology centers could supply many people
with access to internet-enabled devices and mobile or broadband or internet
service, but they are held back by the unreliability of electrical power. The
Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart would be eager to establish such a center
for the refugee camp of 36,000 families they serve in Adjumani District, Uganda.
As with other major utility and infrastructure transitions, private-sector grants and
short-term public subsidies of the new utility’s adoption could speed the process
of bringing electrification to scale and organically reduce the cost of coverage to
all localities.
• Reduce the cost barriers to broadband internet access in all localities through
short-term public subsidies and private-sector grants for broadband internet
coverage. For low-income communities, ensure internet-covered technology
centers are available and install round-the-clock, free internet access points in
public spaces. This community coverage is essential to ensure marginalized
communities are able to receive services that civil society actors are equipped to
provide. For example, the U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking, the
Tamar Network in Colombia, and the Rede Um Grito Pela Vida (Cry for Life
Network) of São Paulo, Brazil are ready to provide employment and education
support services to trafficking survivors by video conference. The Sisters of the
Divine Savior in Wisconsin, USA are attempting to provide legal aid to low -
income families. The Claretian Missionaries are attempting to raise awareness to
eradicate female infanticide in rural areas of Tamil Nadu, India. Many members
of the populations they aim to serve do not have the internet access requisite for
connection or full participation on such a platform.
• Establish technology centers within public housing for older persons, low-income
families, persons with disabilities, and children in state or institutional care that
are equipped with internet-enabled laptops or tablets, so that, in cases of public
health emergencies when gathering in common areas is not possible, residents can
sign out a community-owned device on an hourly basis. Distribute communal
laptops or funds earmarked for this same purpose to supportive housing facilities
run by not-for-profit institutions such as Sophia Housing, which is run by the
Daughters of Wisdom in Ireland or the Louisa Children’s Home run by the
Company of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in Bangalore, India.
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• Provide access to laptop computers or tablets in prisons and immigration
detention facilities to allow their residents to retain access to chaplaincy and
counseling services like those the Sisters of the Divine Savior provided in
Arizona, USA and Tel Aviv, Israel before public health circumstances precluded
face-to-face visitation. Provision of religious services is recommended by the
UNODC Handbook on Prisoners with Special Needs (2009). Studies have also
shown faith-based support services provided during both incarceration and
reentry can significantly reduce offender recidivism (Mowen, T. J., Stansfield, R.,
& Boman, J. H., Journal of quantitative criminology, 2018). Furthermore,
UNHCR’s Detention Guidelines (2012) state that detained asylum seekers must
be assured the right to practice their religion and to make regular contact,
including through technological means, with religious and non-governmental
organisations.
• Offer digital literacy training and technical support for older persons and parents
and guardians of school-age children in tandem with other essential public service
access points (e.g. food pantries). This service is an essential support for
children’s right to quality education under remote learning conditions and must
be made as conveniently accessible as possible to those struggling to meet their
families’ basic needs.
• Provide training for school-age children and adults on internet safety and critical
reading for credible information and offer antivirus software subsidies and
promotions as public health measures. Such services will be especially critical in
communities where digital access is being expanded rapidly, as they will be the
most vulnerable to harm by sophisticated digital viruses and criminals originating
from more digitally seasoned communities.
• Establish recycling programs for the distribution of functional, used mobile
phones (with and without internet capability), computers, etc. to marginalised
communities.
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