UN

The World e-Parliament Report 2012 documents the efforts of legislatures to use information and communication technologies (ICT) to support their constitutional functions. The Report is based on the Global Survey of ICT in Parliaments 2012 conducted by the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament between February and May 2012, which is the third in a series of surveys that began in 2007. The number of parliaments responding to the surveys has increased over time, from 105 in 2007 to 134 in 2009 and 156 in 2012. These 156 parliaments represent a membership of 28,613 legislators.

The aim of this publication is twofold. The first is to present a coherent picture of the state of the information society in the world. To achieve this, the publication presents available statistical data based on a core set of internationally agreed information and communication technology (ICT) indicators. The second aim is to show recent developments in ICT measurement and, importantly, highlight the considerable gaps that remain. The publication has been produced by the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development.

This report is the first of a two-part review undertaken by the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) on the policies of United Nations system organizations regarding the use of OSS. It is aimed at raising awareness on the potential benefits of OSS by examining software policies in the secretariats against the background of a growing trend worldwide among Member States promoting the use of OSS in their own public administrations.

This publication presents an assessment of the countries according to their state of e-government readiness and the extent of e-participation worldwide. It ranks the 191 Member States of the UN according to a quantitative composite index of e-readiness. The second part of the publication presents the Socially Inclusive Governance Framework, which is a multipronged approach to ICT-led real access, with a special focus on the need to promote access and inclusion to the disadvantaged groups in society.