A/67/167 • The information and communications technology sector has been hit hard by the embargo. From 2010 to 2011, total losses were calculated at US$ 7,396,394. • Cuba continues to have no access to the services provided by many websites; when it is recognized that the link is being established from an Internet address with the Cuban domain name .cu, access is denied. • With complete cynicism and hypocrisy, the United States continues to falsely accuse Cuba of preventing its citizens from accessing the global network, while the very different reality is that Cuba is unable to connect to the fibreoptic cables that surround the Cuban archipelago, owing to the embargo laws applied by the United States, forcing the country to pay for expensive satellite services. • On 6 October 2010, the social network Twitter acknowledged full responsibility for blocking messages sent by cell phone from Cuba to its platform. Similarly, in April 2011 it acknowledged that access to certain Twitter tools was being restricted in Cuba on the grounds that they were being accessed from a country that is under a ban. • As of February 2011, the financial firm Syniverse stopped making payments to the Cuban Telecommunications Corporation (ETECSA) for cell phone roaming charges on the grounds that its bank could not conduct transactions with Cuba, which led to the non-collection of US$ 2.6 million and other difficulties. The discussion in the General Assembly about developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security is very pertinent and important. Actions such as those described above by the United States Government against Cuba confirm the need for that debate and the urgency of adopting measures to put an end to such actions. Cuba supported General Assembly resolution 66/24 and will continue to contribute to the peaceful global development of information and telecommunications technologies and their use for the good of all humanity. Panama [Original: Spanish] [10 July 2012] Twenty-first century economies have become increasingly based on the service sector, which is especially evident in first world economies. Electronic commerce is nothing more than the most recent expression of this sector of the economy, facilitating commercial transactions and reducing costs and time for delivering goods and services around the world. Electronic governance is the State version of electronic commerce that allows States to meet a large quantity of citizens’ demands quickly and efficiently through various technologies (web-based and mobile). Because of the widespread use of information and communications technologies to support electronic commerce and governance, efforts must be made to ensure that these technologies meet the minimum requirements of the State’s clients and citizens for confidentiality, integrity and availability. However, many of the efforts currently under way focus on technical solutions to global problems, which means tackling the problem from various angles. 12-43414 11