High-Level Dialogue Parliamentarian: Parliamentary Dialogue on Digital Governance
Inter-Parliamentary Union, International Telecommunication Union, United Nations Development Programme, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
Session 429
The Parliamentary Dialogue on Digital Governance is a high-level panel convened at the WSIS Forum 2026 by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and hosted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). It brings together the Secretaries-General of the IPU and ITU with a small group of senior parliamentarians for a substantive exchange on how parliaments are translating international digital commitments into national law and practice, and on how parliamentary contributions can be reflected in the WSIS Action Line implementation roadmaps.
The General Assembly Resolution A/RES/80/173, renewing the WSIS mandate to 2035 reaffirms the role of national legal and regulatory frameworks in delivering the WSIS vision - a function that depends directly on parliaments. In July 2025, the ITU and the IPU jointly brought parliamentary perspectives into the Forum for the first time; the 2026 dialogue builds on that foundation and responds to the renewed mandate.
The session draws on a body of established work by the co-organisers. In November 2025, the IPU-UNDP-CPA Global Conference on AI and Parliaments adopted the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Parliaments and Responsible AI, endorsed by more than 200 parliamentarians from 65 countries; its 13 recommendations align with several Action Lines, including C1, C4, C6, C10 and C11. This followed the IPU resolution on AI adopted in October 2024, which set out how parliaments can legislate for and oversee AI. The IPU maintains a regular tracker of parliamentary actions on AI policy worldwide, organised by region and by parliamentary function, providing an evidence base for the dialogue. Complementary work through the IPU Centre for Innovation in Parliament supports parliaments in adopting these technologies responsibly, while UNDP's parliamentary development programming strengthens legislative scrutiny, research and oversight capacity across regions. Together these initiatives connect parliamentary action to the WSIS Action Lines and to the international processes shaping the digital governance agenda.
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C1. The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development
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C4. Capacity building
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C6. Enabling environment
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C10. Ethical dimensions of the Information Society
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C11. International and regional cooperation
The session relates to five Action Lines where parliamentary action is most consequential.
C1: The dialogue examines how legislatures exercise their legislative and oversight functions on digital and AI policy, and how that contribution can be formally recognised in the Action Line implementation roadmaps due in 2027.
C4 Effective legislation and oversight depend on parliamentary expertise. The session addresses how parliaments are building internal capacity on AI and digital policy — through committees, research services and inter-parliamentary exchange — drawing on the IPU-UNDP-CPA network established through the Kuala Lumpur conference.
C6 The dialogue focuses on how parliaments are translating international digital commitments, including those in the Kuala Lumpur Declaration, into national law and policy
C10 This Action Line addresses the rights-based and ethical questions that digital technologies raise — privacy, non-discrimination, accountability and protection from harm — and parliaments are where those questions are debated and determined in national legislation.
C11 Parliaments contribute to international digital governance through inter-parliamentary diplomacy and by scrutinising their governments' international commitments. The dialogue encourages stronger parliamentary engagement in the processes shaping the WSIS and broader digital governance agenda.
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Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies
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Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
- Objective 1: Close all digital divides and accelerate progress across the Sustainable Development Goals
- Objective 2: Expand inclusion in and benefits from the digital economy for all
- Objective 3: Foster an inclusive, open, safe and secure digital space that respects, protects and promotes human rights
- Objective 5: Enhance international governance of artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity