WSIS Process follow-up on the Summit of the Future Outcome Documents


The recently adopted Summit of the Future Outcome Document comprises a Pact for the Future that includes a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations (A/RES/79/1). The Pact for the Future highlights that the advances in knowledge, science, technology and innovation could deliver a breakthrough to a better and more sustainable future for all. (para 3). It also reaffirms commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development and its SDGs (para 10). The Pact covers a broad range of themes covering: (i) Sustainable development and financing for development; (ii) International peace and security; (iii) Science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation; (iv) Youth and future generations; and (v) Transforming global governance.

The WSIS Process: The UN General Assembly Resolution 56/183 (21 December 2001) endorsed the holding of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in two phases. The first phase took place in Geneva from 10 to 12 December 2003 and the second phase took place in Tunis, from 16 to 18 November 2005.The objective of the first phase was to develop and foster a clear statement of political will and take concrete steps to establish the foundations for an Information Society for all, reflecting all the different interests at stake. Geneva Declaration of Principles and Geneva Plan of Action were adopted on 12 December 2003. The objective of the second phase was to put Geneva's Plan of Action into motion as well as to find solutions and reach agreements in the fields of Internet governance, financing mechanisms, and follow-up and implementation of the Geneva and Tunis documents. Tunis Commitment and Tunis Agenda for the Information Society were adopted on 18 November 2005.

Member States and all stakeholders have recognized the dynamic evolution of the WSIS as a proven and continually evolving process that addresses the impact of new technologies and expand digital cooperation across various platforms, including the WSIS Forum and Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and its intersessional workstreams such as the one on new emerging tech.

The WSIS Process and its elements like the WSIS Action Lines, United Nations Group on Information Society (UNGIS), WSIS Forum, IGF, etc. provide an existing framework for implementing the commitment of the Pact towards leveraging science, technology, and innovation for the benefit of people and the planet, focusing on enhancing capacities in developing countries. These efforts will ensure that these advancements promote human rights and improve gender equality, positively impacting the lives of women and girls. They also aim to respect and integrate Indigenous and traditional knowledge. Additionally, they support international cooperation in science, technology, and innovation to create a more equitable and sustainable future for all.

The WSIS Process and the Pact of the Future share several key similarities:

  1. Focus on Inclusivity: Both emphasize the importance of creating an inclusive society where all individuals, regardless of their background, have access to technology and its benefits.

  2. Addressing the Digital Divide: Both initiatives aim to bridge the gap between developed and developing countries regarding access to information and communication technologies (ICTs).

  3. Promotion of International Cooperation: Both documents highlight the need for collaboration among governments, private sectors, and civil society to harness technology for sustainable development.

  4. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): They both align with the overarching goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, recognizing the role of technology in achieving these goals.

  5. Capacity Building: Both initiatives stress the importance of strengthening the capacities of countries, particularly developing ones, to effectively utilize technology and innovation.

  6. Human Rights Consideration: Both documents advocate for the protection and promotion of human rights in the context of technology, ensuring that advancements do not exacerbate existing inequalities.

  7. Innovation and Knowledge Sharing: They emphasize the need for fostering innovation and the sharing of knowledge and best practices among countries to enhance technological development.

  8. Ethical and Sustainable Use of Technology: Both underscore the importance of ensuring that science, technology, and innovation are used ethically, sustainably and responsibly to benefit all.

These similarities reflect a unified vision for leveraging technology to foster sustainable development and create a more equitable world.

WSIS Process and 2030 Agenda – GDC Matrix


Objective 1: Close All Digital Divides and Accelerate Progress Across Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Mapping of GDC Objective 1 commitments and actions to the WSIS Action Lines and the SDGs. [Texts and SDGs extracted from GDC]
Commitments and actions SDGs WSIS Action Lines
Connectivity
  1. Develop and strengthen targets, indicators and metrics for universal meaningful and affordable connectivity, building on existing work, and integrate these into international, regional and national development strategies
SDG 9 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C5, C6, C7 E-government, C7 E-employment, C7 E-agriculture, and C11
  1. Develop innovative and blended financing mechanisms and incentives, including in collaboration with Governments, multilateral development banks, relevant international organizations and the private sector, to connect the remaining 2.6 billion people to the Internet and to improve the quality and affordability of connectivity. We will aim for entry-level broadband subscription costs that are accessible to the widest section of the population
SDGs 1 and 9 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 E-business, C7 E-agriculture, and C11
  1. Invest in and deploy resilient digital infrastructure, including satellites and local network initiatives, that provide safe and secure network coverage to all areas, including rural, remote and “hard-to-reach” areas, and promote equitable access to satellite orbits, taking into account the needs of developing countries. We will aim for universal access at affordable rates and at sufficient speeds as well as reliability to enable meaningful use of the Internet
SDGs 9 and 11 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C5, C6, C7 E-government, C7 E-learning, C7 E-environment, C7 E-agriculture, and C11
  1. Map and connect all schools and hospitals to the Internet, building on the Giga initiative of the International Telecommunication Union and the United Nations Children’s Fund, and enhance telemedicine services and capabilities
SDGs 3 and 4 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C4, C7 E-health, C7 E-learning, C7 E-agriculture, and C11
  1. Promote sustainability across the life cycle of digital technologies, including context specific measures to increase resource efficiency and to conserve and sustainably use natural resources and that aim to ensure that digital infrastructure and equipment are sustainably designed to address environmental challenges in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty
SDGs 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, and 14 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C6, C7 E-environment, C7 E-business, C7 E-agriculture, and C11
  1. Include the needs of people in vulnerable situations and those in underserved, rural and remote areas in the development and implementation of national and local digital connectivity strategies
SDGs 10 & 11 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 E-environment, C7 E-agriculture, C7 E-health, C8, C10, and C11
  1. Mainstream a gender perspective in digital connectivity strategies to address structural and systematic barriers to meaningful, safe and affordable digital connectivity for all women and girls
SDG 5 All WSIS Action Lines
Digital literacy, skills and capacities
  1. Establish and support national digital skills strategies, adapt teacher training and education curricula and provide for adult training programmes for the digital age. Our aim is maximum coverage of basic digital skills for as many as possible, while also advancing intermediate or advanced digital skills
SDGs 4 and 5 WSIS Action C1 C2, C3, C4, C6, C7 E-learning, C7 E-government, C7 E-employment, and C11
  1. Increase the availability, accessibility and affordability of digital technology platforms, services, software and educational curricula in diverse languages and formats, as well as accessible user interfaces for persons with disabilities
SDGs 4 and 10 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C4, C6, C7 E-learning, C7 E-business, C7 E-agriculture, C8, and C11
  1. Target and tailor capacity-building for women and girls, children and youth, as well as older persons, persons with disabilities, migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons, Indigenous Peoples and those in vulnerable situations, and ensure their meaningful engagement in the design and implementation of programmes
SDGs 5 and 10 WSIS Action Lines C2, C4, C6, C7 E-learning, C7 E-employment, C7 E-environment, C7 E-agriculture, and C8
  1. Develop and undertake national digital inclusion surveys with data disaggregated by income, sex, age, race, ethnicity, migration status, disability and geographical location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts, to identify learning gaps and inform priorities in specific contexts
SDGs 5 and 10 WSIS Action Lines C2, C3, C4, C6, C7 E-learning, and C8
  1. Prioritize and set targets for the development of digital competencies of public officials and institutions to enact, develop and implement strategies and policies for inclusive, secure and user-centred digital public services, including the development of skills and capacity to ensure the safe, secure and resilient functioning of digital systems, networks and data
SDG 16 WSIS Action Lines C2, C3, C4, C6, C7 E-learning, C7 E-employment, C7 E-government, C7 E-agriculture, and C8
  1. Develop vocational, upskilling and reskilling training for workers in occupations impacted by digitalization and automation to mitigate potential negative consequences for workforces and promote decent work
SDG 8 WSIS Action Lines C2, C3, C4, C6, C7 E-learning, C7 E-employment, C7 E-agriculture, and C8
  1. Develop interoperable digital competency frameworks and training standards to facilitate pooling of training resources, the mobilization of public and private funds in support of capacity-building and its continuous adaptation to address rapid technological change and the prevention of brain drain
SDGs 4 and 17 WSIS Action Lines C2, C3, C4, C6, C7 E-learning, C8
  1. Support efforts to provide opportunities for quality and inclusive science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and research and promote women’s and girls’ participation in all roles and at all levels
SDG 4 All WSIS Action Lines
Digital public goods and digital public infrastructure
  1. Develop, disseminate and maintain, through multi-stakeholder cooperation, safe and secure open-source software, open data, open artificial intelligence models and open standards that benefit society as a whole
SDGs 8, 9, and 10 WSIS Action Lines C2, C3, C5, and C7 E-agriculture
  1. Promote the adoption of open standards and interoperability to facilitate the use of digital public goods across different platforms and systems
All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines
  1. Promote the adoption of open standards and interoperability to facilitate the use of digital public goods across different platforms and systems
All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines
  1. Develop and decide on a set of safeguards for inclusive, responsible, safe, secure and user-centred digital public infrastructure that can be implemented in different contexts
SDG 16 WSIS Action Lines C2, C3, C7 E-agriculture, and C10
  1. Exchange and make publicly available best practices and use cases of digital public infrastructure to inform Governments, the private sector and other stakeholders, building on existing United Nations and other repositories
SDGs 16 and 17 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 E-government, C7 E-learning, C7 E-agriculture, and C11
  1. Increase investment and funding towards the development of digital public goods and digital public infrastructure, especially in developing countries
SDG 17 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 E-government, C7 E-learning, C7 E-agriculture, and C11
  1. Encourage the formation of partnerships that bring together Governments, the private sector, civil society, technical and academic communities and international and regional organizations to design, launch and support initiatives that leverage digital public goods and digital public infrastructure to advance solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 17 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 E-government, C7 E-learning, C7 E-environment, C7 E-agriculture, and C11

Objective 2: Expand Inclusion in and Benefits from the Digital Economy for All

Mapping of GDC Objective 2 commitments and actions to the WSIS Action Lines and the SDGs. [Texts and SDGs extracted from GDC]
Commitments and actions SDGs WSIS Action Lines
  1. Foster an open, fair, inclusive and nondiscriminatory digital environment for all that enables micro-, small and mediumsized enterprises to access and compete in the digital economy
SDG 9 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 E-business, C7 E-agriculture, and C11
  1. Support international, regional and national efforts to develop enabling environments for digital transformation, including predictable and transparent policy, legal and regulatory frameworks, and sharing of best practices
SDGs 10 and 16 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 E-business, C7 E-agriculture, and C11
  1. Conduct national and regional assessments to inform actions to address gaps and needs in digital transformation and strengthen the collection and use of data to inform decision-making
All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines
  1. Call on all stakeholders, where requested, to provide technical assistance to developing countries, in line with national digital transformation policies and priorities
SDG 17 All WSIS Action Lines
  1. Maintain stable and resilient supply chains of global digital products and services
SDGs 8 and 9 WSIS Action Lines C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 E-business, and C7 E-agriculture
  1. Promote knowledge-sharing and technology transfer initiatives on mutually agreed terms
SDG 17 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 E-business, C7 E-agriculture, and C11
  1. Encourage North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation, including among universities, research institutes and the private sector to accelerate digital knowledge development and access to research capacity
SDG 17 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 E-business, C7 E-agriculture, and C11
  1. Exchange knowledge and best practices on digital enterprise to support innovation programmes and local technological solutions in developing countries
SDG 9 WSIS Action Lines C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 E-business, C7 E-agriculture, and C11
  1. Foster innovation and entrepreneurship, including among women, youth, and other underrepresented entrepreneurs with the goal of increasing the number of digital start-ups and micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries and facilitate their access to markets through the use of digital technologies
SDGs 8 and 9 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 E-business, C7 E-agriculture, and C11
  1. Promote capacity-building to ensure the safe, secure and resilient functioning of digital systems, networks and data in digital transformation efforts
SDG 9 All WSIS Action Lines

Objective 3: Foster an Inclusive, Open, Safe, and Secure Digital Space that Respects, Protects, and Promotes Human Rights

Mapping of GDC Objective 3 commitments and actions to the WSIS Action Lines and the SDGs. [Texts and SDGs extracted from GDC]
Commitments and actions SDGs WSIS Action Lines
Human rights
  1. Ensure that the development and implementation of national legislation relevant to digital technologies is compliant with obligations under international law, including international human rights law
All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines
  1. Establish appropriate safeguards to prevent and address any adverse impact on human rights arising from the use of digital and emerging technologies and protect individuals against violations and abuses of their human rights in the digital space, including through human rights due diligence and establishing effective oversight and remedy mechanisms
All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines
  1. Strengthen legal and policy frameworks to protect the rights of the child in the digital space, in line with international human rights law, including the Convention on the Rightsof the Child
All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines
  1. Refrain from imposing restrictions on the free flow of information and ideas that are inconsistent with obligations under international law
All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines
Internet governance
  1. Promote an open, global, interoperable and reliable Internet and take concrete steps to maintain a safe, secure and enabling online environment for all
SDG 9 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C5, C6, C7 E-agriculture, C9, and C11
  1. Support the Internet Governance Forum, including through continued efforts to increase diverse participation from Governments and other stakeholders from developing countries and the provision of voluntary funding also to this end
SDGs 9 and 10 All WSIS Action Lines
  1. Promote international cooperation among all stakeholders to prevent, identify and address risks of fragmentation of the Internet in a timely manner
SDG 16 All WSIS Action Lines
  1. Refrain from Internet shutdowns and measures that target Internet access
SDG 16 All WSIS Action Lines
Digital trust and safety
  1. Create a safe and secure online space for all users that ensures their mental health and well-being by defining and adopting common standards, guidelines and industry actions that are in compliance with international law, promote safe civic spaces and address content on digital platforms that causes harm to individuals, taking into account work under way by United Nations entities, regional organizations and multi-stakeholder initiatives
SDGs 3, 5, 9, 10, 16, and 17 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C5, C6, C7 E-health, C7 E-government, C9, and C11
  1. Prioritize the development and implementation of national online child safety policies and standards, in compliance with international human rights law, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child
SDGs 3, 5, and 10 WSIS Action Lines C2, C5, C6, C7 E-health, C7 E-government, and C7 E-learning
  1. Establish regular collaboration between national online safety institutions to exchange best practice's and develop shared understandings of actions to protect privacy, freedom of expression and access to information while addressing harms
SDG 17 WSIS Action Lines C2, C5, C6, C7 E-health, and C7 E-government
  1. Ensure that laws and regulations on the use of technology in areas such as surveillance and encryption are in compliance with international law
SDGs 10 and 16 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C5, C6, C7 E-health, C7 E-government, C9, C10, and C11
  1. Develop, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, effective methodologies to measure, monitor and counter all forms of violence and abuse in the digital space
SDGs 5 and 16 WSIS Action Lines C2, C5, C6, C7 E-health, C7 E-government, C7 E-employment, C7 E-learning, C7 e-agriculture, C9, and C11
  1. Monitor and review digital platform policies and practices on countering child sexual exploitation and abuse which occurs through or is amplified by the use of technology, including distribution over digital platforms of child sexual abuse or child sexual exploitation material, as well as solicitation or grooming for the purpose of committing a sexual offence against a child
SDG 3 WSIS Action Lines C1, C2, C3, C5, C6, C7 E-health, C7 E-government, C9, and C11
Information integrity
  1. Design and roll out digital media and information literacy curricula to ensure that all users have the skills and knowledge to safely and critically interact with content and with information providers and to enhance resilience against the harmful impacts of misinformation and disinformation
SDGs 3 and 4 WSIS Action Lines C3, C7 E-learning, C9, and C11
  1. Promote diverse and resilient information ecosystems, including by strengthening independent and public media and supporting journalists and media workers
SDGs 9 and 16 WSIS Action Line C9
  1. Provide, promote and facilitate access to and dissemination of independent, factbased, timely, targeted, clear, accessible, multilingual and science-based information to counter misinformation and disinformation
SDGs 3, 4, 9 and 16 WSIS Action Lines C9, and C11
  1. Provide, promote and facilitate access to and dissemination of independent, factbased, timely, targeted, clear, accessible, multilingual and science-based information to counter misinformation and disinformation
SDGs 3, 4, 9 and 16 WSIS Action Lines C9, and C11
  1. Promote access to relevant, reliable and accurate information in crisis situations, to protect and empower those in vulnerable situations
SDG 10 All WSIS Action Lines
  1. Encourage United Nations entities, in collaboration with Governments and relevant stakeholders, to assess the impact of misinformation and disinformation on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 17 All WSIS Action Lines

Objective 4: Advance Responsible, Equitable, and Interoperable Data Governance Approaches

Mapping of GDC Objective 4 commitments and actions to the WSIS Action Lines and the SDGs. [Texts and SDGs extracted from GDC]
Commitments and actions SDGs WSIS Action Lines
Data privacy and security
  1. Draw on existing international and regional guidelines on the protection of privacy in the development of data governance frameworks
All SDGs WSIS Action Lines C2, C3, C7 E-business, and C10
  1. Strengthen support to all countries to develop effective and interoperable national data governance frameworks
All SDGs WSIS Action Lines C2, C3, C7 E-business, C7 E-environment, and C10
  1. Empower individuals and groups with the ability to consider, give and withdraw their consent to the use of their data and the ability to choose how those data are used, including through legally mandated protections for data privacy and intellectual property
SDGs 10 and 16 WSIS Action Lines C2, C3, C7 E-business, and C10
  1. Ensure that data collection, access, sharing, transfer, storage and processing practices are safe, secure and proportionate for necessary, explicit and legitimate purposes, in compliance with international law
All SDGs WSIS Action Lines C2, C3, C7 E-business, and C10
  1. Develop skilled workforces capable of collecting, processing, analysing, storing and transferring data safely in ways that protect privacy
SDGs 8 and 9 WSIS Action Lines C2, C3, C4, and C7 E-employment
Data exchanges and standards
  1. Develop data and metadata standards designed to prevent and address bias, discrimination or human rights violations and abuses throughout the data life cycle, including through regular data auditing
SDGs 3, 5, 10, and 16 All WSIS Action Lines
  1. Develop basic definitions and data classifications to promote interoperability and facilitate data exchanges
All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines
  1. Develop common definitions and standards on the use and reuse of data for public benefit
All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines
Data for the Sustainable Development Goals and for development
  1. Increase financing for data and statistics from all sources and enhance efforts to build capacity in data and related skills, as well as responsible data use, particularly in developing countries. We will scale up predictable financing for sustainable development data
SDG 17 All WSIS Action Lines
  1. Strengthen efforts to collect, analyse and disseminate relevant, accurate, reliable and disaggregated data for better monitoring and policymaking to accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, while respecting privacy and data protection. We will aim for a 50 per cent increase in the data available to monitor the Sustainable Development Goals, disaggregated by income, sex, age, race, ethnicity, migration status, disability and geographical location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts
All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines
  1. Develop open and accessible data systems to support effective disaster early warning, early action and crisis response
SDGs 3 and 11 WSIS Action Lines C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 E-environment, and C7 E-agriculture
Cross-border data flows

Advance consultations among all relevant stakeholders to better understand commonalities, complementarities, convergence and divergence between regulatory approaches on how to facilitate cross-border data flows with trust so as to develop publicly available knowledge and best practices

SDG 17 All WSIS Action Lines

Objective 5: Enhance International Governance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the Benefit of Humanity

Mapping of GDC Objective 5 commitments and actions to the WSIS Action Lines and the SDGs. [Texts and SDGs extracted from GDC]
Commitments and actions SDGs WSIS Action Lines
  1. Assess the future directions and implications of artificial intelligence systems and promote scientific understanding
  2. Support interoperability and compatibility of artificial intelligence governance approaches through sharing best practices and promoting common understanding
  3. Help to build capacities, especially in developing countries, to access, develop, use and govern artificial intelligence systems and direct them towards the pursuit of sustainable development
  4. Promote transparency, accountability and robust human oversight of artificial intelligence systems in compliance with international law
All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines
  1. Establish, within the United Nations, a multidisciplinary Independent International Scientific Panel on AI with balanced geographic representation to promote scientific understanding through evidence-based impact, risk and opportunity assessments, drawing on existing national, regional and international initiatives and research networks
SDG 17 WSIS Action Lines C2, C5, and C10
  1. Initiate, within the United Nations, a Global Dialogue on AI Governance involving Governments and all relevant stakeholders which will take place in the margins of existing relevant United Nations conferences and meetings
SDG 17 WSIS Action Lines C2, C5, and C10

We therefore request the President of the General Assembly to appoint at the seventy-ninth session of the General Assembly co-facilitators, one from a developed country and one from a developing country, to identify, through an intergovernmental process and consultations with other relevant stakeholders, the terms of reference and modalities for the establishment and functioning of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance for the adoption by the General Assembly.

WSIS Action Lines C2, C5, and C10

We call on standards development organizations to collaborate to promote the development and adoption of interoperable artificial intelligence standards that uphold safety, reliability, sustainability and human rights

SDGs 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 16, and 17 WSIS Action Lines C2, C5, and C10

We will promote safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems that advance, protect and preserve linguistic and cultural diversity and that take into account multilingualism throughout the life cycle of these systems

SDGs 10 and 16 WSIS Action Lines C2, C5, and C8

We encourage the development of international partnerships on artificial intelligence capacitybuilding to develop education and training programmes, increase access to resources including open artificial intelligence models and systems, open training data and compute, facilitate artificial intelligence model training and development, and promote the participation of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises in the digital economy

SDGs 4 and 17 WSIS Action Lines C2, C3, C4, C5, C10, and C11

We will leverage existing United Nations and multi-stakeholder mechanisms to support artificial intelligence capacity-building to bridge artificial intelligence divides, facilitate access to artificial intelligence applications and build capacity in high-performance computing and related skills in developing countries

All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines

We will promote North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation to support the development of representative high-quality data sets, affordable compute resources, local solutions that reflect linguistic and cultural diversity and entrepreneurial ecosystems in developing countries

SDGs 4, 9, 10, and 17 WSIS Action Lines C3, C8, and C11

Follow-up and Review

Mapping of GDC Follow-up and Review commitments and actions to the WSIS Action Lines and the SDGs. [Texts and SDGs extracted from GDC]
Commitments and actions SDGs WSIS Action Lines

We will implement the Global Digital Compact, within our own countries and at regional and global levels, taking into account different national realities, capacities and levels of development, and respecting national policies and priorities and applicable legal frameworks.

All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines

These efforts can only succeed with the active engagement of the private sector, technical and academic communities and civil society, whose innovations and contributions to digitalization are fundamental and irreplaceable. We will strengthen our collaboration and leverage multistakeholder cooperation to achieve the objectives set out in this Compact.

All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines

We invite international and regional organizations, the private sector, academia, the technical community and civil society groups to endorse the Compact and take active part in its implementation and follow-up. We request the SecretaryGeneral to put in place modalities for the voluntary endorsement of this Compact, and to make this information public and accessible from December 2024.

All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines

We recognize the importance of financing to unlock the full potential of this Compact. Successful implementation will require public, private and multilateral resources, including the pooling of investments in joint and blended facilities for impact at scale, including through United Nations mechanisms such as the Digital Window of the Joint SDG Fund and facilities in multilateral development banks. We call on Governments to make support to digital transformation integral to development assistance, including through increased allocations to digital and data initiatives. We invite private sector and philanthropic actors to consider financial pledges in support of the implementation of this Compact.

All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines

We will build on the processes and forums emanating from the World Summit on the Information Society, in particular the Internet Governance Forum and its national and regional initiatives, as well as the WSIS Forum, to advance implementation of this Compact. We look forward to the WSIS+20 review in 2025 and invite it to identify how these processes and forums can support the contribution of all stakeholders to implementation of the Compact.

All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines

We recognize the contribution of all United Nations entities, agencies, funds and programmes in advancing digital cooperation, including but not limited to the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and invite them, as well as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to support, within their existing mandates, implementation of this Compact. We recognize the role of the United Nations regional economic commissions and United Nations country teams in supporting regional and national stakeholders to advance digital transformation.

All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines

We recognize the role of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development in reviewing follow-up on the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society and request it to consider how it can contribute further to the implementation of the Compact.

All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines

To track and monitor progress, we request the Secretary-General to provide a Compact implementation map for the consideration of Governments and other stakeholders that reflects the contributions of the United Nations system and other relevant stakeholders and to reflect this in the report of the Secretary-General on progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels ahead of the WSIS+20 review.

All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines

We recognize that further strengthening of system-wide coordination is required to enable the United Nations to realize the inclusive platform for digital cooperation set out in this Compact. To this end, we request the Secretary-General, following consultations with Member States, to submit a proposal to the General Assembly during its seventy-ninth session for the establishment of an office, building on and incorporating the activities and resources of the existing Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology, to facilitate system-wide coordination, working closely with existing mechanisms. This proposal should include detailed information on operational functions, structure, location, mandate renewal, resources and staffing.

All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines

We recognize the role of the high-level political forum on sustainable development and the Economic and Social Council in reviewing progress of the Compact in closing digital divides and accelerating achievement of the 2030 Agenda. We recognize the role of the Human Rights Council, within its existing mandate, in fostering an inclusive, open, safe and secure digital space for all

All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines

The cross-cutting nature of digital technologies and the multiplicity of actors involved in digital cooperation require synergies and aligned followup. We commit to review the Compact to assess progress against its objectives and to identify emerging opportunities and challenges for global digital cooperation. We decide to convene a high-level meeting entitled “High-level review of the Global Digital Compact”, to take place during the eighty-second session of the General Assembly, based on a progress report by the Secretary-General and with the input and meaningful participation of all stakeholders, including the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, the Internet Governance Forum and World Summit on the Information Society action line facilitators. We request the President of the General Assembly to appoint co-facilitators, one from a developing country and one from a developed country, at the eighty-first session to facilitate open, transparent and inclusive intergovernmental consultations to determine the modalities for this high-level meeting.

All SDGs All WSIS Action Lines