Roadmap for Digital Cooperation

The Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation

The High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation was established by the UN Secretary-General in July 2018 and in 2019 submitted a final report “The Age of Digital Interdependence”. Further information on the work of the High-Level Panel and the subsequent follow-up processes can be found here.

On 11 June 2020, the United Nations Secretary-General issued a Roadmap for Digital Cooperation (A/74/821) which addresses how the international community can better harness the opportunities presented by digital technologies while addressing their challenges.

The Secretary-General’s Roadmap builds on recommendations made by the High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation, and input from Member States, the private sector, civil society, the technical community and other stakeholder groups and calls on us all to:

CONNECT

We must achieve universal, safe, inclusive, and affordable access to the Internet for all by 2030. Overcoming the digital divide is key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

RESPECT

Human rights exist online as they do offline and need to be at the center of digital technology. Putting human rights and human agency at the center of everything is crucial in the digital space.

PROTECT

We must mitigate online harms and rising digital security threats, especially for the most vulnerable amongst us.

The Roadmap’s key actions:

To meet the call to connect, respect, and protect the online world, the action-oriented Roadmap presents the Secretary-General’s recommendations for concrete action by diverse stakeholders that would enhance global digital cooperation in the following areas:

Achieving universal, affordable, connectivity by 2030

—everyone should have access to the internet.

Promoting digital public goods to create a more equitable world

—the internet’s open source, public origins should be embraced and supported.

Ensuring digital inclusion for all, including the most vulnerable

—under-served groups need equal access to digital tools to accelerate developmental progress.

Strengthening digital capacity building

—skill development and training are needed around the world.

Ensuring the protection of human rights in the digital era

—human rights apply both online and offline.

Supporting global cooperation on Artificial Intelligence

that is trustworthy, humanrights based, safe and sustainable and promotes peace.

Promoting digital trust and security

—calling for a global dialogue to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.

Building a more effective architecture for digital cooperation

—make digital governance a priority and focus the organization’s approach.

“Today, a new technological era is upon us—one that beckons with vast opportunity but also new risks to global peace, stability and development. We must ask a fundamental question about the future: what kind of world are we going to leave for our children?

Will our legacy be a set of technologies that only boost the wealthiest and most connected of our societies while leaving the rest of the world unconnected and further behind?

Or will we bequeath future generations a digital world that strengthens human rights, advances peace and improves all lives, including the most vulnerable?”

– António Guterres, UN Secretary-General