Towards a global digital compact?

The approach of the twentieth anniversary of the first World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and the target date of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda remind us of the challenges that remain in building a desirable digital future.

In “Our Common Agenda” (A/75/982), the Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres proposed that a Global Digital Compact be negotiated. This is a key step in enhanced international cooperation in support of the digital transformation of our societies. This compact will be adopted on the occasion of the Summit of the Future to be held on 22 and 23 September 2024 in New York.

It is in this context that the various phases of consultation, in which Afnic is playing an active part, are taking place. The consultation, the response to which we are publishing, follows the dissemination by the co-facilitators (Sweden and Zambia) in February last of elements proposed for the Global Digital Compact (GDC).

In its response, Afnic emphasises the timeliness of the GDC and welcomes the priorities established. Afnic stresses the importance of taking advantage of the success of the multi-actor model of Internet governance and strengthening existing processes and mechanisms, in particular the IGF, rather than duplicating efforts.

On 2 April, a first draft of the GDC was published.