A 2025 review is underway of the United Nations Member States’ commitments to a people-centred, inclusive, and development-oriented information society. ARTICLE 19, together with 9 partner civil society organisations, has put forward a joint submission to the UN’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) regarding the common vision, which was set out in the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) in two phases: in Geneva in 2003 and in Tunis in 2005.
The submission is a response to calls from the ITU Council Working Group on WSIS and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for inputs for the WSIS+20, assessing the commitments 20 years on from their inception, and 10 years on from a 2015 review, WSIS +10.
Between 24 and 27 February, ARTICLE 19’s work at RightsCon, the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age, will include co-organising and engaging with partners and experts for the WSIS+20 review.
In addition to the vision of a healthy and inclusive information society, the WSIS also affirmed that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as good governance at all levels, are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. Among other things, it asserted the multi-stakeholder model for internet governance and established the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).
The WSIS+20 review raises questions on the multi-stakeholder model; the extension of the IGF mandate; how it fits with other initiatives, such as the Global Digital Compact; AI governance; and data governance, amongst others. This represents a key opportunity for ARTICLE 19 to advocate for the protection of human rights online and the required solid governance structures.
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