Internet governance and human rights are currently at the forefront of the United Nations' agenda. Recently, delegates convened in New York to discuss the Global Digital Compact, a two-year process that will culminate in a globally negotiated text affirming the central role of governments in governing the internet. The internet is considered a global public good, governed by various stakeholders across different bodies. Civil society organizations, such as the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), play a crucial role in ensuring that human rights are protected, enabled, and extended in the digital age.
Last week, CDT joined dozens of civil society organizations in signing a letter highlighting areas of concern. The letter stated: “... we highlight the areas and aspects of greatest concern, including human rights and gender, support for the OHCHR, inclusive approaches to internet governance, consistency in terminology, and decentralization of power.”
These issues are not new for CDT. The organization has previously urged the UN to focus on critical ways in which the internet is changing relationships between governments and people. These include encryption, censorship, meaningful access, and weapons. The letter emphasized: “States have roles that are unique. They continue and enhance engagement in all the mentioned governance processes and ensuring the protection of human rights by helping to strengthen the existing multistakeholder ecosystem of internet governance. They are uniquely placed to solve issues of access, censorship, encryption and weapons of war. They are also the actors who can extend the multistakeholder model to reach within and evolve the multilateralism of the UN itself.”
When the first draft of the Global Digital Compact was released, CDT along with members from the Global Encryption Coalition steering committee submitted comments to suggest “… three editorial changes to better articulate ways that encryption provides protection and enablement of human rights.”
CDT’s Chief Technology Officer signed a joint letter reminding the UN about "the role of technical community in internet governance." The letter noted: “… some proposals for Global Digital Compact (GDC) can be read to mandate more centralized governance. If final document contains such language we believe it will be detrimental not only Internet Web but also world’s economies societies… Therefore we ask member states Secretary-General Tech Envoy seek ensure proposals digital governance remain consistent enormously successful multistakeholder Internet governance practice brought us Internet today.”
As negotiations around GDC conclude ahead of UN's Summit for Future Member States strongly encouraged preserve strong engaged voices human rights community delivering core importance multistakeholder internet governance.
Read full letter.
