Geneva Digital Atlas

Geneva Digital Atlas Directory of international organisations and other actors involved in digital policy Version 1.0 November 2020

https://dig.watch/actors

Introduction The Geneva Digital Atlas is a comprehensive mapping of the digital policy and Internet governance scene in International Geneva. The Atlas provides in-depth coverage of the digital activities of more than 40 actors ranging from international organisations to academic institutions and non-governmental actors.

The digital policy issues and processes included in the Atlas are analysed according to Diplo’s Taxonomy of Internet Governance, which features over 40 digital policy areas classified under seven baskets: technology and infrastructure, security, legal, economic, human rights, development, and socio-cultural.

The Atlas builds on 20 years of research and training work by Diplo and, since 2014, the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP).

The Atlas answers the call of the UN Secretary-General to implement the Roadmap for Digital Cooperation in a practical way: By assisting actors from small and developing countries to navigate the fast-growing complexity of digital governance.

In particular, the Atlas aims to connect policy dots among a wide range of processes and organisations dealing with issues related to data, AI, cybersecurity, e-commerce, and privacy, among others.

The Atlas publication is a living document, constantly updated via the GIP Digital Watch.

We look forward to receiving feedback and input on activities, instruments, and processes related to digital policies and Internet governance. If you would like to help us update existing information or include additional digital actors, please send us an e-mail at geneva@ diplomacy.edu.

HOW TO NAVIGATE GENEVA DIGITAL ATLAS IN THREE LAYERS...

On the first layer, you can find ...

1st layer

... summary profiles of more than 40 actors involved in digital policy and governance in Geneva

On the second layer, at GIP Digital Watch, you can find …

2nd layer

... detailed info on the activities of each actor – events, instruments, and initiatives – organised by digital policy issue (e.g. e-commerce, cybersecurity, privacy, etc.)

On the third layer, you can find …

3rd layer

… primary sources, raw data, maps, transcripts, articles, and AI analysis

List of organisations International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Internet Governance Forum (IGF) World Health Organization (WHO) European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) World Trade Organization (WTO) World Economic Forum (WEF) World Meteorological Organization (WMO) International Computing Centre (ICC) Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) International Organization for Standardization (ISO) United Nations Conference on trade and Development (UNCTAD) Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) European Broadcasting Union (EBU) European Free Trade Association (EFTA) International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) International Labour Organization (ILO) Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU) International Trade Centre (ITC) Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) & Human Rights Council (HRC) Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights (GA) University of Geneva (UNIGE) Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) South Centre United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) United Nations Institute For Training And Research (UNITAR) ICT 4 Peace Foundation Kofi Annan Foundation European association for standardizing information and communication systems (ECMA) Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) The Spamhaus Project (Spamhouse) The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

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New Actors: CyberPeace Institute Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) Geneva Science-Policy Interface (GSPI) Libra Association Swiss Digital Initiative

127 131 135 137 138

Organisations with Representation in Geneva Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Internet Society (ISOC) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

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ITU International Telecommunication Union Place des Nations, 1202 Genève, Switzerland http://www.itu.int

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a UN specialised agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs) with a membership of 193 member states and over 900 companies, universities, and international and regional organisations. In general terms, the ITU focuses on three main areas of activity: Radiocommunications (harmonisation of the global radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits) through the ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R); standardisation (development of international technical standards for the interconnection and interoperability of networks, devices, and services) through the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T); and development (working on, among a range of policy areas, improving secure access to ICTs in underserved communities worldwide) through the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D). The General Secretariat manages the intersectoral co-ordination functions, strategic planning, and corporate functions, as well as the administrative and financial aspects of the ITU’s activities. The ITU is also the organiser of the ITU Telecom events, leading tech events convening governments, major corporates, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to debate and share knowledge on key issues of the digital age, showcase innovation in exhibitions, and network and reward progress through an awards programme.

The ITU co-ordinates and organises the annual World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum (www.wsis.org.forum) that serves as a platform for stakeholders to co-ordinate, partner, and share the implementation of the WSIS Action Lines for achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Digital activities Some of the ITU’s key areas of action include: radiocommunication services (such as satellite services, fixed, mobile, and broadcasting services), developing telecommunications networks (including next generation networks and future networks), and ensuring access to bridge the digital divide and addressing challenges in ICT accessibility. The ITU’s work supports: emerging

technologies in fields such as 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT); access and digital inclusion; the accessibility of ICTs to persons with disabilities; digital health; ICTs and climate change; cybersecurity, gender equality; and child online protection, among others. These and many more ICT topics are covered both within the framework of radiocommunication, standardisation, and development work, through various projects, initiatives, and studies carried out by the organisation.

Digital policy issues Infrastructure Basket

Telecommunications infrastructure Information and communication infrastructure development is one of the ITU’s priority areas. The organisation seeks to assist member states in the implementation and development of broadband networks, wired and wireless technologies, international mobile telecommunications (IMT), satellite communications, the IoT, and smart grids, including next generation networks, as well as in the provision of telecommunication networks in rural areas.

Through the IITU-R, the ITU is involved in the global management of the radio frequency spectrum and satellite orbits, used for telecommunications services, in line with the Radio Regulations. The ITU’s International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) have as an overall aim the facilitation of global interconnection and interoperability of telecommunication facilities.

The international standards developed by the ITU-T enable the interconnection and interoperability of ICT networks, devices, and services worldwide.

The ITU-D establishes an enabling environment and provides evidence-based policy-making through ICT indicators, and implements a host of telecommunications/ICT projects.

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In the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ITU-D launched the Global Network Resiliency Platform (REG4COVID) to address the strain experienced by telecommunication networks, which are vital to the health and safety of people. The platform p ​ ools experiences and innovative policy and regulatory measures.​ The impact statement for the Telecommunications Development Bureau’s (BDT) thematic priority on ’Network and Digital Infrastructure’ is: ‘Reliable Connectivity to Everyone’.

ITU-D Study Group 1 also focuses on various aspects related to telecommunication infrastructure, in particular: Question 1/1 on ‘Strategies and policies for the deployment of broadband in developing countries’; Question 2/1 on ‘Strategies, policies, regulations, and methods of migration and adoption of digital broadcasting and implementation of new services’; Question 4/1 on ‘Economic policies and methods of determining the costs of services related to national telecommunication/ICT networks’; Question 5/1 on ‘Telecommunications/ICTs for rural and remote areas’; and Question 6/1 on ‘Consumer information, protection and rights: Laws, regulation, economic bases, consumer networks’.

5G The ITU plays a key role in managing the radio spectrum and developing international standards for 5G networks, devices, and services, within the framework of the so-called IMT-2020 activities. The ITU-R study groups together with the mobile broadband industry and a wide range of stakeholders are finalising the development of 5G standards. The Detailed specifications of the radio interfaces of IMT-2020 are expected to be completed by 2020.

The activities in the field include the organisation of intergovernmental and multistakeholder dialogues, and the development and implementation of standards and regulations to ensure that 5G networks are secure, interoperable, and that they operate without interference.

The upcoming Sixth World Telecommunication/Information and Communication Technology Policy Forum (WTPF-21) will discuss how new and emerging digital technologies and trends are enablers of the global transition to the digital economy. 5G is one of the themes for consideration.

The ITU-R is co-ordinating international standardisation and identification of spectrum for 5G mobile development.

The ITU-T is playing a similar convening role for the technologies and architectures of non-radio elements of 5G systems. For example, ITU standards address 5G transport, with Passive Optical Network (PON), Carrier Ethernet, and Optical Transport Network (OTN), among the technologies standardised

by ITU-T expected to support 5G systems. ITU standards for 5G networking address topics including network virtualisation, network orchestration and management, and fixed-mobile convergence. ITU standards also address machine learning for 5G and future networks, the environmental requirements of 5G, security and trust in 5G, and the assessment of 5G quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE).

Satellite The ITU-R manages the detailed co-ordination and recording procedures for space systems and earth stations. Its main role is to process and publish data and to carry out the examination of frequency assignment notices submitted by administrations for inclusion in the formal co-ordination procedures or recording in the Master International Frequency Register.

The ITU-R also develops and manages space-related assignment or allotment plans and provides mechanisms for the development of new satellite services by locating suitable orbital slots.

Currently, the rapid pace of satellite innovation is driving an increase in the deployment of non-geostationary satellite systems (NGSO). With the availability of launch vehicles capable of supporting multiple satellite launches, mega-constellations consisting of hundreds to thousands of spacecraft are becoming a popular solution for global telecommunications.

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To this end, during the last World Radiocommunication Conference in 2019 (WRC-19), the ITU established regulatory procedures for the deployment of NGSOs, including mega-constellations in low Earth orbit.

Regarding climate change, satellite data is today an indispensable input for weather prediction models and forecast systems used to produce safety warnings and other information in support of public and private decision-making.

The ITU develops international standards contributing to the environmental sustainability of the ICT sector, as well as other industry sectors applying ICTs as enabling technologies to increase efficiency and innovate their service offerings. The latest ITU standards in this domain address sustainable power feeding solutions for IMT-2020/5G networks, energy-efficient data centres capitalising on big data and AI, and smart energy management for telecom base stations.

Emergency Telecommunications Emergency telecommunications is an integral part of the ITU’s mandate. In order to mitigate the impact of disasters, timely dissemination of authoritative information before, during, and after disasters is critical.

Emergency telecommunications play a critical role in disaster risk reduction and management. ICTs are essential for monitoring the underlying hazards and for delivering vital information to all stakeholders, including those most vulnerable, as well as in the immediate aftermath of disasters for ensuring timely flow of vital information that is needed to co-ordinate response efforts and save lives.

The ITU supports its member states in the four phases of disaster management:

1. Design and implementation of national emergency telecommunications plans (NETPs) 2. Development of tabletop simulation exercises 3. Design and implementation of multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEWS), including the common alerting protocol (CAP), 4. Development of guidelines and other reports on the use of ICTs for disaster management.

The ITU’s activities in the field of radiocommunications make an invaluable contribution to disaster management. They facilitate the prediction, detection, and alerting through the co-ordinated and effective use of the radio-frequency spectrum and the establishment of radio standards and guidelines concerning the usage of radiocommunication systems in disaster mitigation and relief operations.

ITU standards offer common formats for the exchange of all-hazard information over public networks. They ensure that networks prioritise emergency communications. And they have a long history of protecting ICT infrastructure from lightning and other environmental factors. In response to the increasing severity of extreme weather events, recent years have seen ITU standardisation experts turning their attention to ‘disaster relief, network resilience and recovery’. This work goes well beyond traditional protections against environmental factors, focusing technical mechanisms to prepare for disasters and respond effectively when disaster strikes.

ITU standards now offer guidance on network architectures able to contend with sudden losses of substantial volumes of network resources. They describe the network functionality required to make optimal use of the network resources still operational after a disaster. They offer techniques for the rapid repair of damaged ICT infrastructure, such as means to connect the surviving fibres of severed fibre-optic cables. And they provide for ‘movable and deployable ICT resource units’ – emergency containers, vehicles, or hand-held kits housing network resources and a power source – to provide temporary replacements for destroyed ICT infrastructure.

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The ITU is also supporting an ambitious project to equip submarine communications cables with climate and hazard-monitoring sensors to create a global real-time ocean observation network. This network would be capable of providing earthquake and tsunami warnings, as well as data on ocean climate change and circulation. This project to equip cable repeaters with climate and hazard-monitoring sensors – creating ‘Science Monitoring And Reliable Telecommunications (SMART) cables’ – is led by the ITU/WMO/UNESCO-IOC Joint Task Force on SMART Cable Systems, a multidisciplinary body established in 2012.

In the ITU-D, a lot of effort is directed at mainstreaming disaster management in telecommunications/information and communication technology projects and activities as part of disaster preparedness. This includes infrastructure development, and the establishment of enabling policy, legal, and regulatory frameworks. The ITU also deploys temporary telecommunications/ICT solutions to assist countries affected by disasters. After providing assistance for disaster relief and response, ITU undertakes assessment missions to affected countries aimed at determining the magnitude of damages to the network through the use of geographical information systems. On the basis of its findings, the ITU and the host country embark on the resuscitation of the infrastructure while ensuring that disaster resilient features are integrated to reduce network vulnerability in the event of disasters striking in the future.

Work includes: • Report: Disruptive technologies and their use in disaster risk reduction and management. (2019) • The Global Forum on Emergency Telecommunications (GET-19), took place on 6-8 March 2019, Balaclava, Mauritius.

• National Emergency Telecommunication Plans • Emergency Telecommunication Simulation Exercises • Study Question 5/2: Utilizing telecommunications/ICTs for disaster risk reduction and management (2014-2017)

The ITU is also part of the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC), a global network of organisations that work together to provide shared communications services in humanitarian emergencies.

Artificial intelligence The ITU works on the development and use of AI to ensure a sustainable future for everyone. To that end, it convenes intergovernmental and multistakeholder dialogues, develops international standards and frameworks, and helps in capacity building for the use of AI. AI and machine learning are gaining a larger share of the ITU standardisation work programme in fields such as network orchestration and management, multimedia coding, service quality assessment, operational aspects of service provision and telecom management, cable networks, digital health, environmental efficiency, and autonomous driving.

The ITU organises the annual AI for Good Global Summit, which aims to connect innovators in the field of AI with public and private sector decision-makers to develop AI solutions that could help in achieving the SDGs. The ITU has launched a global AI repository to identify AI related projects, research initiatives, think-tanks, and organisations that can accelerate progress towards achieving the SDGs. Open ITU platforms advancing various aspects of AI and machine learning include: • The ITU Focus Group on ‘Machine Learning for Future Networks including 5G’, which is defining the requirements of machine learning as they relate to interfaces, protocols, algorithms, data formats, and network architectures. The ITU has launched the ITU AI/ML in 5G Challenge: A competition for which hundreds of professionals and students from over 50 countries have signed up.

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• The ITU Focus Group on ‘Environmental Efficiency for AI and other Emerging Technologies’ will benchmark best practices and describe pathways towards a standardised framework for assessing the environmental aspects of adopting emerging technologies.

• The ITU Focus Group on ‘AI for Health’, driven in close collaboration by the ITU and the World Health Organization (WHO), is working towards the establishment of a framework and associated processes for the performance benchmarking of ‘AI for Health’ solutions.

• The ITU Focus Group on ‘AI for Autonomous and Assisted Driving’ is working towards the establishment of international standards to monitor and assess the behavioural performance of the AI ‘drivers’ in control of automated vehicles.

• The new Global Initiative on ‘AI and Data Commons’, established in January 2020, aims to support AI for Good projects in achieving global scale.

The initiative will offer assemblies of resources to launch new AI projects aligned with the SDGs, and scale them up quickly.

The ITU, through its Development Sector, also holds an annual meeting for all telecommunication regulators on the occasion of the Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR), which discusses and establishes a regulatory framework for all technologies including AI, and addresses this issue at its two Study Groups. Several areas under ITU-D Study Groups 1 and 2 explore applications of AI in various domains to support sustainable development.

Critical Internet Resources1 Over the years, the ITU has adopted several resolutions that deal with Internet technical resources, such as: Internet Protocol-based networks (Resolution 101 (Rev. Dubai, 2018)), IPv4 to IPv6 transition (Resolution 180 (Rev. Dubai, 2018)), and internationalised domain names (Resolution 133 (Rev. Dubai, 1 In the work of ITU the issues related to ‘Critical Internet Resources’ are dealt with as ‘Internet public-policy related work’.

2 In the work of ITU the issue of ‘Digital Standards’ are addressed as ‘International standards’.

2018)). The ITU has also adopted a resolution on its role in regard to international public policy issues pertaining to the Internet and the management of Internet resources, including domain names and addresses (Resolution 102 (Rev. Dubai, 2018)). In addition, the ITU Council has set up a Working Group on International Internet-related Public Policy Issues, tasked with identifying, studying, and developing matters related to international Internet-related public policy issues. This Working Group also holds regular online open public consultations on specific topics to give all stakeholders from all nations an opportunity to express their views with regard to the topic(s) under discussion.

The ITU is also the facilitator of WSIS Action Line C2 - Information and communication infrastructure.

Digital Standards2 International standards provide the technical foundations of the global ICT ecosystem.

Presently, 95% of international traffic runs over optical infrastructure built in conformance with ITU standards. Video now accounts for over 80% of all Internet traffic; this traffic relies on the ITU’s Primetime Emmy winning video-compression standards.

ICTs are enabling innovation in every industry and public-sector body. The digital transformation underway across our economies receives key support from ITU standards for smart cities, energy, transport, healthcare, financial services, agriculture, and AI and machine learning.

ICT networks, devices, and services interconnect and interoperate thanks

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to the efforts of thousands of experts who come together on the neutral ITU platform to develop international standards known as ITU-T Recommendations.

Standards create efficiencies enjoyed by all market players, efficiencies, and economies of scale that ultimately result in lower costs to producers and lower prices to consumers. Companies developing standards-based products and services gain access to global markets. And by supporting backward compatibility, ITU standards enable next-generation technologies to interwork with previous technology generations; this protects past investments while creating the confidence to continue investing in our digital future.

The ITU standardisation process is contribution-led and consensus-based: Standardisation work is driven by contributions from ITU members and consequent decisions are made by consensus. The ITU standardisation process aims to ensure that all voices are heard and that resulting standards have the consensus-derived support of the diverse and globally representative ITU membership.

ITU members develop standards year-round in ITU-T Study Groups. Over 4000 ITU-T Recommendations are currently in force, and over 300 new or revised ITU-T Recommendations are approved each year.

For more information on the responsibilities of ITU study groups, covering the ITU-T study groups as well as those of ITU’s radiocommunication and development sectors (ITU-R and ITU-D), see the ITU backgrounder on study groups.

The ITU World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA) is the governing body of ITU’s standardisation arm (ITU-T). It is held every four years to review the overall direction and structure of the ITU-T. This conference also approves the mandates of the ITU-T Study Groups (WTSA Resolution 2) and appoints the leadership teams of these groups.

3 Within the work of ITU, the work related to ‘Internet of Things’ also includes ‘Smart cities’

Internet of Things3 The ITU develops international standards supporting the co-ordinated development and application of IoT technologies, including standards leveraging IoT technologies to address urban-development challenges.

The ITU also facilitates international discussions on the public policy dimensions of smart cities, principally within the United for Smart Sustainable Cities Initiative, an initiative supported by 17 UN bodies with the aim of achieving SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities).

ITU standards have provided a basis for the development of ‘Key Performance Indicators for Smart Sustainable Cities’. More than 100 cities worldwide have adopted the indicators as part of a collaboration driven by the ITU within the framework of the U4SSC initiative.

U4SSC prizes learning from experience and sharing lessons learnt. The new U4SSC implementation programme supports the new partnerships driving smart city projects. As the implementation arm of U4SSC, the programme aims to enact the lessons learned in U4SSC’s work.

The range of application of the IoT is very broad – extending from smart clothing to smart cities and global monitoring systems. To meet these varied requirements, a variety of technologies, both wired and wireless, are required to provide access to the network.

Alongside ITU-T studies on the IoT and smart cities, the ITU-R conducts studies on the technical and operational aspects of radiocommunication networks and systems for the IoT. The spectrum requirements and standards for IoT wireless access technologies are being addressed in the ITU-R, as follows:

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• harmonisation of frequency ranges, technical and operating parametersused for the operation of short-range devices • standards for wide area sensor and actuator network systems • spectrum to support the implementation of narrowband and broadband machine-type communication infrastructures • support for massive machine-type communications within the framework of the standards and spectrum for IMT-Advanced (4G) and IMT-2020 (5G) • use of fixed-satellite and mobile-satellite communications for the IoT ITU-D Study Group 2 Question 1/2 (‘Creating smart cities and society: Employing information and communication technologies for sustainable social and economic development’) includes case studies on the application of the IoT, and identifying the trends and best practices implemented by member states as well as the challenges faced, in order to support sustainable development and foster smart societies in developing countries.

Blockchain New ITU standards for blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) address the requirements of blockchain in next-generation network evolution and the security requirements of blockchain, both in terms of blockchain’s security capabilities and security threats to blockchain.

The ITU reports provide potential blockchain adopters with a clear view of the technology and how it could best be applied. Developed by the ITU Focus Group on Application of Distributed Ledger Technology, these reports provide an ‘assessment framework’ to support efforts to understand the strengths and weaknesses of DLT platforms in different use cases. The group has also produced a high-level DLT architecture – a reference framework – detailing the key elements of a DLT platform. The Focus Group studied high-potential DLT use cases and DLT platforms said to meet the requirements of such use cases. These studies guided the Focus Group’s abstraction of the common requirements necessary to describe a DLT architecture and associated

assessment criteria. The resulting reports also offer insight into the potential of DLT to support the achievement of the SDGs. Blockchain and DLT are also key to the work of the Digital Currency Global Initiative, a partnership of ITU and Stanford University to continue the work of an ITU Focus Group on Digital Currency including Digital Fiat Currency. The Digital Currency Global Initiative provides an open, neutral platform for dialogue, knowledge sharing, and research on the applications of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and other digital currency implementations. The initiative will share case studies of digital currency applications, benchmark best practices and develop specifications to inform ITU standards.

Cloud computing ITU standards provide the requirements and functional architectures of the cloud ecosystem, covering inter- and intra-cloud computing and technologies supporting ‘XaaS’ (X as a Service). These standards enable consistent end-to-end, multi-cloud management and the monitoring of services across different service providers’ domains and technologies – they were developed in view of the convergence of telecoms and computing technologies that characterises the cloud ecosystem.

Cloud services provide on-demand access to advanced ICT resources, enabling innovators to gain new capabilities without investing in new hardware or software. Cloud concepts are also fundamental to the evolution of ICT networking, helping networks to meet the requirements of an increasingly diverse range of ICT applications.

As innovation accelerates in fields such as IMT-2020/5G and the IoT and digital transformation takes hold in every industry sector, the cloud ecosystem will continue to grow in importance to companies large and small, in developing as well as developed countries.

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ITU-D Study Group 1 Question 3/1 focuses on analysis of factors influencing effective access to support cloud computing, as well strategies, policies, and infrastructure investments to foster the emergence of a cloud-computing ecosystem in developing countries, among others.

Emerging technologies The ITU’s range of work on emerging technologies in fields such as AI, 5G, IoT, quantum information technologies, and others have been covered in various other sections.

The theme of the upcoming Sixth World Telecommunication/Information and Communication Technology Policy Forum (WTPF) is ‘Policies for Mobilizing New and Emerging Telecommunications/ICTs for Sustainable Development’.

The WTPF will discuss how new and emerging digital technologies and trends are enablers of the global transition to the digital economy. Themes for consideration include AI, the IoT, 5G, big data, OTTs, and more. In this regard, the upcoming WTPF will focus on opportunities, challenges, and policies to foster sustainable development.

Cybersecurity Basket Network security

The ITU acts as facilitator of the WSIS Action Line C5 - Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs. In 2007, bringing different stakeholders together to forge meaningful partnerships to help countries address the risks associated with ICTs. This includes adopting national cybersecurity strategies, facilitating the establishment of national incident response capabilities, developing international security standards, protecting children online, and building capacity.

The ITU develops international standards to build confidence and security in the use of ICTs. Topics of growing significance to this work include security

aspects of digital financial services, intelligent transport systems, blockchain and distributed ledger technology, and quantum information technologies.

In 2008, the ITU launched a five-pillared framework called the Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA) to encourage co-operation with and between various partners in enhancing cybersecurity globally. The cybersecurity programme offers its membership, particularly developing countries, the tools to increase cybersecurity capabilities at the national level in order to enhance security, and build confidence and trust in the use of ICTs. The GCA is currently undergoing a review process to develop guidelines for better utilisation of the framework.

The ITU serves a neutral and global platform for dialogue around policy actions in the interests of cybersecurity.

The ITU issues the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) to shed light on the commitment of ITU member states to cybersecurity at the global level. The index is a trusted reference developed as a multistakeholder effort managed by ITU. In the last iteration of the GCI, 150 Member States participated.

Alongside the ITU-T’s development of technical standards in support of security and the ITU-R’s establishment of security principles for 3G and 4G networks, the ITU also assists building cybersecurity capacity.

This capacity-building work helps countries to define cybersecurity strategies; assists the establishment of computer incident response teams (CIRTs); supports the protection of children online; and assists countries in building human capacity relevant to security. For example: Strategies: The ITU assists member states in developing and improving effective national cybersecurity frameworks or strategies. At the national level, cybersecurity is a shared responsibility which requires co-ordinated action for prevention, preparation, and response on the part of government agencies, authorities, the private sector, and civil society. To ensure a safe, secure, and resilient digital sphere, a comprehensive national framework or

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strategy is necessary.

CIRTs: Effective mechanisms and institutional structures are necessary at the national level to deal with cyber-threats and incidents reliably. The ITU assists member states in establishing and enhancing National Computer Incident Response Teams (CIRTs). ​In response to the fast-evolving technologies and manifestation of related threats, incident response must be updated and improved continuously.

Building human capacity: The ITU conducts regional and national cyber drills, assisting member states in improving cybersecurity readiness, protection, and incident response capabilities of countries at regional and national level, and to strengthen international cooperation among ITU member states against cyber-threats and cyber-attacks. To date, the ITU has conducted cyber drills involving over 100 countries.

In its efforts on cybersecurity, the ITU works closely with partners from international organisations, the private sector, and academia, strengthened

by MoUs with a range of organisations such as UNODC, World Bank, Interpol, WEF, and several others.

Child safety online4 As part of its Global Cybersecurity Agenda, the ITU launched the Child Online Protection Initiative in 2008, aimed to create an international collaborative network and promote the protection of children globally from all kinds of risks and harms related to the online environment, all while empowering children to fully benefit from the opportunities that the Internet offers. The initiative focuses on the development of child online protection strategies covering five key areas: Legal measures, technical and procedural measures, organisational structures, capacity building, and international co-operation.

4 Within the work of ITU, ‘Child safety online’ is addressed as ‘Child online protection’.

Approaching child online safety with a holistic child rights based approach, the initiative has recently added to their key objectives the participation of children into policy-making processes related to child online protection as well as the digital skills development for children and their families.

In collaboration with other organisations, the ITU has produced four sets of the 2020 Child Online Protection (COP) Guidelines, aimed at children; parents, guardians, and educators, as well as industry and policymakers. The first set of COP Guidelines were produced in 2009. The ITU Council Working Group on Child Protection Online guides the organisation’s activities in the area of child safety online.

The ITU has launched or supported a range of COP responses specific to COVID-19, including: • Global Education Coalition for COVID-19 response – a collaboration between UNESCO, UNICEF, ITU, WHO, GSMA, and Microsoft.

• Agenda for Action to reduce the negative impact of COVID-19 on Children.

• COVID-19 and its implications for protecting children online​(2020) – in collaboration with UNICEF, GPEVAC,​​UNESCO, UNODC, WePROTECT Global Alliance, WHO and World Childhood Foundation USA. The ITU is also the facilitator of WSIS Action Line C5 - Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs.

Development Basket Access

The need for sustained efforts to expand Internet access at a global level and bring more people online has been outlined in several resolutions adopted by ITU bodies. The organisation is actively contributing to such efforts, mainly 13

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through projects targeted at developing countries and focused on aspects such as: human and institutional capacity building, education, and digital literacy; deployment of telecommunications networks and establishment of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs); the creation of broadband public access points to Internet; and the development and implementation of enabling policies in areas such as universal access. The organisation is also studying access-related issues within its various study groups, and it publishes relevant papers and studies. The ITU also monitors progress made by countries in addressing the digital divide, through its periodically updated statistics and studies such as the ICT Facts and Figures and the annual Measuring the Information Society reports. The ITU’s Connect 2030 Agenda envisions specific targets related to Internet access; for instance: By 2023, 65% of households worldwide with access to the Internet; by 2023, 70% of individuals worldwide with access to the Internet; and by 2023, Internet access should be 25% more affordable.

Access in treated in most enabling policy questions of ITU-D Study Group 1 including: • Question 1/1 on ‘Strategies and policies for the deployment of broadband in developing countries,’” • Question 2/1 on ‘Strategies, policies, regulations and methods of migration and adoption of digital broadcasting and implementation of new services,’ • Question 4/1 on ‘Economic policies and methods of determining the costs of services related to national telecommunication/ICT networks,’ • Question 5/1 on ‘Telecommunications/ICTs for rural and remote areas,’ and • Question 6/1 on ‘Consumer information, protection and rights: Laws, regulation, economic bases, consumer networks.’

The ITU is the facilitator of WSIS Action Line C2 - Information and communication infrastructure.

Capacity development The ITU is heavily involved in capacity development activities, mainly aimed at assisting countries in developing their policy and regulatory frameworks in various digital policy areas, ranging from the deployment or expansion of broadband networks, to fighting cybercrime and enhancing cybersecurity.

The ITU has also launched the ITU Academy, which provides a wide range of general and specialised courses on various aspects related to ICTs. Such courses can be delivered online, face-to-face, or in a blended manner, and they span across a wide variety of topics, from technologies and services, to policies and regulations. The ITU also develops digital skills at basic and intermediate level to citizens through its Digital Transformation Centre Initiative.

The inclusivity of the ITU standardisation platform is supported by the ITU’s Bridging the Standardization Gap (BSG) programme as well as regional groups within ITU-T study groups. The ‘BSG Hands-On Study Group effectiveness training’ and updated Guidelines for National Standardization Secretariats (NSS) assist developing countries in developing the practical skills and national procedures required to maximise the effectiveness of their participation in the ITU standardisation process.

Digital Services and Applications The Digital Services and Applications programme offers member states the tools to leverage digital technology and ICT applications to address their most pressing needs and bring real impact to people, with an emphasis on increasing availability and extending services in areas such as digital health, digital agriculture, digital government, and digital learning, as well as cross-sectoral initiatives to accelerate sustainable development such as smart villages.

To effectively harness digital services and applications for socio-economic development, the programme facilitates:

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• Development of national sectoral digital strategy (including toolkits, guidelines, capacity building, action plans, and evaluations).

• Deployment of innovative digital services and applications to improve the delivery of value-added services, leveraging strategic partnerships as catalysts.

• Knowledge and best practice sharing through studies, research, and awareness raising, connecting stakeholders in converging ecosystems.

• Addressing emerging technology trends – such as big data, AI, etc – by collecting and sharing of best practices.

Digital ecosystems The ITU works on helping member states create and mature their digital innovation ecosystems. The Digital Ecosystem Thematic Priority has developed a framework to help countries develop appropriate ICT-centric innovation policies, strategies, and programmes, and share evidence-based best practices and implement bankable projects to close the digital innovation gap. Countries are empowered to develop an environment that is conducive to innovation and entrepreneurship, where advances in new technologies become a key driver for the implementation of the WSIS Action Lines, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and Goal 4 of the Connect 2030 agenda.

The ITU assists member states through its events, courses, publications, toolkits, and provision of technical advice. Its Ecosystem Development Projects initiative, for example, provides holistic advisory services including ecosystem diagnosis, risk assessment, good practice transfer, and capacity building. Events include: Its National and Regional Innovation Forums, which bring ecosystem stakeholders together to equip them with the skills to build their national innovation ecosystems; the ITU Innovation Challenges, which identify the best ICT innovators from around the world and equip them with skills to scale their ideas to truly impact their communities; courses on developing and maturing ecosystems (available at the ITU Academy); and Digital Innovation Profiles, which provide a snapshot of countries’ ecosystem 5

Within the work of the ITU, the issues related to ‘Inclusive fianace’

status and allowing them to identify and fill the gaps using the ITU’s tools and expertise.

Sustainable development The ITU has several activities dedicated to supporting the achievement of the SDGs. Its focus is on SDG 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), and in particular target 9.c that is aimed to increase access to ICTs and provide universal and affordable access to the Internet. Some other SDGs addressed by the ITU include: SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy); SDG 13 (climate action) through its programmes focused on the use of ICTs to address climate change; and SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities) through its activities supporting the development of smart sustainable cities. The ITU’s Connect 2030 Agenda is specifically dedicated to leveraging telecommunications/ICTs, including broadband, for sustainable development. The agenda is built around four goals: growth, inclusiveness, sustainability, innovation, and partnership. In addition, the ITU-D works on fostering international co-operation on telecommunication and ICT development issues, and enhancing environmental protection, climate change adaptation, emergency telecommunications, and disaster mitigation and management efforts through telecommunications and ICTs. These and other related issues are explored in reports, guidelines, and recommendations produced by ITU-D study groups.

The ITUs strategic plan is aligned to the WSIS Action Lines and SDGs. Since 2015, the WSIS Process has been aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to ensure that ICTs play the enabling role in advancing the SDGs.

Inclusive Finance5 The ITU has built a substantial programme of work in support of digital financial inclusion. ITU standards for digital finance address ‘Security, Infrastructure and Trust’. They provide for high quality of service and user experience,

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and they safeguard security to build trust in digital finance.

The ITU’s work in this field has included the ITU Focus Group on Digital Financial Services (2014-2017), the ITU Focus Group on Digital Currency including Digital Fiat Currency (2017-2019), and the Financial Inclusion Global Initiative, an ongoing three-year programme to advance research in digital finance and accelerate digital financial inclusion in developing countries led by the ITU, the World Bank Group, and the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures, and with financial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

collection, dismantling, refurbishing, and recycling. To this end, the organisation supports countries in developing national policies on e-waste, and works together with industry partners from the public and private sector to stimulate co-ordinated actions towards a circular economy model. The ITU-D also co-founded the Global E-Waste Statistics Partnership to improve and collect worldwide statistics on e-waste. ITU-D and ITU-T study groups also explore issues related to ICTs and the environment. The ITU develops international standards enabling the reduction of ICT lifecycle environment impacts and guiding the development of frameworks for sustainable e-waste management.

The ITU and Stanford University recently launched the Digital Currency Global Initiative to continue the work of the ITU Focus Group on Digital Currency including Digital Fiat Currency. The Digital Currency Global Initiative provides an open and neutral platform for dialogue, knowledge sharing, and research on the applications of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and other digital currency implementations. The initiative will share case studies of digital currency applications, benchmark best practices, and develop specifications to inform ITU standards.

Human Rights Basket

E-waste The ITU works towards achieving the 2023 targets related to waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), or ‘e-waste’, established in 2018 by the Plenipotentiary Conference by: • Increasing the global e-waste recycling rate to 30% and • Raising the percentage of countries with e-waste legislation to 50%.

The ITU-D has been mandated to assist developing countries in undertaking proper assessment of the size of e-waste and in initiating pilot projects to achieve environmentally sound management of e-waste through e-waste are addressed as ‘Digital Financial Services (DFS)’.

6 Within the work of ITU the rights of persons with disabilities are addressed as ‘ICT /digital accessibility for all including persons with disabilities’.

Rights of persons with disabilities6 The ITU works to ensure that ICT are accessible to all people including those living with disabilities and those with specific needs as stated in the ITU’s mandate and as granted by the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference through Resolution 175 (Rev. Dubai, 2018) on ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities and persons with specific needs.

The Development Bureau (ITU-D), within its work in digital inclusion, pays particular attention to ICT/digital accessibility to enable digital inclusion and to ensure inclusive communication for all people, regardless of their gender, age, ability, or location.

The importance of making technology accessibility is therefore addressed

by ITU-D, ITU-T, and ITU-R. The ITU works together with ITU member states and all involved stakeholders through specific Study Groups to address and mainstream accessibility of ICTs in national and regional policies and strategies, and develop appropriate standards and radio frequencies thus ensuring that technology empowers all people equally and equitably. The ITU also develops and makes available products and resources including toolkits, reports, assessments, guidelines, and training, to leverage knowledge and 16

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provide support to ITU members in implementing ICT accessibility in their respective countries and regions and in developing digital inclusive societies globally.

ITU-D Study Group 1 Question 7/1 focuses on sharing good practices on implementing national ICT accessibility policies, legal frameworks, directives, guidelines, strategies, and technological solutions to improve the accessibility, compatibility, and usability of telecommunication/ICT services and the use of accessible telecommunications/ICTs to promote the employment of persons with disabilities in order to empower all stakeholders in creating an inclusive environment for persons with disabilities worldwide.

Accessibility issues are also tackled in the context of the standardisation work carried out by ITU-T study groups, as well as of studies and reports produced by the organisation.

Gender Rights online7 The ITU is involved in activities aimed at promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls through ICTs. Together with UN Women, UNU, GSMA, and ITC, the ITU launched the EQUALS Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age with over 100 partners working together to ensure that women are given access, are equipped with skills, and develop the leadership potential to work in the ICT industry. Under this initiative, the ITU contributes with the annual flagship event the EQUALS in Tech Awards. The awards are given every year to organisations and individuals working to help girls and women gain equal internet access, learn digital skills, and find opportunities in the tech industry.

The initiative is dedicated to encouraging girls and young women to consider studies and careers in ICTs. Within the work of the ITU, ‘Gender rights online’ is addressed as ‘Gender digital divide’.

The Girls Can Code Initiative (GCCI) was started in Africa in collaboration with UN Women and the African Union Commission with the aim to train and empower girls and young women aged 17 to 20 years old across Africa to become computer programmers, creators, and designers. The GCCI has been also launched in the Americas region with a focus on equipping girls with coding skills and generating interest in the pursuit of ICT careers.

Other activities such as the Women in Technology Challenge and the EQUALS Women in Tech Network led by the ITU are targeted at advancing women’s engagement with ICTs for social and economic development.

The ITU WRC-19 also adopted a declaration that promotes gender equality, equity, and parity in the work of the ITU Radiocommunication Sector.

The ITU is also the facilitator of WSIS Action Line C4 - Capacity building.

Sociocultural Basket

Interdisciplinary approaches The World Summit on the Information Society Process (WSIS) was initiated by the ITU in 1998 and the ITU led the organisation of the Summits in 2003 and 2005 in co-ordination with the UN system. In line with its mandate and the WSIS outcome documents, the ITU continues playing a key lead co-ordination role in WSIS implementation and follow-up.

The WSIS Forum represents the world’s largest annual gathering of the ‘ICT for development’ community. The WSIS Forum, co-organised by the ITU, UNESCO, UNDP, and UNCTAD, and in close collaboration with all WSIS Action Line Facilitators/Co-Facilitators, has proven to be an efficient mechanism for the co-ordination of multistakeholder implementation activities, information exchange, creation of knowledge, and sharing of best practices, and continues to provide assistance in developing multistakeholder and public/private partnerships to advance development goals. This Forum provides structured

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opportunities to network, learn, and participate in multistakeholder discussions and consultations on WSIS implementation.

The ITU Contribution to the Implementation of the WSIS Outcomes is an annual comprehensive report on the ITU activities in context of WSIS from all the three sectors of the organisation (standardization, radiocommunication, and the development sectors) and the General Secretariat on the activities implemented during the respective year. The report provides updates on the tasks carried out by the ITU at the operational and policy levels, covering all assigned mandates with reference to the WSIS Process.

The ITU is the lead facilitator of Action Lines C2 (ICT Infrastructure), C5 (Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs), and C6 (Enabling Environment), and the co-facilitator of several other action lines (C1, C3, C4, C7, C8, C9, and C11).The ITU WSIS Action Line Roadmaps for C2, C5, and C6 are detailed plans to guide progress towards achieving the WSIS implementation goals. The Roadmaps serve as a reference and guiding tool on tje ITU’s efforts on WSIS Action Lines as facilitator and implementer and they provide a broad vision and detailed overview of the activities planned within the mandate of the ITU. Showing clear linkages with the SDGs, they include timeframes, expected results, as well as relevant ITU strategic goals and resolutions.

The WSIS Stocktaking process provides a register of activities – including projects, programs, training initiatives, conferences, websites, guidelines, toolkits, etc. – carried out by governments, international organisations, the private sector, civil society, and other entities. To that end, in accordance with paragraph 120 of the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society adopted by WSIS, the ITU has been maintaining the WSIS Stocktaking Database since 2004 as a publicly accessible system providing information on ICT—related initiatives and projects with reference to the 11 WSIS action lines (Geneva Plan of Action). The principal role of the WSIS Stocktaking exercise is to lever-

age the activities of stakeholders working on the implementation of WSIS outcomes and share knowledge and experience of projects by replicating successful models designed to achieve the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The WSIS Prizes contest was developed in response to requests from the WSIS stakeholders to create an effective mechanism to evaluate projects and activities that leverage the power of ICTs to advance sustainable development. Since its inception, WSIS Prizes has attracted more than 350 000 stakeholders. Following the outcomes of the UN General Assembly Overall Review on WSIS (Res. A/70/125) that called for a close alignment between WSIS Process and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Res. A/70/1), WSIS Prizes continues to serve as the unique global platform to identify and showcase success stories in the implementation of the WSIS Action Lines and the SDGs. United Nations Group on Information Society (UNGIS) is the UN system’s inter-agency mechanism for advancing policy coherence and programme co-ordination on matters related to ICTs in support of internationally-agreed development goals. Established in 2006 after the WSIS, its mandate includes promoting collaboration and partnerships among the members of the Chief Executives Board (CEB) to contribute to the achievement of the WSIS goals, providing guidance on issues related to inclusive information and knowledge societies, helping maintain issues related to science and technology at the top of the UN Agenda, and mainstreaming ICT for Development in the mandate of CEB members. UNGIS remains committed and contributed to the alignment of the WSIS Action Lines and the SDGs. Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development is an international, multistakeholder initiative to improve the availability and quality of ICT data and indicators.

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Digital tools • Various platforms used for online meetings: Interprefy (e.g. ITU Council), Adobe Connect, GoToMeeting, and ITU’s MyMeetings platform.

• The value of ITU-T’s advanced electronic working environment was highlighted in 2020. Virtual meetings and electronic working methods have come to form the principal platform for ITU standardisation work as part of the global response to COVID-19. ITU members engaged in standard development are making optimal use of the ITU’s personalised MyWorkspace platform and associated services and tools (e.g. MyMeetings).

• The WSIS-SDG Matrix developed by UN WSIS Action Line Facilitators serves as the mechanism to map, analyse, and co-ordinate the implementation of WSIS Action Lines, and more specifically, ICTs as enablers and accelerators of the SDGs. This mapping exercise draws direct linkages of the WSIS Action Lines with the proposed SDGs to continue strengthening the impact of ICTs for sustainable development. Building on the Matrix, the Agenda and outcomes of the WSIS Forum are clearly linked to WSIS Action lines and the SDGs highlighting the impact and importance of ICTs on sustainable development. Since 2015 efforts have been made to align the WSIS Process with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

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IGF Internet Governance Forum Villa Le Bocage, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland https://www.intgovforum.org/

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) provides the most comprehensive coverage of digital policy issues on the global level. The IGF Secretariat in Geneva co-ordinates both the planning of IGF annual meetings (working together with the Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) and the wider IGF community) and a series of intersessional activities (run all year long). These activities could be summarised in three ‘multi’ initiatives: • Multistakeholder participation: It involves governments, business, civil society, the technical community, academia, and other actors who affect or are affected by digital policy issues. This diversity is reflected in IGF processes, events, and consultations.

• Multidisciplinary coverage: It relates to addressing policy issues from technological, legal, security, human rights, economic, development, and socio-cultural perspectives. For example, data, as a governance issue, is addressed from standardisation, e-commerce, privacy, and security perspectives.

• Multilevel approach: It spans IGF deliberations from the local level to the global level, through a network of over 130 national, subregional, and regional IGF initiatives. They provide context for discussions on digital policy like the real-life impact of digitalisation on policy, economic, social, and cultural fabric of local communities.

The IGF Secretariat supports such initiatives (which are independent) and co-ordinates the participation of the overall network.

The IGF ecosystem converges around the annual IGF which is attended by thousands of participants. The last few IGFs include: Paris (2018), Berlin (2019), and in 2020, the IGF was held online, involving over 6000 registered participants, more than 1000 speakers, and over 250 sessions.

The intersessional work includes best practice forums (on issues such as cybersecurity, local content, data and new technologies, and gender and access), dynamic coalitions (on issues such as community connec-

tivity, network neutrality, accessibility and disability, and child safety online), and other projects such as ‘Policy options for connecting and enabling the next billion(s)’ (which ran between 2015 and 2018).

IGF mandate The IGF mandate was outlined in the Tunis Agenda of the World Summit on the Information Society (November 2005). It was renewed for another 10 years by the UN General Assembly on 16 December 2015, (70/125).

The main functions of the IGF are specified in Article 72 of the Tunis Agenda of the World Summit on the Information Society: The mandate of the Forum is to: • Discuss public policy issues related to key elements of Internet governance in order to foster the sustainability, robustness, security, stability, and development of the Internet; • Facilitate discourse between bodies dealing with different cross-cutting international public policies regarding the Internet and discuss issues that do not fall within the scope of any existing body; • Interface with appropriate inter-governmental organisations and other institutions on matters under their purview; • Facilitate the exchange of information and best practices, and in this regard make full use of the expertise of the academic, scientific, and technical communities; • Advise all stakeholders in proposing ways and means to accelerate the availability and affordability of the Internet in the developing world; • Strengthen and enhance the engagement of stakeholders in existing and/or future Internet governance mechanisms, particularly those from developing countries;

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• Identify emerging issues, bring them to the attention of the relevant bodies and the general public, and where appropriate, make recommendations; • Contribute to capacity building for Internet governance in developing countries, drawing on local sources of knowledge and expertise; • Promote and assess, on an ongoing basis, the embodiment of WSIS principles in Internet governance processes; • Discuss, inter alia, issues relating to critical Internet resources; • Help to find solutions to the issues arising from the use and misuse of the Internet, of particular concern to everyday users; and • Publish its proceedings.

Future of Meetings Since its first meeting in Athens (2006), the IGF has been a pioneer in online deliberation and hybrid meetings. In addition to individual online participation, the IGF has encouraged the development of a network of remote hubs where participants meet locally while following online deliberations from the global IGF. In this way the IGF has created a unique interplay between local and global deliberations through the use of technology. For hybrid meetings delivered in situ and online, the IGF developed the function of ‘remote moderator’, who ensures that there is smooth interplay between online and in situ discussions.

Digital policy Until 2019, IGF annual meetings used to host sessions tackling a wide range of digital policy issues (for instance, IGF 2018 had eight themes: cybersecurity, trust and privacy; development, innovation and economic issues; digital inclusion and accessibility; human rights, gender and youth; emerging technologies; evolution of Internet governance; media and content; and technical and operational issues). In 2019, in an effort to bring more focus within the IGF, the MAG decided (considering community input) to structure the IGF programme around a limited number of tracks: security, safety, stability, and resilience; data governance; and digital inclusion. This approach was kept for IGF 2020, which saw four thematic tracks: data, environment, inclusion, and trust. The thematic approach did not mean that the IGF saw some digital policy issues as being less relevant than others, but rather that it encouraged discussions at the intersection of multiple issues. The Geneva Internet Platform Digital Watch’s reporting for IGF 2020 and IGF 2019 illustrates this trend, showing that the IGF discussed a wide range of policy issues (across all seven Internet governance baskets of issues) within the limited number of thematic tracks.

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WHO World Health Organization Avenue Appia 20, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland https://www.who.int

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialised agency of the UN whose role is to direct and co-ordinate international health within the UN system.

As a member state organisation, its main areas of work include health systems, the promotion of health, non-communicable diseases, communicable diseases, corporate services, preparedness, and surveillance and response.

The WHO assists countries in co-ordinating multi-sectoral efforts by governments and partners (including bi- and multilateral meetings, funds and foundations, civil society organisations, and the private sector) to attain their health objectives and support their national health policies and strategies.

Data and digital activities The WHO has strengthened its approach to data by ensuring this strategic asset has a dedicated division: the Division of Data, Analytics and Delivery for Impact. This has helped strengthen data governance by promoting sound data principles and accountability mechanisms, as well as ensuring that the necessary policies and tools are in place that can be used by all three levels of the organisation and can be adopted by member states. Digital health and innovation are high on the WHO’s agenda; it is recognised for its role in strengthening health systems through the application of digital health technologies for consumers/people and healthcare providers as part of achieving its vision of health for all.

The WHO also established the new Department of Digital Health and Innovation in 2019 within its Science Division. Particular attention is paid to: Promoting global collaboration and advancing the transfer of knowledge on digital health; advancing the implementation of national digital health

strategies; strengthening the governance for digital health at the global, regional, and national levels; and advocating for people-centered health systems that are enabled by digital health. These strategic objectives have been developed in consultation with member states throughout 2019 and 2020, and will be submitted for adoption to the upcoming 2021 World Health Assembly.

The Division of Data Analytics and Delivery for Impact and the Department of Digital Health and Innovation work closely together to strengthen links between data and digital issues, as well as data governance efforts. Digital health technologies, standards, and protocols enable health systems to integrate the exchange of health data within the health system. Coupled with data governance, ethics, and public health data standards, digital health and innovation enable the generation of new evidence and knowledge through research and innovation and inform health policy through public health analysis.

More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the WHO’s digital response, collaboration, and innovation in emergencies. Some examples include: Collaborating to use artificial intelligence (AI) and data science in analysing and delivering information in response to the COVID-19 ‘infodemic’ (i.e. overflow of information, including misinformation, in an acute health event which prevents people from accessing reliable information about how to protect themselves); promoting cybersecurity in the health system, including hospitals and health facilities; learning from using AI, data science, digital health, and innovation in social science research, disease modelling, and simulations, as well as supporting the epidemiological response to the pandemic; and producing vaccines and preparing for the equitable allocation and distribution of vaccines.

The WHO is a leader among Geneva-based international organisations in the use of social media, through its awareness-raising for health-related 22

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issues. The WHO was awarded first prize at the Geneva Engage Awards in 2016, and second prize in 2017.

The WHO/International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Focus Group on artificial intelligence for health (FG-AI4H) works to establish a standardised assessment framework for the evaluation of AI-based methods for health, diagnosis, triage, or treatment decisions. https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/focusgroups/ai4h/ Be He@lthy, Be Mobile: Accessing the right information, when one needs it, is at the heart of this WHO-ITU initiative. In support of national governments, Be He@lthy, Be Mobile is helping millions of people quit tobacco, control diabetes and cervical cancer, help people at risk of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and care for older persons.

data platforms: establishing the principles (April 2016) | Data Protection Authorities’ (DPA) guidance on COVID-19 • Data and member states: Text for inclusion in data collection forms in all data collection tools (paper-based, electronic, or other) used by the WHO to collect data from member states) • Data sharing: FAQs on WHO data sharing policy in non-emergency contexts | Policy on the use and sharing of data collected in member states by the WHO outside the context of public health emergencies (August 2017) | WHO Statement on Public Disclosure of Clinical Trial Results (April 2015) • The WHO/ITU FG-AI4H works to establish a standardised assessment framework for the evaluation of AI-based methods for health, diagnosis, triage, or treatment decisions. https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/focusgroups/ai4h/

Digital policy issues

Digital Standards: Integration of health information exchange (HIE)

Infrastructure basket

The WHO collaborates with health information exchange standardisation bodies and organisations, such as HIE and HL7 (Health Level 7)1, to promote sustainable investment into interoperable digital health technologies and systems. Digital health technologies, standards, and protocols enable health systems to integrate the exchange of health data within the health system. Coupled with data governance, ethics, and public health data standards, digital health and innovation enable the generation of new evidence and knowledge through research and innovation, and inform health policy through public health analysis.

Data and artificial intelligence The response to COVID-19 reinforced the centrality of data and AI for the health sector and the WHO’s activities. Data and AI policies are covered by the following instruments.

• Data policy: Guidance on good data and record management practices • Data standardisation: Resolution WHA66.24: eHealth standardization and interoperability (May 2013) • Data sharing during health emergencies: Policy statement on data sharing by WHO in the context of public health emergencies (as of 13 April 2013) (May 2016) | Best practices for sharing information through 1 Health Level Seven HL7 are set of international standards for transfer of clinical and administrative data between software application used by various healthcare providers.

Digital Accelerator Kits and computable guidelines: Ensure countries can effectively benefit from investments in digital systems, ‘digital accelerator kits’ are designed to ensure the WHO’s evidence-based guideline content is

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accurately reflected in the systems countries are adopting. Digital Accelerator Kits distill WHO guidelines and operational resources into a standardised format that can be more easily incorporated into digital tracking and decision support systems. This in turn enables standardised health information exchange within the health system.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) Standard for Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, 3 kHz to 300 GHz

WHO Guideline: recommendations on digital interventions for health system strengthening: Recommendations based on a critical evaluation of the evidence on emerging digital health interventions that are contributing to health system improvements, based on an assessment of the benefits, harms, acceptability, feasibility, resource use, and equity considerations.

Since 2018, gaming disorder has been included in the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD). While the negative impacts of online gaming on health are being increasingly addressed by national health policies, it has been recognised by some authorities, such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), that some game-based devices could have a therapeutic effect. Given the fast growth of online gaming and its benefits and disadvantages, the implications on health are expected to become more relevant.

Classification of digital health interventions v1.0 - A shared language to describe the uses of digital technology for health: The classification of digital health interventions categorises the different ways in which digital and mobile technologies are being used to support health system needs. A shared and standardised vocabulary was recognised as necessary to identify gaps and duplication, evaluate effectiveness, and facilitate alignment across different digital health implementations

Electromagnetic field and health protection As the digital reality moves from ‘cable’ to wireless traffic (wi-fi and mobile), a growing number of concerns are emerging on the impact of electromagnetic fields on human health. This technology has become part of the wider public debate and has given rise to conspiracy theories such as those that claim 5G spreads COVID-19. These concerns increase the importance of the WHO’s research and policy-making within a broader evidence-based discussion on the impact of wi-fi and mobile devices on health.

Model legislation for electromagnetic field protection (2006) Currently (as of November 2020) there is uneven commercial adoption of the domain name ‘.health’.

Online gaming

International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) (2018)

Domain names: The .health top-level domain name2 Health-related generic top-level domain (gTLD) names, in all languages, including ‘.health’, ‘.doctor’, and ‘.surgery’, should be operated in a way that protects public health and includes the prevention of further development of illicit markets of medicines, medical devices, and unauthorised health products and services.

Resolution WHA66.24: eHealth standardization and interoperability (2013)

Net neutrality The issue of net neutrality (the equal treatment of Internet traffic) could affect bandwidth and the stability of digital connections, especially for

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high-risk activities such as online surgical interventions. Thus, health organisations may be granted exceptional provisions, as the EU has already done, where health and specialised services enjoy exceptions regarding the principle of net neutrality.

Resolution WHA66.24: eHealth standardization and interoperability (2013)

Development basket Access3

The WHO uses digital technology intensively in its development of activities, ranging from building public health infrastructure in developing countries and immunisation to dealing with disease outbreaks. The organisation also integrates digital health interventions in its strategies for certain diseases.

The WHO’s Global Observatory for e-Health[BRC2] aims to assist member states with information and guidance on practices and standards in the field of e-health.

Cybersecurity basket The WHO has dedicated cybersecurity focal points, who are able to work with legal and licensing colleagues, that provide frameworks for the organisation to not only protect WHO data from various cyber-risks, but also provide technical advice to the WHO and members states on the secure collection, storage, and dissemination of data. Health facilities and health data have always been the target of cybercriminals; however, the COVID-19 crisis has brought into sharp focus the cybersecurity aspects of digital health.

Ransomware attacks threaten the proper functioning of hospitals and 3 Within the work of WHO, the issues related to access to the Internet are addressed as ‘Digital divide and development’ 4 Within the work of the WHO, ‘content policy’ falls under the activities related to ‘managing infodemics’.

other healthcare providers. The global Wannacry ransomware attack in May 2017 was the first major attack on hospitals and disrupted a significant part of the UK’s National Health System (NHS). Ransomware attacks on hospitals and health research facilities have accelerated during the COVID-19 crisis.

Considering that data is often the main target of cyber-attacks, it should come as no surprise that most cybersecurity concerns regarding healthcare are centered around the protection of data. Encryption is thus crucial for the safety of health data: It both protects data from prying eyes and helps assuage the fears patients and consumers may have about sharing or storing sensitive information through the Internet.

Sociocultural basket

Content policy: Infodemics4 An infodemic is an overflow of information, including misinformation, that prevents people from accessing reliable information; in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, it hampers the ability of people to know how to protect themselves. Our current infodemic cannot be eliminated, but it can be managed by: producing engaging reliable content and using digital, traditional media, and offline tools to disseminate it; engaging key stakeholder groups in co-operative content creation and dissemination; empowering communities to protect themselves; and promoting community and individual resilience against misinformation. Digital health technologies and data science can support these activities by: analysing the information landscape and social dynamics in digital and analog environments; to deliver messages; supporting fact-checking and countering misinformation; promoting digital health, media, and health literacy; and optimising the effectiveness of

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messages and their delivery through real time monitoring and evaluation (M&E), among others.

At the Munich Security Conference (15 February 2020), WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated: ‘We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic.’ This translated into many WHO initiatives to counter the infodemic, such as working with the public and the scientific community to develop a framework for managing infodemics; bringing the scientific community together for the first WHO infodemiology conference; the development of a draft research agenda on managing infodemics, co-operation with UN agencies and the AI community; promoting reliable WHO information through a co-ordinated approach with Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other major tech platforms and services; and campaigns to counter misinformation.

Digital tools • Emergency preparedness and response: The WHO maintains a portfolio of digital tools and methods for emergency preparedness and response, for example: GoData, Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS), and Ethical considerations to guide the use of digital proximity tracking technologies for COVID-19 contact tracing.

• WHO Digital and Innovation for Health online community to fight COVID-19: a platform for discussion and sharing experiences and innovative responses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Health Equity Monitor: a platform for health inequality monitoring which includes datatabases of disaggregated data; a handbook on health inequality monitoring; step-by-step manuals for national health inequality monitoring (generally and specifically for immunisation inequality monitoring); • Health Assessment Toolkit: software application that facilitates the

assessment of health inequalities in countries. Inequality data can be visualised through a variety of interactive graphs, maps, and tables.

Results can be exported and used for priority-setting and policy-making.

• Harmonised Health Facility Assessment (HHFA): a comprehensive, external review tool for assessing whether health facilities have the appropriate systems in place to deliver services at required standards of quality.

• District Health Information Software & Toolkit for Analysis and Use of Routine Health Facility Data: open source, web-based health management information system (HMIS) platform. The toolkit provides standards and guidance for the analysis of Routine Health Information Surveys (RHIS) data for individual health programmes, as well as integrated analysis for general health service management.

• WHO Health Data Hub (under development): a single repository of health data in the WHO and establish a data governance mechanism for member states.

Resources • Digital Health Atlas: The Digital Health Atlas is a global registry of implemented digital health solutions. It is open and available to anyone to register and contribute information about digital implementations. The registry provides a consistent way to document digital solutions, and offers functionalities in a web platform to assist technologists, implementers, governments, and donors for inventory, planning, co-ordinating, and using digital systems for health. The Digital Health Atlas includes a special focus on listing digital technologies related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The repository of information is open to all users to register projects, download project information, and connect with digital health practitioners globally.

• Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS): registering all births and deaths, issues birth and death certificates, and compiles and dissem26

WHO World Health Organization

inates vital statistics, including cause of death information. It may also record marriages and divorces.

• WHO Classifications and Terminologies: operates a ‘one-stop-shop’ for WHO classifications and terminologies and is delivering and scaling use of terminologies and classifications.

• The new Survey Count Optimise Review Enable (SCORE) for Health Data Technical Package: published during one of the most data-strained public health crisis responses ever – that of the COVID-19 pandemic, score can guide countries to take action by providing a one-stop shop for best technical practices that strengthen health information systems, using universally accepted standards and tools.

For a detailed coverage of WHO resources, tools, and programmes please visit dig.watch/actors

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European Organization for Nuclear Research Esplanade des Particules 1, 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland http://www.home.cern/

CERN is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading laboratories for particle physics. At CERN, physicists and engineers probe the fundamental structure of the universe. To do this, they use the world’s largest and most complex scientific instruments – particle accelerators and detectors – to study the basic constituents of matter and the forces that shape the universe. Technologies developed at CERN go on to have a significant impact through their applications in wider society.

Digital activities CERN has had an important role in the history of computing and networks.

The World Wide Web (WWW) was invented at CERN by Sir Tim Berners-Lee. The web was originally conceived and developed to meet the demand for automated information-sharing between scientists at universities and institutes around the world. Grid computing was also developed at CERN with partners and thanks to funding from the European Commission.

The organisation also carries out activities in the areas of cybersecurity, big data, machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), data preservation, and quantum technology.

Digital policy issues Cloud Computing1 The scale and complexity of data from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest particle accelerator, is unprecedented. This data needs to be stored, easily retrieved, and analysed by physicists all over the world.

1 2

Within its work, CERN refers to ‘Cloud computing’ as ‘Distributed computing’ Within its work, CERN refers to ‘Telecommunication Infrastructure’ as ‘Network infrastructure’

This requires massive storage facilities, global networking, immense computing power, and funding. CERN did not initially have the computing or financial resources to crunch all of the data on site, so in 2002 it turned to grid computing to share the burden with computer centres around the world. The Worldwide Large Hadron Collider Computing Grid (WLCG) builds on the ideas of grid technology initially proposed in 1999 by Ian Foster and Carl Kesselman. The WLCG relies on a distributed computing infrastructure, as data from the clashes of protons or heavy ions is distributed via the Internet for processing at data centres worldwide. This approach of using ‘virtual machines’ is based on the same paradigm as cloud computing. It is expected that further CERN developments in the field of data processing will continue to influence digital technologies.

Telecommunication Infrastructure2 In the 1970s, CERN developed CERNET, a lab-wide network to access mainframe computers in its data centre. This pioneering network eventually led CERN to become an early European adopter of TCP/IP for use in connecting systems on site. In 1989, CERN opened its first external TCP/IP connections and by 1990, CERN had become the largest Internet site in Europe and was ready to host the first WWW server. Nowadays, in addition to the WLCG and its distributed computing infrastructure, CERN is also the host of the CERN Internet eXchange Point (CIXP), which optimises CERN’s Internet connectivity and is also open to interested Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

• How the Internet came to CERN • CERN Internet eXchange Point (CIXP)

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European Organization for Nuclear Research

Web standards3 Ever since releasing the World Wide Web software under an open-source model in 1994, CERN has been a pioneer in the open-source field, supporting open-source hardware (with the CERN Open Hardware Licence), open access (with the Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics - SCOAP3) and open data (with the CERN Open Data Portal). Several CERN technologies are being developed with open access in mind, such as Indico, Invenio, Zenodo. Open-source software, such as CERNBox, CTA, EOS, FTS, GeantIV, ROOT , RUCIO, SWAN have been developed to handle, distribute and analyse the huge volumes of data generated by the LHC experiments and are also made available to the wider society.

IETF (in the context of the additional work done by IETF on Internet standards) • Pushing the Boundaries of Open Science at CERN: Submission to the • UNESCO Open Science Consultation

Data governance4 CERN manages vast amounts of data, and not only scientific data, but also data in more common formats such as webpages, images and videos, documents, and more. For instance, the CERN Data Centre processes on average one petabyte (one million gigabytes) of data per day. As such, the organisation notes that it faces the challenge of preserving its digital memory. It also points to the fact that many of the tools that are used to preserve data generated by the LHC and other scientific projects are also suitable for

preserving other types of data and are made available to the wider society.

• DPHEP (Data Preservation in High Energy Physics) (CERN is a founding member)

Artificial Intelligence5 Through CERN openlab, CERN collaborates with leading ICT companies and research institutes. The R&D projects carried out through CERN openlab are currently addressing topics related to data acquisition, computing platforms, data storage architectures, compute provisioning and management, networks and communication, machine learning and data analytics, and quantum technologies. CERN researchers are using machine learning techniques as part of their efforts to ‘maximise the potential for discovery... and optimise resources usage’. Machine learning is used, for instance, to improve the performance of LHC experiments in areas such as particle detection and managing computing resources. Going one step further, at the intersection of AI and quantum computing, CERN openlab is exploring the feasibility of using quantum algorithms to track the particles produced by collisions in the LHC, and is working on developing quantum algorithms to help optimise how data is distributed for storage in the WLCG. CERN openlab (a public-private partnership in which CERN collaborates with ICT companies and other research organisations to accelerate the development of cutting-edge solutions for the research community, including machine learning)

Within its work, CERN addresses ‘web standards’ as ‘open science’ Within its work, CERN refers to ‘data governance’ as ‘data preservation’ 5 AI-related projects are developed and referred to as part of CERN openlab 3 4

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Digital tools • Online learning opportunities - through CERN openlab • CERN and the LHC experiments’ computing resources are used in the global research effort against COVID-19

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WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization Chemin des Colombettes 34, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland http://www.wipo.int/

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a UN agency functioning as a global forum for intellectual property (IP) related services (patents, copyright, trademarks, and designs), policy, information, and co-operation. The organisation was established in 1967 and it currently has 188 member states, in addition to over 200 observers representing non-governmental organisations and intergovernmental organisations.

WIPO’s activities are focused on: Contributing to the development of a balanced and effective international IP system; providing global services to protect IP at a global level and to resolve disputes; sharing of knowledge and information on IP-related issues; and encouraging co-operation and offering capacity building programmes aimed to enable countries to use IP for economic, social, and cultural development.

Digital activities WIPO provides domain name dispute resolution services, through its Arbitration and Mediation Center. In this regard, the organisation has developed (in collaboration with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)) the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) – the main domain name dispute resolution mechanism for conflicts on the right to register and use domain names under certain generic top level domains (gTLDs). The Center also administers disputes under a number of specific policies adopted by individual gTLD registries and provides domain name dispute resolution services for over 70 country code top level domains (ccTLDs).

The organisation administers the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonogram Treaty (known as the ‘Internet Treaties’), which contain international norms aimed at preventing unauthorised access to and use of creative works on the Internet or other digital networks. It also carries out research and provides recommendations on issues related to the protection of intellectual property rights in the digital environment (especially with regards to copyright and trademarks).

Digital policy issues Infrastructure basket Artificial intelligence

WIPO is paying particular attention to the interplay between artificial intelligence (AI) and IP. In December 2019, it published a draft issue paper on AI and IP, which was later revised based on public comments and re-published in May 2020. The paper explores the (potential) impact of AI on IP policies in areas such as copyright and related rights, patents, trademarks, designs, and overall IP administration. Building on this exploratory work, WIPO is leading a Conversation on IP and AI, bringing together governments and other stakeholders, to discuss the impact of AI on IP. WIPO is also working on an AI and IP strategy clearing house, through which it is collating government instruments (strategies, regulations, etc.) that are relevant to AI and IP. The organisation is additionally developing and deploying AI solutions in the context of various activities; relevant examples are the WIPO Translate and WIPO Brand Image Search, which use AI for automated translation and image recognition.

• Revised Issue Paper on Intellectual Property Policy and Artificial Intelligence (2020) • Conversation on Intellectual Property and Artificial Intelligence • AI and IP strategy clearing house • UN Secretary General’s High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation follow-up process | WIPO is contributing to the roundtables about AI and digital platforms • Takes part in the Road to Bern via Geneva dialogues on digital and data co-operation • Co-operates with the ITU in the AI for Good initiative • Supports UNESCO’s work on developing the first global normative instrument on the ethics of AI 31

WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization

Alternative dispute resolution & critical Internet resources WIPO’s activities in regard to the Domain Name System revolve around the protection of trademarks and related rights in the context of domain names. It has developed, together with ICANN, the UDRP. Under this policy, WIPO’s Arbitration and Mediation Centre provides dispute resolution services for second level domain name registrations under gTLDs to which the UDPR applies. The Arbitration and Mediation Centre also administers disputes under specific policies adopted by some gTLD registries (e.g. .aero, .asia, .travel). In addition, the Centre offers domain name dispute resolution services for over 70 country code top-level domains (ccTLDs). WIPO has developed a ccTLD Program, with the aim to provide advice to many ccTLD registries on the establishment of dispute resolution procedures. WIPO also contributes to the work carried out within the framework of ICANN in regard to the strengthening of existing trademark rights protection mechanisms or the development of new such mechanisms.

• Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) • UDRP Procedures for Generic Top Level Domains • WIPO Guide to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy • Guide to WIPO’s services for country code top-level domain registries • WIPO’s Arbitration and Mediation Centre • WIPO Online Case Administration Tools, including WIPO eADR (allowing parties in a dispute, mediators, arbitrators, and experts in a WIPO case to securely submit communications electronically into an online docket) and online facilities for meetings and hearings as part of WIPO cases.

• ICANN (on UDRP)

phase of the WIPO Internet Domain Name Process, carried out in 1991, explored trademark abuse in second-level domain names, and led to the adoption, by ICANN, of the UDRP. WIPO has also contributed to the development of several trademark rights protection mechanisms applicable to generic top-level domains (such as legal rights objections, the Trademark Clearinghouse, and the uniform rapid suspension system). The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre administers trademark-related dispute resolution cases for several gTLDs and ccTLDs. Copyright. WIPO is actively contributing to international discussions on the protection of copyright in the digital environment. The organisation administers the ‘Internet Treaties’, which contain international norms aimed at preventing unauthorised access to and use of creative works on the Internet or other digital networks. Among others, the treaties clarify that existing IP rights apply on the Internet, but also introduce new ‘online rights’. WIPO also carries out research and organises seminars and other meetings on aspects concerning challenges and possible solutions for the protection of copyright and related rights in the digital era.

• WIPO Copyright Treaty • WIPO Performances and Phonogram Treaty • Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) • Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights • Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrials Designs and Geographical Indications • WIPO’s Arbitration and Mediation Centre • ICANN (on UDRP)

Legal and Regulatory basket

Liability of intermediaries

Trademarks. WIPO has long been involved in issues related to the protection of trademarks in the context of the Domain Name System. The first

Given WIPO’s concerns with regard to the protection of copyright and related rights on the Internet, the organisation is exploring issues related to the roles and responsibilities of Internet intermediaries when it comes to online copyright infringements. The organisation carries out or commis-

Intellectual property rights

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WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization

sions research and publishes studies on the relationship between copyright and Internet intermediaries (such as comparative analysis of national approaches of the liability of Internet intermediaries), and organises events (seminars, workshops, sessions at the World Summit on the Information Society Forum and Internet Governance Forum meetings, etc.) aimed at facilitating multistakeholder discussions on the potential liability of Internet intermediaries in relation to copyright infringements.

• Role and Responsibility of the Internet Intermediaries in the Field of Copyright • Comparative Analysis of National Approaches of the Liability of the Internet Intermediaries (I and II)

Sustainable development WIPO is of the view that IP is a critical incentive for innovation and creativity, and, as such, a key to the success of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The organisation works to enable member states to use the IP system to drive the innovation, competitiveness, and creativity needed to achieve the SDGs. It does so, for instance, through supporting countries in their efforts to build an innovative IP ecosystem, providing legislative advice on updating national IP laws, and supporting judiciary systems in keeping up with technological innovation. WIPO’s contribution to the implementation of the Agenda 2030 is guided by its Development Agenda.

• WIPO and the Sustainable Development Goals - Innovation Driving Human Progress (brochure) • Report on WIPO’s Contribution to the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and its Associated Targets (2019) • WIPO GREEN – online marketplace for sustainable technologies

Climate change WIPO’s Global Challenges programme brings together various stakeholders to explore issues related to green technologies and the environment.

For instance, it hosts WIPO Green, a multistakeholder platform aimed to promote innovation and diffusion of green technologies, and it provides analysis of relevant IP issues to facilitate international policy dialogue.

• Innovation and Diffusion of Green Technologies: The Role of Intellectual Property and Other Enabling Factors (2015) • WIPO GREEN – online marketplace for sustainable/green technologies

Digital tools WIPO is using multiple digital tools in relation to its services. Below are some examples: • WIPO IP Portal – one-top shop for WIPO’s IP services • WIPO Online Case Administration Tools, including WIPO eADR (allowing parties in a dispute, mediators, arbitrators, and experts in a WIPO case to securely submit communications electronically into an online docket) and online facilities for meetings and hearings as part of WIPO cases • WIPO GREEN – online marketplace for sustainable technologies • WIPO Match – platform that matches seekers of specific IP-related development needs with potential providers offering resources • WIPO Proof – a service that provides a date- and time-stamped digital fingerprint of any file • Madrid e-services – online tools and resources • Electronic Forum – enables the electronic distribution and submission by email of comments concerning preliminary draft working documents and draft reports.

• WIPO Academy, which also includes an eLearning Centre • Platforms for online meetings (not so clear which platform(s) WIPO is using)

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WTO World Trade Organization Centre William Rappard, rue de Lausanne 154, CH-1211 Geneva 21, Switzerland http://www.wto.org/

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organisation that deals with the rules of trade among its members. Its main functions include: administering WTO trade agreements; providing a forum for trade negotiations; settling trade disputes; monitoring national trade policies; providing technical assistance and training for developing countries; and ensuring co-operation with other international organisations.

WTO Members have negotiated and agreed upon rules regulating international trade, fostering transparency and predictability in the international trading system. The main agreements are the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT); the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS); and the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement).

Digital activities Several Internet governance and digital trade policy related issues are discussed in the WTO. These include e-commerce, intellectual property (IP), and market access for information and communication technology (ICT) ICT products and services. E-commerce discussions are ongoing under the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce and among a group of members currently negotiating e-commerce rules under the Joint Statement on E-commerce. Discussions focus on several digital issues, including: data flows and data localisation; access to source code; cybersecurity; privacy; consumer protection; and customs duties on electronic transmissions.

As part of its outreach activities, the WTO organises an annual Public Forum, which brings together governments, non-governmental organisa1 Council for Trade in Goods; Council for Trade in Services; TRIPS Council; and the Committee on Trade and Development 2 WT/L/1079 3 WT/MIN(17)/60

tions, academics, businesses, and other stakeholders, for discussions on a broad range of issues, including many relating to the digital economy.

Economic basket

Electronic commerce The WTO agreements cover a broad spectrum of trade topics, including some related to e-commerce, which has been on the WTO’s agenda since 1998 when the ministers adopted the Declaration on Global Electronic Commerce. The Declaration instructed the General Council to establish a Work Programme on electronic commerce. In that Declaration, members also agreed to continue the practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions (the ’moratorium’). The Work Programme provides a broad definition of e-commerce and instructs four WTO bodies1 to explore the relationship between WTO Agreements and e-commerce. The Work Programme and the moratorium have been periodically reviewed and renewed. In December 2019, the General Council agreed to reinvigorate the Work Programme and continue the moratorium until the Twelfth Ministerial Conference. In addition, members agreed to have structured discussions on all trade-related topics of interest brought forward by members, including on the scope, definition, and impact of the moratorium2.

At the Eleventh Ministerial Conference in 2017, a group of members issued a Joint Statement on Electronic Commerce (JSI) to explore work towards future WTO negotiations on trade-related aspects of e-commerce3.

Following the exploratory work, in January 2019, 76 Members confirmed their ’intention to commence WTO negotiations on trade-related aspects of

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WTO World Trade Organization

electronic commerce’ and to ’achieve a high standard outcome that builds on existing WTO agreements and frameworks with the participation of as many WTO Members as possible.’4 Negotiations are continuing among 85 Members5 and are structured under 6 broad themes, namely: enabling digital trade/e-commerce; openness and digital trade/e-commerce; trust and digital trade/e-commerce; cross-cutting issues; telecommunications; and market access. Specific issues under discussion include provisions related to customs duties, paperless trading. cross-border transfers of information, spam, cybersecurity, electronic authentication and electronic signatures, location of computing facilities, consumer protection, protection of personal information, and market access.

Custom Duties6 WTO members agreed to a temporary moratorium on the imposition of customs duties on electronic transmissions at the Second WTO Ministerial Conference in the 1998 Geneva Ministerial Declaration. The moratorium has been extended periodically, including most recently in December 2019.

While some WTO members argue that the moratorium should be made permanent, others have noted the need to clarify its scope and for further analysis of its impact; for example on development and customs revenues, especially given concerns that more types of physical goods could be digi-

tised or transmitted digitally in the future. Other members have supported a more holistic approach to the moratorium, beyond the revenue implications.

Arbitration7 One of the core activities of the WTO is to provide a dispute settlement mechanism through which WTO members can enforce their rights under the WTO agreements. A trade dispute arises when a member considers that another member is violating a legal provision or commitment made under any of the WTO agreements. Disputes under this mechanism have involved Internet-related issues, telecommunications services, electronic payment services, IP rights, ICT products, and online gambling. The US – Gambling case concerning the cross-border supply of online gambling and betting services is particularly relevant to e-commerce.

Development basket Access8

Information Technology Agreement (ITA-I and ITA-II) The ITA-I was concluded by 29 participants in 1996. Through this agree-

WT/L/1056 85 Members as of 10 August 2020: Albania; Argentina; Australia; Austria; Bahrain, Kingdom of; Belgium; Benin; Brazil; Brunei Darussalam; Bulgaria; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Canada; Chile; China; Colombia; Costa Rica; Côte D’Ivoire; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; El Salvador; Estonia; Finland; France; Georgia; Germany; Greece; Guatemala; Honduras; Hong Kong, China; Hungary; Iceland; Indonesia; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Japan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Korea, Republic of; Kuwait, the State of; Latvia; Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Malaysia; Malta; Mexico; Moldova, Republic of; Mongolia; Montenegro; Myanmar; Netherlands; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Nigeria; North Macedonia; Norway; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Qatar; Romania; Russian Federation; Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of; Singapore; Slovak Republic; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; Thailand; Turkey; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; United States; and Uruguay.

6 The issue of custom duties is refferred as the issue of ‘Taxation and Custom Duties’ in Diplo’s Internet Governance Taxonomy.

7 The issue of arbitration is referred to under the issue of ‘dispute settlement’ within the work of the WTO 8 The issue of arbitration is referred to under the issue of ‘market access’ within the work of the WTO 4 5

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ment, participating WTO members eliminated tariffs on several ICT products – including computers and mobile telephones – with the aim to intensify global competition among certain ICT goods allowing for greater access to the Internet and growth of the digital economy, including for least-developed countries. Currently, 82 WTO members are participants in ITA-I, accounting for approximately 97% of world trade in ITA-I products.

[MM3] At the Tenth WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi in 2015, over 50 WTO members concluded ITA-II, an agreement expanding the coverage of ITA-I by 201 tariff lines. ICT products such as optical lenses and GPS navigation equipment were added. The rationale of this product expansion was to keep the benefits of tariff elimination in touch with innovation. At present, the ITA-II consists of 55 WTO members, representing approximately 90% of world trade in ITA-II products. The ITA is being discussed in the JSI under the market access focus group.

Infrastructure basket

Telecommunication Infrastructure In 1997, WTO members successfully concluded negotiations on market access for basic telecommunications services through the GATS Annex on Telecommunications, which contains provisions to guarantee service suppliers access to and use of basic telecommunications needed to supply their services. Through a reference paper on regulatory principles, members also agreed to safeguard against anticompetitive practices by dominant suppliers of basic telecommunications. Since 1997, an increasing number of WTO members have undertaken commitments on telecommunications. Under the JSI negotiations, participants are discussing a proposal focused on telecommunications services, aiming to update provisions of the reference paper.

9 The issue of digital standards is addressed as ‘standards and regulations’ within the work of WTO

Digital Standards9 International standards are important to the global digital economy as they can enable interconnectivity and interoperability for telecommunications and Internet infrastructures. The WTO Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement (TBT Agreement) aims to ensure that technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures affecting trade in goods (including telecommunications products) are non-discriminatory and do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. The TBT Agreement strongly encourages that such regulatory measures be based on relevant international standards.

The TBT Committee serves as a forum where governments discuss and address concerns with specific regulations, including those affecting digital trade. Examples of relevant TBT measures notified to or discussed at the TBT Committee include: (i) measures addressing the Internet of Things (IoT) and related devices in terms of their safety, interoperability, national security/cybersecurity, performance, and quality; (ii) measures regulating 5G cellular network technology for reasons related to, among others, national security and interoperability; (iii) measures regulating 3D printing (additive manufacturing) devices; (iv) measures regulating drones (small unmanned aircraft systems) due to risks for humans/consumers, interoperability problems, and national security risks; and (v) measures dealing with autonomous vehicles, mostly concerned with their safety and performance.

Legal and regulatory basket Data governance

The growth of the global digital economy is fuelled by data. Discussions on how provisions of WTO agreements apply to data flows are ongoing among WTO members. In this context, the GATS is particularly relevant, as it could 36

WTO World Trade Organization

apply to services such as: (i) data transmission and data processing by any form of technology (e.g. mobile or cloud technologies); (ii) new ICT business models such as infrastructure as a service (IaaS); (iii) online distribution services e.g. (e-commerce market platforms); and (iv) financial services such as mobile payments. The extent to which members can impose restrictions on data or information flows is determined by their GATS schedules of commitments. Under the JSI, proposals on cross-border data flows have been submitted and are being discussed. These proposals envision a general rule establishing free flow of data for the purpose of commercial activities. Proposed exceptions to this general rule are, for the most part, similar to the existing GATS General Exceptions and relate to, for example, protection of personal data, protection of legitimate public policy objectives, national security interests, and exclusion of governmental data. Issues related to data flows have also been raised by members in other contexts at the WTO, especially when national measures adopted for cybersecurity have been considered as trade barriers.

Intellectual property rights The TRIPS Agreement is a key international instrument for the protection of IP and is of relevance to e-commerce. The technologies that underpin the Internet and enable digital commerce such as software, routers, networks, switches, and user interfaces are protected by IP. In addition, e-commerce transactions can involve digital products with IP-protected content, such as e-books, software, or blueprints for 3D -printing. As IP licences often 10 These conventions include: • Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1967) • Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic works (1971) • International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations (the Rome Convention) (1961) • Treaty on Intellectual Property in Respect of Integrated Circuits (1989)

regulate the usage rights for such intangible digital products, the TRIPS Agreement and the international IP Conventions10 provide much of the legal infrastructure for digital trade.

IP-related issues are also being discussed in the JSI. Submitted proposals include text on limiting requests to the access or transfer of source code.

The source code or the data analysis used in the operation of programmes or services is often legally protected by IP law through copyright, patent, or trade secret provisions.

The main goal of the JSI proposals on access to source code is to prevent members from requiring access or transfer of the source code owned by a national of another member. Some exceptions to this general prohibition have also been proposed. For example, for software that is used for critical infrastructures and public procurement transactions.

Cybersecurity Cybersecurity issues have been addressed in several WTO bodies. For example, the TBT Committee has discussed national cybersecurity regulations applicable to ICT products and their potential impact on trade. In the TBT Committee, to date, WTO members have raised over 15 specific trade concerns related to cybersecurity regulations. Some of the specific issues discussed include how cybersecurity regulations discriminating against foreign companies and technologies can have a negative impact on international trade in ICT products.

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Proposals on cybersecurity have also been tabled in the JSI on e-commerce. Discussions have focused on strengthening national capacities for incident response and collaboration mechanisms; encouraging co-operation; and sharing of information and best practices on addressing incidents.

Cybersecurity has also been discussed in the context of cross-border data flows and electronic authentication.

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WEF World Economic Forum Route de la Capite 91-93, CH-1223 Cologny/Geneva, Switzerland http://www.weforum.org/

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a not-for-profit foundation whose membership is composed of large corporations from around the world.

The WEF engages political, business, academic, and other leaders of society in collaborative efforts to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.

Together with other stakeholders, it works to define challenges, solutions, and actions in the spirit of global citizenship. It also serves and builds sustained communities through an integrated concept of high-level meetings, research networks, task forces, and digital collaboration.

Digital activities The fourth industrial revolution is one of the WEF’s key areas of work.

Under this focus, it carries out a wide range of activities covering digital policy issues, from telecom infrastructure and cybersecurity to the digital economy and the future of work. It has set up multiple platforms and global fora focused on bringing together various stakeholders and initiatives to advance debates and foster co-operation on the issues explored.

It also publishes reports, studies, and white papers on its focus areas, and features discussions on the policy implications of digital technologies in the framework of its annual meeting in Davos and other events organised around the world.

to achieve 75% broadband penetration before 2025. A specific focus area for the WEF is 5G: It has identified 5G as an issue of global importance and works on analysing the impacts of 5G on industry and society. The new mobile network is tackled under initiatives such as the WEF Platform on Internet of Things, Robotics and 5G, and the 5G Global Accelerator. In its report titled The Impact of 5G: Creating New Value Across Industries and Society, the WEF notes that 5G will be critical because it will enable unprecedented levels of connectivity, allowing for superfast broadband, ultra-reliable low latency communication, massive machine-type communications, and high reliability/availability and efficient energy usage, all of which will transform many sectors, such as manufacturing, transportation, public services, and health.

• The Impact of 5G: Creating New Value Across Industries and Society (2020) • 5G-Next Generation Networks Programme – Repository of use cases (2019) • Global Future Council of New Network Technologies • EDISON Initiative (Essential Digital Infrastructure & Services Network) • WEF Platform on Internet of Things, Robotics and 5G • 5G Global Accelerator

Digital policy issues

Artificial intelligence

Infrastructure basket

The WEF is carrying out multiple activities in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). The WEF Platform on AI and Machine Learning brings together actors from public and private sectors to co-design and test policy frameworks that accelerate the benefits and mitigate the risks of AI. Project areas include standards for protecting children, creating an ‘AI regulator for the twenty-first century’, and addressing the challenges of facial recognition technology. In addition, the WEF created a Global AI Council to address governance gaps and to provide policy guidance under its Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The WEF explores issues related to AI safety, security, and standards; AI ethics and values; and machine learning

Telecommunications infrastructure The WEF’s work in the area of telecom infrastructure is broadly dedicated to shedding light on the need to advance connectivity and evolve towards new network technologies as a way to support the transition to the fourth industrial revolution. Initiatives in this area include the Global Future Council of New Network Technologies, dedicated, among others, to exploring incentives for network development, and the EDISON Initiative (Essential Digital Infrastructure & Services Network), aimed at developing strategies

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WEF World Economic Forum

and predictive systems in relation to global risks and international security. The WEF extensively publishes articles on the need to build a new social contract to ensure that technological innovation, in particular AI, is deployed safely and aligned with the ethical needs of a globalising world. It is also assisting policymakers in devising appropriate AI-related policies.

For instance, it published a Framework for Developing a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy to guide governments in their efforts to elaborate strategies for the development and deployment of AI. In recent years, AI and its impact on national and international policy spaces have featured highly on the agenda of the WEF’s annual meetings in Davos.

• A Framework for Responsible Limits on Facial Recognition Use Case: Flow Management (2020) • Transforming Paradigms: A Global AI in Financial Services Survey (2020) • AI Procurement in a Box (2020) • Framework for Developing a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2019) • AI Governance: A Holistic Approach to Implement Ethics into AI (2019) • Navigating Uncharted Waters: A roadmap to responsible innovation with AI in financial services (2019) • WEF Platform for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Multiple projects are run within the platforms; examples include: • Responsible Limits on Facial Recognition Technology • Unlocking Public Sector AI • Reimagining Regulation for the Age of AI • Global AI Council • Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies The WEF Platform for Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) works to advance a systemic and inclusive approach to governing DLT, to ensure that everyone can benefit from these technologies. The WEF works on governance issues related to the equity, interoperability, security, transparency, and trust of DLT. It also analyses the relationship between blockchain and cybersecurity and international security, as well as the future of computing. It publishes papers on issues such as the challenges blockchain faces and its role in security. In addition, the WEF has created a Global Blockchain Council to address governance gaps and to provide policy guidance under its Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The WEF is also active on issues related to digital currencies and their policy implications. In January 2020, it created a Global Consortium for Digital Currency Governance to work on designing a framework for the governance of digital currencies, including stablecoins. It aims to facilitate access to the financial system through inclusive and innovative policy solutions.

Along with the launch of the consortium, the WEF published a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Policy-Makers Toolkit, intended to serve as a possible framework to ensure that the deployment of CBDCs takes into account potential costs and benefits.

• Exploring Blockchain Technology for Government Transparency: Blockchain-Based Public Procurement to reduce Corruption (2020) • Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Policy-Makers Toolkit (2020) • Inclusive Deployment of Blockchain for Supply Chains: Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (2019 – 2020) • WEF Platform for Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies Examples of projects under this platform include: • Central Banks in the Age of Blockchain • Redesigning Trust: Blockchain for Supply Chains 40

WEF World Economic Forum

• Global Blockchain Council • Global Consortium for Digital Currency Governance

Internet of Things (IoT) The WEF Platform on Internet of Things, Robotics and 5G works with key players from the public and private sectors to accelerate the impact of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, build trust in consumer IoT, unlock the shared value of IoT data, enable an inclusive roll-out of 5G and next-generation connectivity, and promote the responsible adoption of smart city technologies. Specifically, the WEF analyses questions of IoT and data ownership, infrastructure security, and the vulnerability of IoT to cyber-attacks. In co-operation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the WEF published a report on Realizing the Internet of Things – a Framework for Collective Action outlining five pillars for the development of IoT: architecture and standards, security and privacy, shared value creation, organisational development, and ecosystem governance. WEF also created three Global Councils related to IoT to address governance gaps and to provide policy guidance: Global Internet of Things Council, Global Drones and Aerial Mobility Council, and Global Autonomous and Urban Mobility Council.

• Accelerating the Impact of Industrial IoT in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Protocol for Action (2020) • Realizing the Internet of Things – a Framework for Collective Action (2019) • Advanced Drone Operations: Accelerating the Drone Revolution (2019) • WEF Platform on Internet of Things, Robotics and 5G • IoT Global Councils: Global Internet of Things Council, Global Drones and Aerial Mobility Council, and Global Autonomous and Urban Mobility Council

Emerging technologies Virtual/augmented reality. The WEF is expanding and streamlining its work on virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) by creating the Global Future Council on Virtual and Augmented Reality, which will explore and raise awareness of the positive and negative aspects of the widespread adoption of VR/AR technologies. The WEF carries out policy research and analysis related to the impact of VR/AR on the society and its security implications in publications such as the ‘Virtual Reality Discovery’ and the ‘Industry review boards are needed to protect VR user privacy’.

Quantum computing. The WEF has created the Global Future Council on Quantum Computing, through which it intends to explore computing-related trends, including new foundational technologies and techniques for centralised and distributed processing. The forum also publishes regularly on the relationship between quantum computing and cybersecurity.

Robotics. Robotics is part of the WEF agenda under the Platform on Internet of Things, Robotics and 5G. The WEF analyses the impacts of advances in robotics in particular within the AI and IoT context. It works on co-designing, piloting, and scaling up the next generation of policies and protocols related to robotics. The WEF regularly publishes on issues such as the merging of human and machine approaches to cybersecurity and the role of robotics in warfare, and potential rules for future AI and robotics.The WEF has also created three global councils related to robotics to address governance gaps and to provide policy guidance: Global Internet of Things Council, Global Drones and Aerial Mobility Council, and Global Autonomous and Urban Mobility Council.

• Advanced Drone Operations Toolkit: Accelerating the Drone Revolution • WEF Platform on Internet of Things, Robotics and 5G • Global Future Council on Virtual and Augmented Reality • Global Future Council on Quantum Computing • Global councils related to robotics: Global Internet of Things Council, Global Drones and Aerial Mobility Council, and Global Autonomous and Urban Mobility Council

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WEF World Economic Forum

Legal and regulatory basket Data governance

The WEF has established a Platform for Data Policy dedicated to maximising data use to benefit society while protecting users from risks associated with the data economy. Within this platform, the Building a Roadmap for Cross Border Data Flows project aims to support the development of cohesive policy frameworks and cross-border governance protocols, which ‘can accelerate societal benefits and minimise adverse risks of data flows’. The WEF regularly publishes reports on data governance issues such as restoring trust in data, cross-border data flows, data protection and security, among others.

• Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT): Paths towards Free and Trusted Data Flows (2020) • A Roadmap for Cross Border Data Flows: Future-Proofing Readiness and Cooperation in the New Data Economy (2020) • Exploring International Data Flow Governance (2019) • Data Science in the New Economy: A new race for talent in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (2019) • Data Collaboration for the Common Good: Enabling Trust and Innovation Through Public-Private Partnership (2019) • Data Policy in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Insights (2018) • WEF Platform for Data Policy • Building a Roadmap for Cross Border Data Flows project • Beyond the box: Redesigning Notice & Consent for Better Data Protection project

Economic basket

E-commerce and trade & digital business models Several activities and projects run by the WEF focus on e-commerce and broader digital economy-related issues. Under its Digital Trade initiative

(part of its Shaping the Future of Trade and Global Economic Interdependence Platform), the WEF has proposed a set of digital economy policy proposals aimed at, among others, defining best practices for cross-border data flows and stimulating progress on e-commerce best practices.

E-commerce is also tackled in studies, white papers, and events produced by the WEF, which address issues such as: e-commerce in emerging markets, the impact of e-commerce on prices, and digital currencies. The WEF has also established a Platform for Shaping the Future of Digital Economy and New Value Creation, aimed to ‘help companies leverage technology to be agile in the face of disruption and to create the new digitally enabled business models.’ Under the Platform for Shaping the Future of the New Economy and Society, the WEF brings together various stakeholders to promote new approaches to competitiveness in the digital economy, with a focus on issues such as education and skills, equality and inclusion, and improved economic opportunities for people.

• Connecting Digital Economies: Policy Recommendations for Cross-Border Payments (2020) • The Global Governance of Online Consumer Protection and E-commerce (2019) • Addressing E-payment Challenges in Global E-commerce (2018) • Platform for Shaping the Future of Digital Economy and New Value Creation • Platform for Shaping the Future of the New Economy and Society • Digital Trade initiative

Future of work Future of work is a topic that spans across multiple WEF activities. For instance, under the Platform for Shaping the Future of the New Economy and Society, several projects are run that focus on issues such as education, skills, upskilling and reskilling, and equality and inclusion in the world of work. The WEF has also launched a Reskilling Revolution Platform,

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WEF World Economic Forum

aimed to contribute to providing better jobs, education, and skills to 1 billion people over a 10-year period. Initiatives under this platform include: Closing the Skills Gap Accelerators, Preparing for the Future of Work Industry Accelerators, the Promise of Platform Work, and Education 4.0, which are dedicated to ‘creating and piloting replicable models for action at the national, industry, organisational, and school levels.’

• The Charter of Principles for Good Platform Work (2020) & The Promise of Platform Work: Understanding the Ecosystem (2020) • Jobs of Tomorrow: Mapping Opportunities in the New Economy (2020) • Schools of the Future: Defining New Models of Education for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (2020) • Towards a Reskilling Revolution: Industry-led Action for the Future of Work (2019) • Strategies for the New Economy: Skills as the Currency of the Labour Market (2019) • Eight Futures of Work: Scenarios and their Implications (2018) • Platform for Shaping the Future of the New Economy and Society.

Examples of projects under this platform include: • Preparing for the Future of Work • Reskilling Revolution Platform

Cybersecurity basket Cybercrime

Under its Shaping the Future of Cybersecurity and Digital Trust Platform, the WEF runs the Partnership against Cybercrime project, focused on developing recommendations and frameworks to enhance co-operation in cybercrime investigations between law enforcement agencies, international organisations, cybersecurity companies, and other actors. In addition, the Future Series: Cybercrime 2025 programme has been put in place to understand how new technologies will change the cybersecurity and cybercrime landscape and how to address related challenges. Another important WEF project is the High Volume Cybercrime initiative, which

explores ways in which Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and governments can take action to reduce the harm from high volume cyber-attacks. Cybercrime also constitutes the focus of various studies and articles published by the WEF, which delve into issues such as emerging threats and ways to tackle them.

• Cybercrime Prevention Principles for Internet Service Providers (2020) • Shaping the Future of Cybersecurity and Digital Trust Platform • Partnership against Cybercrime project • Future Series: Cybercrime 2025 programme • Council of Europe, European Commission, World Bank, Europol - partners under the Partnership against Cybercrime project • ICANN, Internet Society, ITU, Europol - partners under the High Volume Cybercrime Project

Network security/critical infrastructure/cybersecurity The WEF has launched a Platform for Shaping the Future of Cybersecurity and Digital Trust dedicated to ‘strengthening global collaboration to address systemic cybersecurity challenges and improve digital trust to safeguard innovation, protecting institutions, businesses and individuals.’

Multiple projects are run under this platform, such as the Future of Authentication, the Cybersecurity Learning Hub, and the Cyber Polygon. The cyber resilience of critical sectors, such as electricity, the oil and gas industry, and aviation, is also a focus area for the WEF. • Cybersecurity Leadership Principles: Lessons learnt during th COVID-19 pandemic to prepare for the new normal (2020) • The Global Risks Report 2020 • The Cybersecurity Guide for Leaders in Today’s Digital World (2019) • Cyber Resilience: Playbook for Public-Private Collaboration (2018) • WEF Platform for Shaping the Future of Cybersecurity and Digital Trust • ITU, Interpol – partners under the Platform for Shaping the Future of Cybersecurity and Digital Trust

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WEF World Economic Forum

Sociocultural basket Digital identities

Under the Shaping the Future of Digital Economy and New Value Creation platform, the WEF has established a Platform for Good Digital Identity, dedicated to fostering co-operation towards the development and deployment of digital identities that are ‘collaborative and put the user interest at the centre’.

• Identity in a Digital World: A New Chapter in the Social Contract (2018) • Platform for Good Digital Identity • European Commission, GSMA, IEEE, ICRC, ITU, UNDP, World Bank, World Wide Web Foundation - partners under the Platform for Good Digital Identity

Digital tools • Strategic Intelligence: The WEF’s platform providing access to ‘transformation maps’ – mappings of ‘hundreds of global issues and their interdependencies’.

• Several online events have been organised recently, but it is not clear what platform has been used, in addition to the usual webcast that can be followed on the WEF website.

• The WEF has an interesting practice of ‘live blogging’ from its events.

It uses social media extensively, with smartly designed campaigns.

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WMO World Meteorological Organization Avenue de la Paix 7bis, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland https://www.wmo.int

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations that co-ordinates international co-operation on weather, climate, and water. The organisation, which boasts a membership of 193 countries and territories, assists national meteorological and hydrological services by co-ordinating services, fostering the exchange of information and early warnings, and providing research and training in the fields of meteorology, climatology, and hydrology.

As part of its mandate, the WMO tackles a number of focus areas, namely, energy, environment, oceans, public health, urban cross-cutting, and polar and high mountain regions, ultimately ensuring the well-being and safety of citizens worldwide. The WMO’s work is particularly essential for agriculture, transport (aviation and shipping), energy, and civil protection.

Digital activities Data is in the DNA of the WMO. Data is gathered from one of the most diverse data-gathering systems worldwide, consisting of more than 10 000 manned and automatic surface weather stations, national radar networks, ocean observing stations, and weather satellite constellations. Data is essential for the delivery of all WMO core functions from weather forecasting to climate forecasting and detection.

The WMO also explores the role of new technologies and their relevance for public weather services including the use of artificial intelligence (AI) approaches. AI will complement complex numerical weather prediction algorithms that process vast amounts of data and calculate the behaviour of weather patterns, providing short-term weather forecasts and long-term climate predictions.

Digital Policy Issues Legal and Regulatory basket Data governance

Building on the experience of its predecessor – the International Meteorological Organization (founded in 1873) – the WMO is a big data organisation in the truest sense of the word. In fact, data, and more precisely the gathering and exchange of information, has been explicitly stated as one of the main purposes of the WMO in the convention establishing the organisation in 1947.

Today, the WMO’s data policy is governed by three principal documents: • Resolution 40, adopted in 1995, sets forth the fundamental principle of free and unrestricted exchange of meteorological and related data.

• Resolution 25, adopted in 1999, focuses on the exchange of hydrological data and products.

• Resolution 60, adopted in 2015, covers the exchange of climate data and products as part of the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS).

Despite the fact that all three resolutions endorse data exchange, Resolution 40 is the only document that stipulates the obligation of member states to share essential data. It has also developed a prescriptive policy framework under Annex 1 that specifies the types of data that should be exchanged. Resolution 40 also includes a set of regulatory documents: The Manual on the Global Observing System (GOS), the Manual on the Integrated Global Observing System (WIGOS), the Manual on Global Data Processing and Forecasting System (GDPFS), and the Manual on the WMO Information System (WIS).

At present, the WMO is in the process of updating its data sharing policy in order to support its holistic ‘Earth System’ approach that reflects the inter-

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WMO World Meteorological Organization

dependence between data describing different components of the world’s climate (atmosphere, oceans, land, ice, biosphere, etc.). A fourth document titled ‘Resolution 42’ is expected to be adopted in 2021 by the WMO. Resolution 42 will maintain the current two-tiered approach that distinguishes between types of data: • Essential data that shall be exchanged internationally (data that should forecast seamlessly and accurately weather, climate, water, and other environmental conditions) and • Additional data that should be exchanged internationally (data that can facilitate co-operation in WMO-related activities).

In this context, the precise formulation and shared understanding of the difference between essential and additional data will be crucial for future co-operation regarding data in the WMO’s activities.

Resolution 42 should also respond to the increasing demand for: Data generated by the WMO system, more robust implementation and monitoring mechanisms, and flexible review processes that can address some of the anticipated fast technological changes in the field of data.

In addition to data sharing, the overall importance of data has been further highlighted by the WMO’s Guidelines on Climate Data Rescue, published in 2004. The document tackles why data rescue (i.e. preservation of vast amounts of collected climate data and digitalisation of current and past datasets for easy access) is crucial. The document explains that practitioners of data rescue might encounter obstacles such as the high cost of data rescue operations as well as the lack of digital skills and competences to use the necessary tools in the process of data preservation. The Guidelines were updated in 2016 to reflect the changes in digital technologies that have occurred since they were first published. The Guidelines now outline some of the necessary steps in the data rescue process such as creating digital inventories and digitising data values.

Over the years, the WMO has also engaged in the following data governance developments: • Co-operation on data in scientific circles through co-operation between the International Science Council (ISC) and the WMO World Data Centers, as well as discussion on data at the World Conference on Science.

• Co-operation with the International Oceanographic Commission (IOC), whose Resolution 6 specifies that ‘member states shall provide timely, free, and unrestricted access to all data, associated metadata, and products generated under the auspices of IOC programmes.’

• Tensions with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) over the, later abandoned, proposal for a treaty on trade in databases.

• Discussion with the World Trade Organization (WTO) on WMO datasets and competition provisions in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

• Establishment of the Intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) in 2003 to derive data policies for the Global Earth Observation System of Systems on the basis of the WMO system of data exchange.

Infrastructure basket Artificial intelligence

To make use of its gathered data, the WMO, via an observation system such as the Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP), makes weather-related predictions. At a time when more attention is being paid to AI, the WMO’s decades-long experience with the NWP can help in understanding both the potential and limitations of AI in dealing with nature, which is in itself the most complex logical system.

Digital Standards The WMO maintains one of the most comprehensive standardisation systems with a detailed explanation each step of the way in the data cycle.

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WMO World Meteorological Organization

The WMO’s guidelines range from issues such as the position or the type of surface (e.g. grass) over which weather observation stations should be placed to uniform and structured standards on data sharing.

Development basket

Sustainable development As one of the pioneers of digitalisation, the WMO has explored the opportunities and challenges of the Internet and new technologies with regard to communication of weather information since the early 2000s. Its report ‘Weather on the Internet and other New Technologies’ published in 2001 sought to align the policies of national meteorological services with the use of the Internet so as to ensure, among other things, the availability, quality, and credibility of weather information.

dinated by the WMO Information System (WIS) through its centres at the national, regional, and global levels.

• Regional organisations that also act as global hubs include for example the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT).

To produce a successful weather forecast, it is essential to ensure the timely delivery of observational data from as many stations worldwide as possible in the shortest possible amount of time. Below is an example of the Global Basic Observing Network (GBON) showing a map of observation stations worldwide.

A year later, in 2002, it further explored the role of new technologies, namely, high performance computing, the Internet, and mobile communication systems in its ‘Guide on the Application of New Technology and Research to Public Weather Services’. The Guide highlights that the world wide web, file transfer protocols, and email are of primary importance to public weather services.

Digital technologies have also played an important role in the advancement of the World Weather Watch, a flagship programme of the WMO that allows for the development and improvement of global systems for observing and exchanging meteorological observations. The programme has evolved thanks to developments in remote sensing, private Internet type networks, and supercomputing systems for data analysis, as well as weather, climate, and water (environmental) prediction models. The World Weather Watch consists of the following main building blocks: • National Meteorological Services, which collect data on land, water, and air worldwide. The process of data collection and transmission is co-or-

Source: https://wdqms.wmo.int/nwp/synop/six_hour/availability/pressure/ all/2020-11-07/18 47

WMO World Meteorological Organization

The Global Telecommunication System (GTS), as part of the WIS, carries data from observation stations to national, regional, and global actors. Most of the data is exchanged via the GTS in real time. Given the critical relevance of this data in dealing with crisis situations, the GTS must be highly reliable and secure.

Capacity development The WMO is also involved in capacity development from a digital perspective. In 2007, it published a document entitled ‘Guidelines on Capacity Building Strategies in Public Weather Services’, which addresses the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) that have contributed to the dissemination of weather information and forecasts.

Future of Meetings Any reference to online or remote meetings

Yes. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, most WMO meetings have been moved to the online setting.

Any reference to holding meetings outside HQ

Yes. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, most WMO meetings have been moved to the online setting. To illustrate, the Executive Council, which is the executive body of the WMO, held its 72nd session online.

Digital tools The WMO established the WMO Community Platform, which consists of several digital tools that allow for the cross-analysis and visualisation of information from all WMO member states regarding weather, climate, and water in order to provide better insights into the work and needs of the community and to contribute to greater participation in good governance.

The WMO e-Library is another tool that gathers and maintains different publications, including reports and WMO standards.

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UNICC UN International Computing Centre Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland https://www.unicc.org

The United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC) is a specialised entity whose role is to provide digital tools and solutions to the UN family.

UNICC is currently positioned as the preferred operational and shared services centre of excellence for the UN system. UNICC is committed to delivering reliable digital services driven by best practices, offering world-class technology, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and a system-wide cross-domain experience of knowledge and data, enabling its Clients and Partner Organizations to achieve their Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) mandate through accelerated digital delivery.

UNICC’s portfolio covers more than 70 Client and Partner Organizations subscribe to UNICC’s 50 trusted services and digital solutions, offered from 5 strategic operation locations worldwide (Geneva, New York, Valencia, Rome, and Brindisi). UNICC is a full cost-recovery organization.

Digital activities UNICC provides core digital business services to United Nations Agencies and related international organizations, including client services, support for innovative technologies, information security, data and analytics, software as a service and cloud integration services, infrastructure and platform services including network service, enterprise backup, ERP, web hosting and enterprise collaboration platforms.

UNICC offers cost savings, business efficiencies, and volume discounts based on the scale of its engagements. UNICC operates on a full cost recovery basis, with surplus funds being refunded at the end of projects or initiatives. These services are designed to protect organizational assets, intellectual property, sensitive data, and reputation, and leverage the shared expertise of the umbrella of UN organizations and are adaptable to Client needs.

2020 brought forward new challenges and no one in the UN system

could have predicted the transformation process initiated by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, UNICC was well prepared as it had strengthened its resilience and moved core functions to the cloud in 2019. This made working-from-home a technologically effortless process. At the same time, UNICC was able to swiftly react to the requirements of its partners and clients, assisting them with digital solutions and technological tools that facilitated their mandate and mission of delivering SDG-related solutions through digital tools.

Note: The specificities of the UNICC’s work as a service provider for the UN system are reflected in the coverage of their digital activities in the Geneva Digital Atlas. The ICC is affected by digital policies on data, cybersecurity, and blockchain, but it does not operate in the policy space where these issues are negotiated and governed by diplomats, tech community, and other stakeholders.

Response to COVID-19 and Digital Solutions UNICC has responded in agile way to the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting teleworking and virtual conferencing mainly by its: • Business continuity and disaster recovery plan: A guidance to improve an organisation’s resiliency and its ability to better react during a crisis.

• Communications during crises: A state-of-the-art digital tool that enables organisation’s capabilities to stay connected to its staff in a secure and real-time fashion.

• Secure virtual conferencing: UNICC partnered with relevant stakeholders to create a one-of-a-kind guideline to share best practices for secure virtual conferencing, which dramatically increased during the COVID-19 pandemic: For more information, please visit the UNICC website.

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UNICC UN International Computing Centre

Information Security UNICC offers highly valued services in information security and monitoring, protecting its clients’ assets from digital threats through proactive monitoring. The COVID-19 pandemic strengthened the fact that a proper Information Security Management System (ISMS) framework mitigates: risk of exposure of an organisation to a high risk of negative reputational impact, loss of valuable information, and exposure to malicious acts, as well as sophisticated and complex cyber-attacks.

Institutions without an identified individual (or group) responsible for overall information security are susceptible to exposure, attacks, and financial damage, as well as an unquantifiable loss of information.

With this purpose in mind and in order to assist its staff, and in particular its partners and clients to continue delivering their activities mandated by their Member States, UNICC organised a an awareness event to support UN and affiliated organisations to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity, information protection, and data privacy within the UN system. Its foundational idea continues to be ‘how to stay secure in a digital environment’.

Blockchain and Biometrics Emphasising emerging and frontier technologies, UNICC has partnered with the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) and Hyperledger to deliver an innovative digital tool to improve and secure pension processes worldwide. Thus, enabling UNJSPF’s beneficiaries to confirm their identity digitally through their Certification of Entitlement (CE), leveraging innovative technologies to update manual processes and streamline efficiencies. The UNJSPF CE certifies that retiree beneficiaries are able to digitally confirm their identity using an open source blockchain technology, making the storage of biometrics not only secure but also

easy to access through the download of a mobile app. (For more information visit the dedicated page).

Digital industry exchange Standardising and creating a digital exchange for the entire industry, UNICC and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) developed the IPPC ePhyto solution, which is a centralised hub to facilitate the exchange of electronic phyto-sanitary certificates and to ensure safe standards in the arrival and clearance of plants across national boundaries. The ePhyto solution received a trade facilitation innovation award at the UNESCAP Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Forum (India) in September 2019. A tailor-made service by ICC creating value to customer by: Standardization of data, centralized industry exchange, supporting emerging countries who don’t have the resources to build their own solutions, directly assisting on delivering the mandate, and accelerating the achievement of SDG 13, SDG15, SDG12, mainly. (For more information visit the dedicated page).

Robotics Automation Optimising processes by leveraging emerging technologies to automate routine tasks, UNICC co-creates value by offering ‘best-of-breed’ and ‘absolute fit-for-purpose’ robotic process automation (RPA) solutions across various RPA platforms. UNICC’s value proposition provides for complete services, from the inception to the management of ‘bots’ and all related RPA functions.

UNICC’s RPA Centre of Excellence (CoE) was created to help drive efficiencies across the entire UN system by enabling and scaling RPA adoption. UNICC benefits from its strategic partnerships with UiPath, Blue Prism, and Automation Anywhere and their ongoing commitments 50

UNICC UN International Computing Centre

to enable UNICC’s CoE to support RPA adoption and drive shared efficiencies, while at the same time enabling economies of scale. UNICC’s RPA CoE’s clients include UHCR, WFP, and UNJSPF.

Data and Analytics

them in fulfilling their mandate while at the same time remaining focused on the 2030 Agenda.

Digital diplomacy

UNICC offers data and analytics services, including information management, information analysis, and a business intelligence platform and support. Data is an asset and UNICC is well-positioned to facilitate and support data from ingestion through to channel publication resulting in trusted and reliable data services. This, combined with data visualisation and advanced analytics results in improved business insights.

UNICC continues to design, develop, enable, and implement digital tools and solutions, ensuring diplomatic efforts are able to continue with confidentiality, multilingual simultaneous interpretation, observation of diplomatic protocols, safety of delegates, and in a timely and accessible fashion online.

UNICC supports remote virtual conferencing, requiring interpretation and secure access today with a view towards continuing to enhance features to drive a differentiated, seamless customer experience in digital diplomacy.

Digital infrastructure

Future of Meetings

In the domain of infrastructure services, the UNICC provides entities across the UN system with physical and virtual servers, operating systems, and data storage and hosting on one of its global data centres or its cloud systems. Additionally, it manages, maintains, and monitors network services such as wireless access, web proxy, and IP addresses, and also deals with Internet and connectivity issues such as shared Internet access services and DNS hosting and domain registrations. UNICC provides cloud services that include unlimited infrastructure while at the same time maintaining UN privileges and immunities. The value of digital infrastructure for the customer is a robust, scalable infrastructure supporting responsible optimisation of resources by leveraging shared services.

Any reference to online or remote meetings

Yes: One of the tasks of the Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning service during the COVID-19 pandemic was to help clients with remote telecommunications capabilities.

Digital diplomacy with remote simultaneous interpretation.

Sustainable development goal enablement Technology has enormous potential to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs, with new technologies such as blockchain, automation, AI, and big data at the forefront. UNICC provides technological tools and digital solutions that are designed and developed for its partners and clients, assisting

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Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development Place des Nations, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland ITU Liaison Office to the UN, New York, 2 UN Plaza, DC2-2524, 44th Street, NY 10017, USA https://www.broadbandcommission.org/Pages/default.aspx

The Broadband Commission was originally established in 2010 by the ITU and UNESCO as the Broadband Commission for Digital Development in response to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s call to boost the UN’s efforts to reach the millennium development goals.

In 2015, following the adoption of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), the Broadband Commission was relaunched as the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, with the aim of showcasing and promoting information and communication technologies (ICTs) and broadband-based technologies for sustainable development by putting digital co-operation into action.

Led by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Carlos Slim Helù of Mexico, it is co-chaired by ITU’s Secretary-General Houlin Zhao and UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. It comprises over 50 commissioners who represent a cross-cutting group of top CEOs and industry leaders, senior policymakers and government representatives, and experts from international agencies, academia, and organisations concerned with development.

Digital activities The Broadband Commission focuses on closing the digital divide and promoting broadband development in developing countries and underserved communities, ensuring that all countries reap the benefits of digital technologies. The Broadband Commission’s efforts are detailed in the annual State of Broadband report, and take the form of thematic working groups and regular meetings and advocacy activities at the margins of flagship events such as WEF (Davos), GSMA MWC, IGF, HLPF, WSIS, and UNCTAD e-Commerce week.

In 2018, the Broadband Commission set seven objectives in its 2025 Targets initiative to help ‘connect the other half’ of the world’s population by expanding broadband infrastructure and access to the Internet.

Digital policy issues Infrastructure basket

Telecommunications infrastructure The Broadband Commission promotes the adoption of practices and policies that enable the deployment of broadband networks at the national level, especially among developing countries. It engages in advocacy activities aimed to demonstrate that broadband networks are basic infrastructure in modern societies and could accelerate the achievement of the SDGs. The Broadband Commission publishes an annual State of the Broadband Report, providing a global overview of broadband network access and affordability, with country-by-country data measuring broadband access.

The Broadband Commission also launched a number of the working groups focused on ICT connectivity, including the World Bank led: Working group on Broadband for all: a ’Digital Infrastructure Moonshot’ for Africa and the Working Group on 21st Century Financing Models for Sustainable Broadband Development in 2019. This initiatives aim to provide governments and policymakers with a set of policy recommendations to foster innovative financing and investment strategies to achieve the Broadband Commission’s targets for broadband connectivity and adoption​.

The ongoing global pandemic has put at the forefront the vital role that broadband networks and services play in making economies and societies work, In response to the effects of the pandemic, the Broadband Commission adopted the Agenda for Action: For Faster and Better Recovery to accelerate the world’s response. This initiative includes immediate and long-term efforts that governments, global industry, civil society, and international organisations can undertake to support the development and strengthening of digital networks that remain so integral to our economy and society. The three pillars of resilient connectivity, affordable access, 52

Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development

and safe use of online services provide a framework for all commissioners to mitigate the adverse effects of COVID-19 and lay the foundation for a better and faster recovery.

Development basket

The Broadband Commission has also been active in environmental and climate change issues; in particular, its activities (ranging from publications and events to advocacy actions) cover the link between climate change and ICTs.

Access

Sociocultural basket

When advocating for the rollout of broadband infrastructure and bridging the digital divide, the Broadband Commission underlines the increasing importance of Internet access and adoption as an enabler of sustainable growth and development. It is paying particular attention to aspects related to the deployment of infrastructure in developing countries, education and capacity development, and safety online (particularly for children and youth), as well as the digital gender divide and the empowerment of women in the digital space.

The work of the Broadband Commission contributes to the UN Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, which lays out how all stakeholders can play a role in advancing a safer and more equitable digital world. Through its range of working group initiatives and the advocacy of its commissioners, the Broadband Commission is an example of SDG 17: ‘Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development.

Interdisciplinary approaches: digital co-operation

Sustainable development The Broadband Commission advocates for actions to be taken by all relevant stakeholders with the aim to close the digital divide, which is seen as an important step towards the achievement of the SDGs. Its annual State of the Broadband Report looks at the progress made in implementing broadband networks in various countries around the world, which it regards as an essential element in addressing the digital divide.

The Broadband Commission also addresses the impact of digital technologies on specific issues covered by the SDGs. One example is the Working Group on Digital Health, whose final report outlined recommendations for improving human health and well-being by implementing universal digital health coverage. In 2019, the Working Group on Data, Digital, and AI in Health was launched with the aim of raising awareness of the transformative power of data and artificial intelligence (AI) in health systems worldwide.

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IEC International Electrotechnical Commission 3 rue de Varembé, PO Box 131, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland https://www.iec.ch/

Founded in 1906, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the world’s leading organisation for the development of international standards for all electrical and electronic technologies. The IEC’s standardisation work is advanced by nearly 20 000 experts from government, industry, commerce, research, academia, and other stakeholder groups.

The IEC is one of three global sister organisations (in addition to the ISO and ITU) that develop international standards.

Digital activities The IEC works to ensure that its activities have a global reach in order to meet all the challenges of digital transformation worldwide. The organisation covers an array of digital policy issues illustrated below.

Digital Policy Issues Infrastructure basket Digital standards

The IEC carries out standardisation and conformity assessment activities covering a vast array of technologies. These range from smart cities, grids, automation, and energy to electromagnetic compatibility between devices, digital system interfaces and protocols, and fibre optics and cables. Other areas covered by the IEC include multimedia home systems and applications for end-user networks, multimedia e-publishing and e-book technologies, information and communication technologies (ICTs), wearable electronic devices and technologies, cards and personal identification, programming languages, cloud computing and distributed platforms, the Internet of Things, and information technology (IT) for learning, education, and training.

Over the past 30 years, the IEC and ISO Joint Technical Committee (JTC 1) have been developing IT standards for global markets, meeting business and user requirements. This work addresses various aspects including the design and development of IT systems and tools; interoperability, performance, and quality of IT products and systems; harmonised IT vocabulary; and security of IT systems and information.

Some of the areas that JTC 1 covers include: • Cards and security devices for personal identification • Computer graphics, image processing, and environmental data representation • Coding of audio, picture, multimedia, and hypermedia information • Automatic identification and data capture techniques • Data management and interchange • IT for learning, education, and training • Biometrics • Trustworthiness • Digital twins • Quantum computing • 3D printing • Augmented reality and virtual reality-based ICT • Autonomous and data-rich vehicles

Internet of Things The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the main technology sectors covered by the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) in its standardisation activities. Several technical committees (some of which are joint groups with the ISO - International Organization for Standardization) focus on various aspects of the Internet of Things. Examples include: standardisation in the area of IoT and related technologies, including sensor networks and wearable technologies; smart cities; smart grid (which involve the use of technology for optimal electricity

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IEC International Electrotechnical Commission

delivery); and smart energy. In addition to developing standards, the IEC also publishes white papers, roadmaps with recommendations, and other resources on IoT-related issues. IECEE and IECQ, two of the four IEC Systems for Conformity Assessment, verify that digital devices/systems perform as intended.

Artificial intelligence Another important technology sector tackled by the IEC is artificial intelligence (AI). Standardisation activities in the area of AI are mostly covered by a joint IEC and ISO technical committee (ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42). The committee has recently published a new technical report that aims, among others, to assist the standards community in identifying specific AI standardisation gaps. SC 42 has set up several groups that cover specific aspects of AI, such as computational approaches and characteristics of AI systems, trustworthiness, use cases and applications of AI systems, to name a few.

The IEC also publishes white papers, recommendations and other resources on AI-related topics.

Cloud computing Cloud computing is an enabling technology, based on the principles of shared devices, network access and shared data storage.

ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 38 has produced international standards with cloud computing terms and definitions and reference architecture. Other work includes a standard which establishes a set of common cloud service building blocks, including terms and offerings, that can be used to create service level agreements (SLAs), which also covers the requirements for the security and privacy aspects of cloud service level agreements.

SC 38 has produced a standard for data taxonomy, which identifies the categories of data that flow across the cloud service customer devices and cloud services and how the data should be handled.

Cybersecurity basket Network security

In the area of cybersecurity, IEC works with ISO in their joint technical committee to develop the ISO/IEC 27000 family of standards. In addition, the IEC operates globally standardized systems for testing and certification (conformity assessment) to ensure that standards are properly applied in real-world technical systems and that results from anywhere in the world can be compared. To this end, IECQ (IEC Quality Assessment System For Electronic Component) provides an approved process scheme for ISO/IEC 27001. The IECEE (IEC System of Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components) Industrial Cybersecurity Programme focuses on cybersecurity in the industrial automation sector.

Critical infrastructure The IEC develops horizontal standards, such as the IEC 62443, for operational technology in industrial and critical infrastructure that includes power utilities, water management systems, healthcare and transport systems. These standards are technology independent and can be applied across many technical areas. On the other hand, several technical committees and subcommittees develop international standards to protect specific domains and critical infrastructure assets (vertical standards).

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IEC International Electrotechnical Commission

Development basket

Future of meetings

Sustainable development The IEC international standards and conformity assessment systems contribute to the realisation of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They provide the foundation allowing all countries and industries to adopt or build sustainable technologies, apply best practice, and form the basis for innovation as well as quality and risk management.

Capacity development The IEC Academy Platform aims to support IEC community members through formal learning and collaboration opportunities. The IEC offers a series of online courses and webinars that provide an in depth understanding IEC’s main activities.

Digital tools

Any reference to online or remote meetings

IEC technical committees have held online/remote meetings for many years, especially for focussed discussions on individual topics.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic the breadth of technical online meetings has been further expanded to ensure optimal continuation of standardization and conformity assessment activities. Most face-to-face management board and governance meetings have been converted to online meetings during COVID-19.

In support of the successful organization of online meetings, the IEC has published a virtual meeting guide.

• The IEC has developed a number of online tools and services to help everyone with their IEC activities. These include Electropedia, an online electrotechnical vocabulary, IEC data feeds, smart grid standards map, and many other tools.

• The IEC offers webinars and eLearning opportunities to the global IEC community.

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IEC International Electrotechnical Commission 3 rue de Varembé, PO Box 131, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland https://www.iec.ch/

Any reference to holding meetings outside HQ

Many IEC meetings are held outside of IEC CO headquarters or online or in a hybrid format.

The tools for that purpose include webinars, podcasts, online presentations and various teleconferencing facilities. In the future, augmented reality technology or digital twin approaches may also be considered to provide the benefits of face-to-face meetings.

While face-to-face meetings have been the rule to date, some IEC Board meetings have also been held virtually to some extent already in the past, with documents being shared in advance on proprietary online platforms and collaboration taking place live online.

Any reference to deliberation or decision making online

In the IEC, nearly all decision-making processes have been taking place virtually since many years, with voting/decisions being dispatched electronically, including collaboration and commenting via a dedicated electronic platform.

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ISO International Organization for Standardization

Chemin de Blandonnet 8, CP 401 - 1214 Vernier, Geneva, Switzerland

https://www.iso.org/home.html

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a non-governmental international organisation composed of 165 national standard-setting bodies that are either part of governmental institutions or mandated by their respective governments. Each national standard-setting body therefore represents a member state.

Digital policy issues

After receiving a request from a consumer group or an industry association, ISO convenes an expert group tasked with the creation of a particular standard through a consensus process.

The joint technical committee of ISO and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) for AI is known as ISO/IEC JTC1/SC 42 Artificial intelligence and is responsible for the development of standards in this area.

To date, it has published one standard specifically pertaining to AI with 18 others in development.

ISO develops international standards across a wide range of industries, including technology, food, and healthcare, in order to ensure that products and services are safe, reliable, of good quality, and ultimately, facilitate international trade. As such, it acts between the public and the private sector.

To date, ISO has published more than 22 000 standards.

Digital activities A large number of the international standards and related documents developed by ISO are related to information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) that was created in 1983 and established a universal reference model for communication protocols. The organisation is also active in the field of emerging technologies including blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI).

The standards are developed by various technical committees dedicated to specific areas including information security, cybersecurity, privacy protection, AI, and intelligent transport systems.

Infrastructure basket Artificial intelligence

ISO/IEC TR 24028 provides an overview of trustworthiness in AI systems, detailing the associated threats and risks associated and addresses approaches on availability, resiliency, reliability, accuracy, safety, security, and privacy.

The standards under development include those that cover: concepts and terminology for AI (ISO/IEC 22989); bias in AI systems and AI-aided decision-making (ISO/IEC TR 24027); AI risk management (ISO/IEC 23894); a framework for AI systems using machine learning (ISO/IEC 23053); and the assessment of machine learning classification performance (ISO/IEC TS 4213).

Up-to-date information on the technical committee (e.g. scope, programme of work, contact details, etc.) can be found on the committee page.

Cloud computing ISO and IEC also have a joint committee for standards related to cloud computing which currently has 19 published standards and a further 7 in development.

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ISO International Organization for Standardization

Of those published, two standards of note include ISO/IEC 19086-1, which provides an overview, foundational concepts, and definitions for a cloud computing service level agreement framework, and ISO/IEC 17789, which specifies the cloud computing reference architecture.

Standards under development include those on health informatics (ISO/ TR 21332.2); the audit of cloud services (ISO/IEC 22123-2.2); and data flow, categories, and use (ISO/IEC 19944-1).

Up-to-date information on the technical committee (e.g. scope, programme of work, contact details, etc.) can be found on the committee page.

Internet of Things (IoT) Recognising the ongoing developments in the field of IoT, ISO has a number of dedicated standards both published and in development, including those for intelligent transport systems (ISO 19079), future networks for IoT (ISO/ IEC TR 29181-9), unique identification for IoT (ISO/IEC 29161), Internet of Media Things (ISO/IEC 23093-3), trustworthiness of IoT (ISO/IEC 30149), and industrial IoT systems (ISO/IEC 30162).

IoT security is addressed in standards such as ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 27002, which provide a common language for governance, risk, and compliance issues related to information security.

In addition, there are seven standards under development, some of which provide a methodology for the trustworthiness of an IoT system or service (ISO/IEC 30147); a trustworthiness framework (ISO/IEC 30149); the requirements of an IoT data exchange platform for various IoT services (ISO/IEC 30161); and a real-time IoT framework (ISO/IEC 30165).

Up-to-date information on the ISO and IEC joint technical committee for IoT (e.g. scope, programme of work, contact details, etc.) can be found on the committee page.

Telecommunications infrastructure ISO’s standardisation work in the field of telecommunications infrastructure covers areas such as planning and installation of networks (e.g. ISO/ IEC 14763-2 and ISO/IEC TR 14763-2-1), corporate telecommunication networks (e.g. ISO/IEC 17343), local and metropolitan area networks (e.g.

ISO/IEC/IEEE 8802-A), private integrated telecommunications networks (e.g. ISO/IEC TR 14475), and wireless networks. Next generation networks – packet-based public networks able to provide telecommunications services and make use of multiple quality of service enabled transport technology – are equally covered (e.g. ISO/IEC TR 26905).

ISO also has standards for the so-called future networks, which are intended to provide futuristic capabilities and services beyond the limitations of current networks, including the Internet.

Up-to-date information on the joint ISO and IEC technical committee that develops these standards (e.g. scope, programme of work, contact details, etc.) can be found on the committee page.

Blockchain ISO has published three standards on blockchain and distributed ledger technologies: ISO/TR 23455 gives an overview of smart contracts in blockchain and distributed ledger technologies; ISO/TR 23244 tackles privacy and personally identifiable information protection; and ISO 22739 covers fundamental blockchain terminology respectively.

ISO also has a further ten standards on blockchain in development. These include those related to: security risks, threats and vulnerabilities (ISO/TR 23245.2); security management of digital asset custodians (ISO/TR 23576); taxonomy and ontology (ISO/TS 23258); legally-binding smart contracts (ISO/TS 23259); and guidelines for governance (ISO/TS 23635).

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ISO International Organization for Standardization

Up-to-date information on the technical committee (e.g. scope, programme of work, contact details, etc.) can be found on the committee page.

Emerging technologies ISO develops standards in the area of emerging technologies. Perhaps the largest number of standards in this area are those related to robotics. ISO has more than 40 different standards either published or in development that cover issues such as: collaborative robots (e.g. ISO/TS 15066); safety requirements for industrial robots (e.g. ISO 10218-2); and personal care robots (e.g. ISO 13482).

Autonomous or so-called intelligent transport systems (ITS) standards are developed by ISO’s ITS Technical Committee and include those for forward vehicle collision warning systems (ISO 15623) and secure connections between trusted devices (ISO/TS 21185).

Standards are also being developed to address the use of virtual reality in learning, education, and training (e.g. ISO/IEC 23843) and the display device interface for augmented reality (ISO/IEC 23763).

Cybersecurity basket Network security

Information security and network security is also addressed by ISO and IEC standards. The ISO and IEC 27000 family of standards covers information security management systems and are used by organisations to secure information assets such as financial data, intellectual property, and employee information.

For example, ISO/IEC 27031 and ISO/IEC 27035 are specifically designed to help organisations respond, diffuse, and recover effectively from cyberattacks.

ISO/IEC 27701 is an extension to ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 27002 for privacy information management, and details requirements and guidance for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving a Privacy Information Management System (PIMS).

Network security is also addressed by standards on technologies such as the IoT, smart community infrastructures, medical devices, localisation and tracking systems, and future networks.

Up-to-date information on the joint ISO and IEC technical committee (e.g. scope, programme of work, contact details, etc.) can be found on the committee page.

Encryption As more and more information (including sensitive personal data) is stored, transmitted, and processed online, the security, integrity, and confidentiality of such information becomes increasingly important. To this end, ISO has a number of standards for the encryption of data. For example, ISO/IEC 18033-1, currently under development, addresses the nature of encryption and describes certain general aspects of its use and properties. Other standards include ISO/ IEC 19772 that covers authenticated encryption, ISO/IEC 18033-3 that specifies encryption systems (ciphers) for the purpose of data confidentiality, and ISO 19092 that allows for encryption of biometric data used for authentication of individuals in financial services for confidentiality or other reasons.

ISO also has standards that focus on identity-based ciphers, symmetric and asymmetric encryption, public key infrastructure, and many more related areas.

Legal and regulatory basket Data governance

Big data is another area of ISO standardization, and around 80% of related standards are developed by the ISO/IEC AI committee. The terminology for big data-related standards is outlined in ISO/IEC 20546, while ISO/IEC 20547-3 covers big data reference architecture.

ISO/IEC TR 20547-2 provides examples of big data use cases with application domains and technical considerations and ISO/IEC TR 20547-5 details a roadmap of existing and future standards in this area. A further eight standards

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ISO International Organization for Standardization

are in development and include those for big data security and privacy (ISO/IEC 27045), terminology used in big data within the scope of predictive analytics (ISO 3534-5), and data science life cycle (ISO/TR 23347).

Up-to-date information on the technical committee (e.g. scope, programme of work, contact details, etc.) can be found on the committee page.

Human rights basket

Privacy and data protection Privacy and data protection in the context of ICTs is another area covered by ISO’s standardisation activities. One example is ISO/IEC 29101 which describes a privacy architecture framework.

Others include those for privacy-enhancing protocols and services for identification cards (ISO/IEC 19286); privacy protection requirements pertaining to learning, education, and training systems employing information technologies (ISO/IEC 29187-1); privacy aspects in the context of intelligent transport systems (ISO/TR 12859); and security and privacy requirements for health informatics (ISO/TS 14441).

Sociocultural basket

Digital tools ISO has developed an online browsing platform that provides up to date information on ISO standards, graphical symbols, publications, and terms and definitions.

Future of Meetings Any reference to online or remote meetings

Yes. ISO has issued a decision to move physical meetings to the virtual space.

This is reflected in the ISO meeting calendar.

Any reference to holding meetings outside HQ

Yes. ISO has issued a decision to move physical meetings to the virtual space.

Any reference to deliberation or decision making online

Yes, ISO governance groups are also meeting virtually.

Digital identities

Digital signatures that validate digital identities help to ensure the integrity of data and authenticity of particulars in online transactions. This, therefore, contributes to the security of online applications and services. Standards to support this technology cover elements such as: anonymous digital signatures (e.g. ISO/ IEC 20008-1 and ISO/IEC 20008-2); digital signatures for healthcare documents (e.g. ISO 17090-4 and ISO 17090-5); and blind digital signatures, which is where the content of the message to be signed is disguised, used in contexts where, for example, anonymity is required. Examples of such standards are ISO 18370-1 and ISO/IEC 18370-2.

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UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Palais des Nations, Av. de la Paix 8-14, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland http://unctad.org

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is a UN body dedicated to supporting developing countries in accessing the benefits of a globalised economy more fairly and effectively. It provides analysis, facilitates consensus-building, and offers technical assistance, thus helping countries use trade, investment, finance, and technology to support inclusive and sustainable development.

UNCTAD is particularly active in the field of e-commerce, trade, and the digital economy, carrying out a wide range of activities from research and analysis to providing assistance to member states in developing adequate legislative frameworks and facilitating international dialogue on the development opportunities and challenges associated with the digital economy.

UNCTAD also works to facilitate and measure progress towards achieving the SDGs, in particular through (but not limited to) its activities in the field of science, technology, and innovation (STI) for development. Consumer protection, gender equality, and privacy and data protection are other digital policy areas where UNCTAD is active.

Digital activities UNCTAD also works to facilitate and measure progress towards achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs), through a wide range of activities in areas such as technology and innovation, trade, investment, environment, transport and logistics, and the digital economy.

UNCTAD’s work often results in analyses and recommendations that can inform national and international policy-making processes, and contribute to promoting economic policies aimed at ending global economic inequalities and generating human-centric sustainable development.

Digital policy issues Economic basket

E-commerce and trade UNCTAD’s work programme on e-commerce and the digital economy (ECDE Programme), encompasses several research and analysis, consensus building and technical assistance activities, as follows: Research and analysis UNCTAD conducts research and analysis on e-commerce and the digital economy and their implications for trade and development. These are mainly presented in its flagship publication, the Digital Economy Report (known as Information Economy Report until 2017), and in its Technical Notes on ICT for Development.

Consensus building on e-commerce and digital economy policies UNCTAD’s Intergovernmental Group of Experts on E-commerce and the Digital Economy meets regularly to discuss ways to strengthen the development dimension of e-commerce and the digital economy. The group’s meetings are usually held in conjunction with the eCommerce Week, an annual event hosted

by UNCTAD and featuring discussions on development opportunities and challenges associated with the digital economy.

E-Commerce assessments and strategy formulation The eTrade Readiness Assessments (eT Readies) assist least developed countries (LDCs) and other developing countries in understanding their e-commerce readiness in key policy areas in order to better engage in and benefit from e-commerce. The assessments provide recommendations to overcome identified barriers and bottlenecks to growth and enjoying the benefits of digital trade.

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UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

UNCTAD’s work on information and communication technology (ICT) policy reviews and national e-commerce strategies involves technical assistance, advisory services, diagnostics, and strategy development on e-commerce, and national ICT planning at the request of governments. Through an analysis of the infrastructural, policy, regulatory, institutional, operational, and socioeconomic landscape, the reviews help governments to overcome weaknesses and bureaucratic barriers, leverage strengths and opportunities, and put in place relevant strategies.

Legal frameworks for e-commerce UNCTAD’s E-commerce and Law Reform work helps to develop an understanding of the legal issues underpinning e-commerce through a series of capacity-building workshops for policymakers at the national and regional levels. Concrete actions include: Assistance in establishing domestic and regional legal regimes to enhance trust in online transactions, regional studies on cyber laws harmonisation, and the global mapping of e-commerce legislation through its ‘Global Cyberlaw Tracker’.

Measuring the information economy UNCTAD’s work on measuring the information economy includes statistical data collection and the development of methodology, as well as linking statistics and policy through the Working Group on Measuring E-commerce and the Digital Economy, established by the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on E-Commerce and the Digital Economy. Figures are published in the biennial Digital Economy Report and the statistics portal UNCTADstat.

Technical co-operation here aims to strengthen the capacity of national statistical systems to produce better, more reliable, and internationally comparable statistics on the following issues: ICT use by enterprises, size and composition of the ICT sector, and e-commerce and international trade in ICT-enabled services. UNCTAD also produces the B2C E-commerce Index which measures an economy’s preparedness to support online shopping.

Smart Partnerships through eTrade for all The eTrade for all initiative (eT4a) is a global collaborative effort of 32 partners to scale up co-operation, transparency, and aid efficiency towards more inclusive e-commerce. Its main tool is an online platform (etradeforall.org), a knowledge-sharing and information hub that facilitates access to a wide range of information and resources on e-commerce and the digital economy. It offers a gateway for matching the suppliers of technical assistance with those in need. Beneficiaries can connect with potential partners, learn about trends, best practices, up-to-date e-commerce indicators, and upcoming events all in one place. The initiative also acts as catalyst of partnership among its members for increased synergies. This collaboration has concretely translated into the participation of several eT4a partners as key contributors to the various eCommerce Weeks organised by UNCTAD and in the conduct and review of eTrade Readiness Assessments.

• Digital Economy Report 2019 – Value Creation and Capture: Implications for Developing Countries (2019) • Towards e-commerce legal harmonization in the Caribbean (2018) • eTrade Readiness Assessments for least developed countries • eCommerce and Law Reform • Global Cyberlaw Tracker • eTrade for all initiative • eTrade for Women programme • Rapid eTrade Readiness Assessments • ICT Policy Reviews • Measuring E-commerce and the Digital Economy • Intergovernmental Group of Experts on E-commerce and the Digital Economy The annual Digital Economy Report counts on collaboration with organisations such as ITU, ITC, WTO, the World Bank, and UN regional commissions.

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UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

UNCTAD partners with various organisations in the context of the eT4a initiatives. Examples include ILO, WIPO, WEF, UN regional commissions, etc.

Consumer protection1 Through its Competition and Consumer Policies Programme, UNCTAD works to assist countries in improving their competition and consumer protection policies. It provides a forum for intergovernmental deliberations on these issues, undertakes research, policy analysis and data collection, and provides technical assistance to developing countries. The Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy monitors the implementation of the UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection and carries out research and provides technical assistance on consumer protection issues (including in the context of e-commerce and the digital economy).

UNCTAD’s work programme on consumer protection is guided, among others, by the UN Conference of Competition and Consumer Protection (held every five years). In 2020, the conference will hold high-level consultations on strengthening consumer protection and competition in the digital economy, and international enforcement co-operation among consumer protection authorities in electronic commerce.

Given the significant imbalances in market power in the digital economy, competition policy is becoming increasingly relevant for developing countries. UNCTAD addresses this issue in the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy.

UNCTAD also runs the Research Partnership Platform, aimed at contributing to the development of best practices in the formulation and implementation of competition and consumer protection laws and policies.

1 Consumer protection and Competition are jointly addressed in the work of UNCTAD

• Voluntary peer reviews of consumer protection law and policies • Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy • Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy • Research Partnership Platform on Competition and Consumer protection • UN Conference of Competition and Consumer Protection UNCTAD also runs the Research Partnership Platform, aimed at contributing to the development of best practices in the formulation and implementation of competition and consumer protection laws and policies.

Development basket

Sustainable development UNCTAD works to facilitate and measure progress towards achieving the SDGs, in particular through (but not limited to) its activities in the field of STI for development. The organisation supports countries in their efforts to integrate STI in national development strategies, through initiatives such as Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Reviews and capacity building programmes (such as the Innovation Policy Learning Programme). The eT4a initiative is also intended to contribute to several SDGs, especially in relation to decent work and economic growth, innovation and infrastructure, global partnerships, and gender equality. Moreover, UNCTAD’s SDG Pulse offers statistical information on developments related to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

UNCTAD’s Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development provides guidance for policymakers in formulating national investment policies and in negotiating investment agreements. The organisation is also part of the Toolbox for Financing for SDGs – a platform launched in 64

UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

2018 at the initiative of the President of the UN General Assembly to assist countries and financial actors in exploring solutions to the challenges of financing the SDGs.

Capacity development

UNCTAD carries out research and analysis work covering various development-related issues, examples being its Digital Economy Report and the Technical notes on ICT for development. As the body responsible for servicing the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CTSD), UNCTAD also assists the CSTD in its sustainable development-related work, for instance by preparing studies and reports on issues such as the impact of advanced technologies on sustainable development.

Many activities undertaken by UNCTAD have a capacity development dimension. For instance, its work on e-commerce and trade includes supporting developing countries in establishing adequate legal frameworks in these areas (e.g. its eCommerce and Law Reform work) and in producing statistics that can guide effective policy-making (e.g. the Measuring E-commerce and the Digital Economy activities and the ICT Policy Reviews).

UNCTAD’s E-Learning on Trade platform provides courses and training on issues such as trade, gender and development and non-tariff measures in trade.

Other UNCTAD activities designed to contribute to sustainable development cover issues such as climate change, the circular economy, and intellectual property.

UNCTAD also works to build capacity in STI policy-making in developing countries, through initiatives such as the Innovation Policy Learning programme and STI training provided in the context of the P166 programme.

• UNCTAD’s SDG Pulse • The Role of Science, Technology and Innovation in Building Resilient Communities, Including Through the Contribution of Citizen Science (2020) • The impact of rapid technological change on sustainable development (2019) • Building Digital Competencies to Benefit from Frontier Technologies (2019) • Digital Economy Report 2019 • Technical notes on ICT for development • Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development • Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Reviews • Innovation Policy Learning Programme • Investment Policy Hub • Toolbox for Financing for SDGs • UNCTAD services the UN Commission on Science and Development

Additionally, UNCTAD’s Virtual Institute – run in co-operation with universities worldwide – is dedicated to building knowledge for trade and development. Another area where UNCTAD provides capacity building for developing countries is that of statistics: The organisation and its partners assist national statistics organisations in the collection, compilation and dissemination of their statistics in domains such as trade, sustainable development, and investments.

• Building Digital Competencies to Benefit from Frontier Technologies (2019) • eCommerce and Law Reform • Measuring E-commerce and the Digital Economy • ICT Policy Review • Innovation Policy Learning programme • UNCTAD’s Virtual Institute • E-Learning on Trade platform 65

UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

Human rights basket Gender rights

UNCTAD runs a Trade, Gender and Development Programme dedicated to assisting countries in developing and implementing gender-sensitive trade policies, conducting gender impact analyses of trade policies and agreements, and strengthening the links between trade and gender. One notable initiative is the eTrade for Women initiative, dedicated to advancing the empowerment of women through ICTs. Other initiatives undertaken in this area include capacity building on trade and gender, the Women in STEM: Changing the narrative dialogues, and the Data and statistics for more gender-responsive trade policies in Africa, the Caucasus and Central Asia project.

• Comparing Global Gender Inequality Indices: Where is Trade? (2019) • Making Trade Policies Gender-responsive: Data Requirements, Methodological Developments and Challenges (2019) • Better Data and Statistics for Gender-responsive Trade Policy (2018) • eTrade for Women initiative • Trade, Gender and Development Programme • Capacity building on trade and gender

Legal and regulatory basket

dedicated to supporting developing countries in their efforts to establish adequate legal frameworks for e-commerce also covers data protection and privacy among the key issues addressed. The Global Cyberlaw Trackers offers information on data protection laws in UNCTAD member states.

Also relevant for data governance discussions is UNCTAD’s work on statistics, as the organisation collects and analyses a wide range of data on issues such as economic trends, international trade, population, and the digital economy. Moreover, UNCTAD’s SDG Pulse offers statistical information on developments related to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

UNCTAD is also running several projects focused on improving the efficiency of data management in the context of activities such as maritime trade (e.g. the Digitising Global Maritime Trade project) and customs operations (e.g. the Automated System for Customs Data).

• Digital Economy Report 2019 • Data protection regulations and international data flows: Implications for trade and development (2016) • UNCTAD Statistics Quality Assurance Framework.

• UNCTADStat • UNCTAD’s SDG Pulse

Data governance

Digital tools

As data has become a key resource in the digital economy, data governance is a fundamental part of the work of UNCTAD. This is illustrated, for example, in the research and analysis work of the Digital Economy Report 2019, which focused on the role of data as the source of value in the digital economy and how it is created and captured. Moreover, some of UNCTAD’s work on e-commerce and digital trade touches specifically on privacy and data protection issues. For instance, the eCommerce and Law Reform work

UNCTAD has developed several digital tools and online platforms in recent years. Examples include: • UNCTAD Global Cyberlaw Tracker • eTrade for all platform • UNCTADstats • UNCTAD’s Virtual Institute • E-Learning on Trade platform

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UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

Online meetings hosted by UNCTAD generally use the Interprefy platform.

Future of meetings Any reference to online or remote meetings

On 2–3 July 2020, the Trade and Development Board held the first segment of its 67th session as a virtual meeting.

The platform used was Interprefy.

Any reference to deliberation or decision making online

Guidelines for the Virtual Meeting of the Trade and Development Board (it does not include any reference to decision-making)

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CSTD Commission on Science and Technology for Development Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland https://unctad.org/en/Pages/CSTD.aspx

The Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) is a subsidiary of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It was established to advise the UN General Assembly on science and technology issues through analysis and appropriate policy recommendations. It is the centre of the UN for science, technology, and innovation for development.

Digital policy issues

Under the mandate given by ECOSOC, the CSTD leads the follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the information Society (WSIS) and advises ECOSOC accordingly, including through the elaboration of recommendations aimed at furthering the implementation of the WSIS outcomes.

As part of its work on assessing the impact of technological change on inclusive and sustainable development, the CSTD is also exploring the role of frontier technologies including artificial intelligence (AI). At its 22nd session, the CSTD pointed out that AI and other frontier technologies offer significant opportunities to accelerate progress in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs), while also posing new challenges (e.g. disrupting labour markets, exacerbating or creating new inequalities, and raising ethical questions). The CSTD is focusing its 2019-2020 intersessional work on digital frontier technologies, such as AI, big data, and robotics.

For 2021, the CSTD has chosen another digital technology – blockchain for sustainable development – as a priority theme for its work.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is responsible for the substantive servicing of the CSTD.

Digital activities The CSTD reviews progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the WSIS outcomes at the regional and international levels, and prepares draft resolutions for ECOSOC. These draft resolutions tackle issues ranging from access to the Internet and information and communication technologies (ICTs) to the use of ICTs in mitigating climate change. At its annual sessions and intersessional panels, the CSTD also addresses themes such as science, technology, and innovation for sustainable cities and communities; ICTs for inclusive social and economic development; capacity development; Internet broadband for inclusive societies; and smart cities and infrastructure.

Within the work of the CSTD, AI is placed under the term ‘frontietechnologies’, which also includes big data analytics, biotech and genome editing, and the Internet of things (IoT) https://unctad.org/en/Pages/CSTD/CSTD-About.aspx

Infrastructure basket Artificial intelligence1

• Harnessing rapid technological change for inclusive and sustainable development (2020) (report for the 23rd CSTD session) • CSTD Dialogue which brings together leaders and experts to address the question: ‘What must be done to ensure that the potential offered by science, technology, and innovation (STI) towards achieving the SDGs is ultimately realised?’ This dialogue also aims to contribute to ‘rigorous thinking on the opportunities and challenges of STI in several crucial areas including gender equality, food security and poverty reduction.’

• Articles on the webpage explore AI-related issues, such as the role of AI in health and a principled approach to AI (written by actors from different stakeholder groups).

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CSTD Commission on Science and Technology for Development

Development basket Access

2

During its annual sessions and intersessional panels, as well as in its draft resolutions for ECOSOC, the CSTD tackles aspects related to the digital divide, and outlines the need for further progress in addressing the impediments that developing countries face in accessing new technologies. It often underlines the need for co-ordinated efforts among all stakeholders to bridge the digital divide in its various dimensions: access to infrastructure, affordability, quality of access, digital skills, gender gap, and others. To this aim, the CSTDn recommends policies and actions to improve connectivity and access to infrastructure, affordability, multilingualism and cultural preservation, digital skills and digital literacy, capacity development, and appropriate financing mechanisms.

• ECOSOC and General Assembly Resolutions related to WSIS and ICT4D • 2019 Report of the Secretary-General: 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

Sustainable development As the UN centre for science, technology, and innovation for development, the CSTD analyses the impact of digital technologies on sustainable development (assessing opportunities, risks, and challenges), including from the perspective of the ‘leaving no one behind’ principle. The CSTD also works to identify strategies, policies, and actions to foster the use of technology to empower people (especially vulnerable individuals and groups) and ensure inclusiveness and equality. In addition, it acts as a forum for strategic planning, sharing of good practices, and providing foresight about emerging and disruptive technologies.

2 In the work of the CSTD’s, disparities related to access to the Internet are referred to as ‘digital divide’.

• UN GA Resolution: ‘Impact of Rapid technological change on the achievement of the sustainable development goals’ • ECOSOC resolutions related to science and technology for development • The impact of rapid technological change on sustainable development (2019). The paper was prepared by UNCTAD – which services the CSTD – in response to the UN GA resolution 72/242 which requests the CSTD to give due consideration to the impacts of key rapid technological changes on the achievement of the SDGs.) • CSTD intersessional panel meeting – November 2019 (final report.)

Capacity development Capacity development is one of the recurring themes that appear in draft resolutions prepared by the CSTD on the implementation of and follow-up to the WSIS outcomes. The CSTD often emphasises the need for countries and other stakeholders to focus on capacity development policies and actions to further enhance the role of the Internet as a catalyst for growth and development. Strengthening the capacity of stakeholders to participate in Internet governance processes is another objective the CSTD has been calling for, especially in regard to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

Articles on the webpage explore issues related to capacity development, such as enhancing the participation of women and girls in STEM careers (written by actors from different stakeholder groups).

Sociocultural basket

Sociocultural basket

Interdisciplinary approaches: internet governance The CSTD was mandated to review the IGF process and suggest improvements. To this aim, the Working Group on Improvements to the IGF was established and a report recommending a number of action items regarding the IGF was delivered in 2012. The CSTD was also entrusted with the 69

CSTD Commission on Science and Technology for Development

mandate to initiate discussions about enhanced co-operation in Internet governance. It convened two working groups on enhanced co-operation (2013–2014 and 2016–2018); neither group managed to finalise recommendations on how to operationalise enhanced co-operation due to a lack of consensus among their members.

• Report of the Chair of the Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation (2018) • CSTD working group to examine the mandate of WSIS regarding enhanced cooperation as contained in the Tunis Agenda (2014) • Working group on enhanced cooperation (2016–2018) • Working group on enhanced cooperation (2013–2014)

Digital tools UNCTAD is in charge of servicing the CSTD. As such, digital tools used by the CSTD (e.g. platform for online meetings, social media for communications purposes) are also employed for CSTD-related purposes.

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EBU European Broadcasting Union L’Ancienne-Route 17A, Postal Box 45, 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex / Geneva, Switzerland https://www.ebu.ch

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is the world’s leading alliance of public service media. Established in 1950, the organisation is a successor to the International Broadcasting Union (IBU), which was founded in 1925.

the EBU maintains its Strategic Programme on Spectrum Management and Regulation, which is focused on helping members work together to ensure that the radio spectrum is efficiently managed and used.

The EBU consists of 116 member organisations from 56 countries and its aim is to secure a sustainable future for public service media and help them keep up with technological developments. The organisation operates the Eurovision and Euroradio services.

Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the EBU issued a recommendation to help public service media organisations avoid potential internet congestion caused by greater media consumption and by increased reliance on online collaboration tools.

Digital activities

Digital standards

The EBU supports digital transformation among its members through capacity development, promoting and making use of digital channels, raising awareness of cybersecurity risks, and leveraging the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and data.

Since its inception in 1950, the EBU has been mandated by its members to contribute to standardisation work in all technological fields related to media. This work ranges from TV and radio production equipment to the new broadcasting standards for transmission. This mandate has been naturally extended over the years to the field of mobile technologies, as well as online production and distribution.

Through its Digital Transformation Initiative, the EBU aims to help its members understand the challenges and opportunities posed by the digital age and transform their organisations accordingly.

Digital policy issues Infrastructure Basket

Telecommunication infrastructure In addition to traditional broadcasting networks – terrestrial, cable, or satellite – media service providers are starting to use content delivery networks (CDNs) to ensure an increased quality of experience (QoE) for their users. In this context, the EBU has set up a Project Group to investigate requirements for a multi-CDN environment (a technical infrastructure able to switch between different connected CDNs dynamically). This Project Group is also looking into the use of big data analytics to monitor QoE. In addition,

The current digital video standard (DVB) and digital radio standards (DAB, DNS) have all been tested by and agreed upon within the EBU by the broadcasting community, before being exported to other standardization bodies (such as the ITU, ETSI, IEEE, etc.).

The EBU has led the development of hybrid radio technologies such as RadioDNS, which is designed for EBU broadcasters to start testing and experimenting without having to deploy the necessary infrastructure themselves.

The organisation has included mobile technologies and standards among the priorities of its Strategic Programme on Future Distribution Strategies and has set up a Mobile Technologies and Standards Group, which ‘seeks to build technical competence within the EBU community in the domain of 71

EBU European Broadcasting Union

the current and future mobile technologies, including 4G/LTE and 5G.’ The group undertakes technical studies of 4G and 5G and their standardisation roadmaps, and formulates and co-ordinates EBU positions on mobile standardisation issues.

In 2019, the EBU launched a 5MAG group which brings together different actors to foster the development and deployment of technologies of strategic importance to the media industry.

Artificial intelligence In 2015, the EBU launched its AI and Data Initiative aimed at helping its members leverage the potential of AI and data. The EBU’s AI and Data Group defines the strategy and priorities of the AI and Data Initiative to support members’ data usage and data-driven strategies.

In 2019, the EBU news department published its first report on best practices for AI applications in the field of journalism. The report is publicly available and aims to help improve AI-based solutions in order to serve the public interest and respect human rights.

One of best examples of the EBU’s use of AI is its PEACH (Personalization for EACH) initiative, which has brought together a number of public broadcasters to develop AI-powered tools to deliver the right content to the right audience in accordance with current data protection regulations.

Network neutrality The EBU’s work in the field of net neutrality focuses on assisting its members in co-ordinating their positions on broadband network neutrality. To this end, it provides expertise and facilitates initiatives and the drafting of documents concerning net neutrality at the EU level. The EBU also en-

courages its members to exchange experiences from the national level.

Net neutrality is addressed as part of the EBU’s Strategic Programme on Broadcaster Internet Services. Net neutrality is seen as a key principle for public service broadcasters to support and advocate for, as it ensures their services are equally accessible by all Internet users. A large part of this activity is now evolving into AI.

Cybersecurity basket

Cybercrime and network security The EBU has developed a Strategic Programme on Media Cyber Security, aimed mainly at raising awareness among its members of the increasing cybersecurity risks and threats to broadcasting. This initiative also provides a platform for its members to exchange information on security incidents (e.g. phishing campaigns, targeted malware attacks, etc.), as well as on lessons learnt, projects, and internal procedures. A dedicated working group is focused on defining information security best practices for broadcast companies. The EBU organises an annual Media Cybersecurity Forum, which brings together manufacturers, service providers, and media companies to discuss security issues in the media domain.

Legal and regulatory basket Convergence and OTT

In an environment increasingly characterised by digital convergence, the EBU is working on identifying viable investment solutions for over-the-top (OTT) services. The organisation has a Digital Media Steering Committee, focused on ‘defining the role of public service media in the digital era, with a special focus on how to interact with big digital companies.’ It also develops a bi-annual roadmap for technology and innovation activities and has a dedicated Project Group on OTT services.

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EBU European Broadcasting Union

In addition, there is an intersectoral group composed by EBU’s members and its staff that exchanges best practices for relations between Internet platforms and broadcasters.

During the COVID-19 crisis, a co-ordinated effort by the technical distribution experts of the EBU and its members monitored the state of the global broadband network to help avoid surcharges due to the increased consumption of on-demand programmes.

Development basket Capacity development

Most of the EBU’s activities are aimed at increasing the capacity of its members to address challenges and embrace opportunities brought about by the digital age. To that end, through its Digital Transformation Initiative, the EBU has developed a number of member support services, such as its expert community network that gathers over 200 experts from across its membership, and a digital knowledge hub with a repository of analyses and best practices. The EBU also offers a wide range of workshops and other sessions aimed at creating awareness about the digital transformation of the public service media, developing peer-to-peer assessment of members’ digital maturity, and initiating tailored interventions based on members’ needs.

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EFTA European Free Trade Association Rue de Varembé, 9-11, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland https://www.efta.int/

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of four member states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. Established in 1960 by the Stockholm Convention, the EFTA aims to promote free trade and economic integration between its members. Since its founding, relations with the European Economic Community (EEC) (later the European Community (EC)) and the European Union (EU) have been at the heart of the EFTA’s activities. In 1992, three of the EFTA member states (Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein) signed the Agreement on the European Economic Area with the EU, which now make up the so-called European Economic Area (EEA).

Since the early 1990s, the EFTA has been actively engaged in trade relations with third countries in and outside of Europe.

Digital activities The EFTA’s activities in the context of digital issues pertain to electronic communication such as exchange of information via telecommunications and Internet, audiovisual services, and information society, including free movement of information society services as well as data protection.

Digital Policy Issues Economic basket

E-commerce and trade The EFTA’s Working Group on Electronic Communication, Audiovisual Services, and Information Society (ECASIS) deals with legal provisions pertaining to the digital single market. As per the EEA agreement, EFTA member states (excluding Switzerland) participate in the EU’s internal market and as such have to apply EU rules on electronic communication and information society. Among other things, these rules include acts on radio spectrum

management, roaming, privacy protection in electronic networks, and net neutrality. Initiatives regarding information society tackle legal frameworks on the free movement of information society services and apply to a wide range of economic activities that take place online. This includes rules on e-commerce, cross-border data flows, the re-use of public sector information, and cybersecurity, as well as electronic identification and signatures.

Future of Work The EFTA also tackles the implications of digitalisation on the future of work. In a report and resolution titled ‘Digitalisation and its impact on jobs and skills’ published by the consultative committee of the EEA, it is highlighted that investments in information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and new learning methods are important, including apprenticeships and workplace training. Moreover, it underlines the need to examine whether and to what extent workers’ private lives require additional protection in a time of ubiquitous digital mobile communication.

Human Rights basket

Privacy and data protection In the context of data protection, the EFTA’s Expert Group on Data Protection keeps track of EU initiatives in the domain of data protection that has become particularly relevant in the fast-changing digital environment. The Expert Group contributes to the development of EU policies and legislation in the field of data protection through the provision of advice to the European Commission, or by being involved in the work of the Commission’s committees, as per the EEA agreement. The EEA agreement covers EU legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the e-Privacy Directive, and Regulation 611/2013 on notifications of data breaches and is therefore applicable to the previously mentioned three EFTA states.

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EFTA European Free Trade Association

Digital tools In addition to trade-related data that provides information (e.g. size of imports/exports/top traded goods) on EFTA member states, an interactive Free Trade Map illustrates EFTA’s preferential trade relations with partners worldwide. The organisation also provides a web tool containing visual presentations that explains how EU law becomes EEA law.

Future of meetings Any reference to online or remote meetings

Yes. The EEA Joint Committee met virtually in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Any reference to holding meetings outside HQ

Yes. The EEA Joint Committee met virtually in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Any reference to deliberation or decision making online

Yes. The EEA Joint Committee adopted a number of decisions and legal acts following the outbreak of COVID-19.

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ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross 19 Avenue de la paix, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland https://www.icrc.org/

Established in 1863, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an independent international humanitarian organisation headquartered in Geneva. The ICRC defends and promotes the respect of international humanitarian law (IHL) and is dedicated to protecting the lives and dignity of victims of war and to the provision of assistance. Along these lines, it co-operates with governments, the private sector, and other entities affected by international and internal armed conflict and violence.

Together with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and 190 individual national societies, the ICRC makes up the socalled International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Digital activities Digitalisation is increasingly present in the context of armed conflict and violence: States use cyber operations and artificial intelligence (AI) as part of warfare and humans are affected by the consequences of such operations and other digital risks. To this end, humanitarian organisations also use digital tools to improve their operations. The ICRC addresses the implications of technology which are multifold and range from data protection for humanitarian actions to the application of IHL to cyber operations in armed conflict. It hosts expert and intergovernmental discussions and has developed a number of (digital) tools to help improve awareness and understanding of IHL and relevant standards.

Digital Policy Issues Cybersecurity basket

Cyber operations during armed conflict The use of cyber operations during armed conflicts is a reality in today’s armed conflicts and their use is likely to increase in future. Through expert discussions, participation in intergovernmental processes, and bilateral

confidential dialogue, the ICRC is raising awareness of the potential human cost of cyber operations and the application of IHL to cyber operations during armed conflict. Its efforts on this matter data back to over two decades ago. Ever since, the ICRC holds the view that IHL limits cyber operations ‘during armed conflict just as it limits the use of any other weapon, means and methods of warfare in an armed conflict, whether new or old.’

Over the years, the ICRC has been actively involved in global policy discussions on cyber-related issues, including those held within the UN (various GGEs and the OEWG). The ICRC has also been an observer in the expert processes that developed the Tallinn Manuals. More recently, the ICRC has organised expert meetings and developed reports on ‘The Potential Human Cost of Cyber Operations’ and on ‘Avoiding Civilian Harm from Military Cyber Operations during Armed Conflicts’ (forthcoming). Its legal views on how IHL applies to cyber operations during armed conflict are found in a 2019 position paper that was sent to all UN member states in the context of the different UN-mandated processes on information and communication technology security. The ICRC’s Law and Policy blog maintains an ongoing blog series on the potential human cost of cyber operations, featuring tech expert, legal, and policy perspectives.

Infrastructure basket Artificial Intelligence

The ICRC has also explored the role of AI tools in armed conflict. In a document titled ‘Artificial intelligence and machine learning in armed conflict: A human-centred approach’ published in 2019, it argues that ‘any new technology of warfare must be used, and must be capable of being used, in compliance with existing rules of international humanitarian law.’ It also touches upon the use of AI and machine learning technologies capable of controlling physical military hardware. It argues that from a humanitarian perspective, autonomous weapon systems (AWS) are of particular concern given that humans may not be able to exert control over such weapons or

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ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross

the resulting use of force. While the ICRC recognises that not all weapon systems incorporate AI or machine learning, it emphasises that such software components could eventually give way to future AWS. It also emphasises the potential misuse of AI and machine learning in the development of cyber weapons and capabilities. The ICRC calls for a human control-based approach to the application of AI and machine learning in AWS. The question of AI has been further explored in other reports such as its ‘Autonomy, artificial intelligence, robotics: Technical aspects of human control’.

Human Rights basket

Privacy and Data Protection1 The ICRC plays an active role in regard to privacy and data protection in the context of humanitarian action. The ICRC has a data protection framework compliant with international data protection standards that aims to protect individuals from a humanitarian standpoint. The framework consists of ICRC Rules on Data Protection, which were revised in 2020 in response to the rapid development of digital technologies, while supervisory and control mechanisms are overseen by an independent data protection commission and a data protection officer.

Despite the wide range of data sources employed and dealt with by the ICRC, specific attention is dedicated to biometric data which is often used in forensics and the restoration of family links. In order to manage this highly sensitive information and to ensure the responsible deployment of new technologies (including new biometric identification techniques), the ICRC has adopted a Biometrics Policy, which sets out the roles and responsibiliThe ICRC deals with privacy and data protection within its mandate and context of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). In this Atlas, following the Digital Watch Observatory taxonomy, privacy and data protection are part of the human rights basket.

ties of the ICRC and defines the legitimate bases and specified purposes for the processing of biometric data.

Data protection is also addressed by the ICRC Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action. The Handbook provides suggestions how existing data protection principles apply to humanitarian organisations and builds on existing regulations, working procedures, and practices. The second edition of the document specifically provides guidance on the technical aspects of data protection by design and by default and covers technological security measures. In addition, it also addresses through dedicated chapters the potential and risks of digital technology such as blockchain, AI, digital identity, and connectivity for data protection in humanitarian action. The ICRC recently hosted a digital launch event for the second edition of the handbook focusing on data protection and COVID-19.

The ICRC further explored the issue of data and privacy in a joint report that it published with Privacy International titled ‘The humanitarian metadata problem: ‘Doing no harm in the digital era.’ The report looks into how different types of metadata are derived from internal and external humanitarian exchanges (i.e. exchanges between humanitarian organisations and individuals affected by armed conflict and violence or communication within humanitarian organisations) through telecommunications and messaging, cash transfer programmes, and how social media can be accessed and misused for profiling of individuals, surveillance, repression, or commercial exploitation. In line with the humanitarian ‘do no harm’ principle, the report underscores that the humanitarian community has to consider that there is a risk that it can hinder the safety and the rights of persons needing protection when using digital technologies. The ICRC also hosted an event on this topic, the Digital Risk Symposium, which was hosted in

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ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross

London in December 2018. The event explored what organisations can do to ensure they do not create additional vulnerabilities for people already at risk, as well as the potential for collaboration in the sector.

More recently, the ICRC has been involved in the Road to Bern via Geneva dialogues ahead of the 2020 World Data Forum. As part of its contribution, the ICRC collaborated with the World Intellectual Property Organization in the second dialogue dedicated to data collection entitled ‘Protecting data against vulnerabilities: Questions of trust security and privacy of data’.

Specific attention was paid to three challenges: data anonymisation, loss of data through cloud processing, and limited use of biometric data.

Digital tools The ICRC has argued in favor of digitalisation of the Geneva Conventions and on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of these very treaties and additional protocols, released an IHL digital app. The app provides access to over 75 treaties including the Geneva Conventions, and allows users to read through the content and therefore familiarise themselves with the text. The ICRC has a number of databases on IHL including its customary IHL database and the ICRC national implementation database.

Online learning is also used by the ICRC to promote the implementation of IHL. In 2019, it launched an e-learning course entitled ‘Introduction to International Humanitarian Law’ that is aimed at non-legal practitioners, policymakers, and other professionals who are interested in the basics of IHL. Other online courses are available through the ICRC training centre as well as e-briefings which are available on its e-briefing library.

The ICRC also maintains a digital library and an app with all ICRC publications in English and French.

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ILO International Labour Organization 4 route des Morillons, CH-1211 Genève 22, Switzerland https://www.ilo.org/global/lang--en/index.htm

The International Labour Organization (ILO) was established in 1919 and is therefore the first and oldest specialised agency of the UN. It is the only UN agency that has a tripartite structure consisting of government representatives, employers, and workers, and aims to promote labour rights, including the right to decent work. The ILO also works towards better dialogue on work-related issues and supports adequate employment opportunities.

It maintains over 20 economic sectors that are focused on industries such as health services, oil and gas production, and textiles. As part of its work, the ILO addresses many different topics including child labour, green jobs, and workplace health and safety.

Digital activities Digital issues are present in a number of areas of the ILO’s work. One of these areas is the postal and telecommunication services sector that encompasses activities related to the Internet, in which the ILO works on assisting governments, employers, and workers to develop policies and programmes aimed at enhancing economic opportunities and improving working conditions. It pays particular attention to major trends in this sector such as deregulation, and privatisation and how they affect the labour force. More recently, the organisation has started addressing digitalisation through topics such as skills knowledge, employability, and the future of work.

Digital Policy Issues Economic basket Future of Work

Perhaps the most visible digital issue in the ILO’s activities is the future of work. To address it, the ILO established the ILO Global Commission on the Future of Work as part of its Future of Work Initiative. The Commission is

composed of government, civil society, academia, and business association representatives. In 2019, the Commission published a landmark report titled ‘Work for a Brighter Future’ that calls for a human-centered agenda for the future of work and explores the impacts of technological progress in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics and on issues such as the gender labour gap and the automation of work. That same year, the ILO issued the ILO Centenary Declaration that, among other things, calls for ‘full and productive employment and decent work’ in the context of the digital transformation of work, including platform work.

The ILO has published several other research documents and reports on the subject including ‘Digital labour platforms and the future of work: Towards decent work in the online world’ that tackles working conditions on digital platforms and ‘Global employment trends for youth in 2020: Technology and the future of jobs’ that covers inequalities in youth labour markets arising from digital transformation, as well as investment in young people’s skills and many other underlying questions.

Through the non-standard forms of employment topic, the ILO also addresses crowdwork and the gig economy, as well as working from home (e.g. teleworking).

Human Rights basket

Privacy and Data Protection In regard to privacy and data protection, the ILO has published a set of principles on protection of workers’ personal data that tackles digital data collection and the security and storage of personal data.

Development basket

Sustainable Development The ILO, in line with the 2030 Agenda and more specifically sustainable

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ILO International Labour Organization

development goal 8 (‘Decent Work and Economic Growth’) has created the DW4SD Resource Platform that maps out the interplay between sustainable development and decent work. The platform provides guidance and working resources to ILO staff, development partners, UN country teams, and other stakeholders.

Capacity Development Capacity development is another digital related issue addressed by the ILO. As part of its skills, knowledge, and employability initiatives, the ILO together with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has developed the ‘SKILL-UP programme’ that aims to assist developing countries to build capacity and improve their skills systems in relation to digitalisation and technological innovation. Aside from providing training to help empower women with digital skills, the programme also develops digital tools such as skill trackers where surveys covering different aspects of skills development are collected in ‘real-time’.

The ILO also has a Help Desk for Business on International Labour Standards that provides assistance to businesses on how to align their business operations with labour standards.

Legal and Regulatory basket Data Governance

The ILO has a world employment and social outlook platform that provides datasets on measures such as the global labour force, unemployment, and employment by sector. The organisation also has a development co-operation dashboard with data on labour-related policy areas.

courses on a variety of labour issues. The ILO also organises webinars and uses a number of social media accounts.

Future of meetings Any reference to online or remote meetings

Caribbean Trade Unions Information Sharing Session on COVID-19 and the World of Work https://www.ilo.org/caribbean/events-and-meetings/WCMS_742295/lang--en/index.htm ILO Global Summit on COVID-19 and the World of Work - Building a better future of work (scheduled for 1-9 July) https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/coronavirus/events/WCMS_747476/lang--en/ index.htm

Any reference to holding meetings outside HQ

No. The Rules of Procedure specifically refers to ‘Seats in the Conference hall’. https://www.ilo. org/ilc/Rulesfortheconference/lang--en/index. htm

Any reference to deliberation or decision making online

Voting by correspondence (email) https://www. ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/--relconf/documents/meetingdocument/ wcms_741867.pdf

Digital tools The International Training Centre, established by the ILO, provides online

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IPU Inter-Parliamentary Union 5, chemin du Pommier, Case postale 330, CH-1218 Le Grand-Saconnex, Geneva, Switzerland https://www.ipu.org/

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the global organisation of national parliaments. It was founded more than 130 years ago as the first multilateral political organisation in the world, encouraging co-operation and dialogue between all nations. Today, the IPU comprises 179 national member parliaments and 13 regional parliamentary bodies. It promotes democracy and helps parliaments become stronger, younger, gender-balanced, and more diverse. It also defends the human rights of parliamentarians through a dedicated committee made up of MPs from around the world. Twice a year, the IPU convenes over 1,500 parliamentary delegates and partners in a world assembly, bringing a parliamentary dimension to global governance, including the work of the UN and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

to carry on capacity development programmes for parliamentary bodies tasked to oversee observance of the right to privacy and individual freedoms in the digital environment.

Digital activities

As of August 2020, eight regional and thematic parliamentary hubs are operating under the Centre for Innovation in Parliament, covering IT governance, open data and transparency, hispanophone countries, Eastern Africa, Southern Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. Each hub is co-ordinated by a national parliament and brings together parliaments to work on subjects of common interest, such as remote working methods during COVID-19.

The IPU’s digital activities mainly focus on the promotion of the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in parliaments. To this end, it has established a Centre for Innovation in Parliament, which undertakes research on the impact of digital technologies on parliaments, publishes the landmark World e-Parliament Report, hosts the biannual World e-Parliament Conference and co-ordinates a network of parliamentary hubs on innovation in parliaments.

Digital Policy Issues Development basket Capacity development

In line with its objective to build strong and democratic parliaments, the IPU assists parliaments in building their capacity to use ICTs effectively, both in parliamentary proceedings and in communication with citizens. The IPU has also been mandated by its member parliaments

The IPU also encourages parliaments to make use of ICTs as essential tools in their legislative activities. To this aim, the IPU launched the Centre for Innovation in Parliament in 2018 to provide a platform for parliaments to develop and share good practices in digital transformation strategies, as well as practical methods for capacity building. The IPU holds the World e-Parliament Conference, a biannual forum that addresses from both the policy and technical perspectives how ICTs can help improve representation, law-making, and oversight. It also publishes the annual World E-Parliament Report.

Sustainable development The IPU works to raise awareness about the sustainable development goals (SDGs) among parliaments, and provides them with a platform to assist them in taking action and sharing experiences and good practices in achieving the SDGs.

Human rights basket

Privacy and data protection One of the IPU’s objectives is to promote and protect human rights. To

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IPU Inter-Parliamentary Union

this aim,its Committee on Democracy and Human Rights is involved in activities aimed to contribute to ensuring privacy in the digital era and the use of social media as effective tools to promote democracy. A 2015 resolution on ‘Democracy in the digital era and the threat to privacy and individual freedoms’ calls on parliaments to create adequate mechanisms for the protection of privacy in the online space, and to ensure that legislation in the field of surveillance, privacy, and data protection is based on democratic principles.

Freedom of expression The IPU’s Committee on Democracy and Human Rights works, among others, on promoting the protection of freedom of expression in the digital era and the use of social media as an effective tool to promote democracy. In 2015, the IPU adopted a Resolution on ‘Democracy in the digital era and the threat to privacy and individual freedoms’ encourages parliaments to remove all legal limitations on freedom of expression and the flow of information, and urges them to enable the protection of information in cyberspace, so as to safeguard the privacy and individual freedom of citizens.

Digital tools • Virtual training sessions for parliamentarians • Parline database: Open data platform on national parliaments • Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments

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ITC International Trade Centre 54-56 rue de Montbrillant, Geneva, Switzerland https://www.intracen.org

The International Trade Centre (ITC) is the only development agency that is fully dedicated to supporting the internationalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The agency enables SMEs in developing and transition economies to become more competitive and connect to international markets for trade and investment, therefore helping to raise incomes and create job opportunities, especially for women, young people, and poor communities. The ITC’s mission is to foster inclusive and sustainable economic development, and contribute to achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The ITC works towards creating ‘trade impact for good’.

Established in 1964, the ITC is a joint agency of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the UN.

Digital activities ITC activities in e-commerce and digital trade contribute to: • Developing conducive policy environment for e-commerce and digital trade, through technical assistance and capacity building • Helping SMEs acquiring the necessary skills and capabilities to trade via e-commerce The ITC is one of the co-facilitators of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) action lines in the area of e-business, as well as a partner agency in UNCTAD’s e-trade for all initiative.

Digital Policy Issues Economic basket

E-commerce and trade ITC provides capacity building for policymakers on current issues in the e-commerce policy debate through training, workshops, and publications contributing to a conducive policy environment for e-commerce and digital trade.

ITC assists enterprises, in particular SMEs, in acquiring the necessary skills and capabilities to trade on e-commerce channels. Through the ecomConnect Programme, it is engaged in the sustainable development of small businesses online by facilitating shared learning, innovative solutions, collaboration and partnerships. The ecomConnect.org community platform links entrepreneurs and experts in e-commerce together to share learning and networking opportunities. Ongoing projects in Central America, Central Asia and Middle East and Africa assist MSMEs toward success in e-commerce and have demonstrated how shared solutions – including access to improved logistics and support services – can benefit small firms and stimulate sector growth. ITC’s digital entrepreneurship programme supports tech startups & SMEs and digital entrepreneurs in Sub Saharan Africa go international by training, advisory, and coaching, as well as strengthening ecosystems through tech entrepreneurship ecosystem mappings and addressing the gaps.

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ITC International Trade Centre

Development basket

The ITC also offers a number of online courses and educational material on a range of topics related to trade.

The ITC contributes directly to 10 SDGs through its support to SME international competitiveness and inclusive and sustainable growth; it also maintains a system to monitor results and help stakeholders track progress towards achieving the SDGs.

Future of Meetings

Sustainable development

The ITC has also developed a ‘Digital Transformation for Good’ project to enhance the reach of the organisation’s work and use digital technologies to scale the ITC’s impact across the globe.

Any reference to online or remote meetings

Spring and Summer 2020 events have taken place online.

Capacity development The ITC’s emerging distance learning programme offers a series of online courses and access to educational material on an array of trade-related topics. It aims to assist staff in partner organisations, enterprises (particularly SMEs), and other stakeholders in skills development.

Digital tools The ITC addresses the challenge of a lack of reliable trade information on markets by offering market analysis tools and related market data sources. These tools provide users with export and import statistics from more than 220 countries and territories and consist of the following: Trade Map, Market Access Map, Investment Map, Trade Competitiveness Map, Procurement Map, Export Potential Map, and Sustainability Map. In addition, the ITC library offers a specialised information resource on international trade as well as its online catalogue, which is available to all users.

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The Joint Inspection Unit

The Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) is the only independent external oversight body of the United Nations system mandated to conduct reviews, evaluations, and inspections at the system-wide level.

Its mandate is to look at cross-cutting issues and to act as an agent for change across the UN system. The JIU works to enhance efficiency in management and administration and to promote greater co-ordination among agencies. The JIU is dedicated to assisting the organisations that have signed the JIU Statute – now totalling 28 participating organisations – in meeting their governance responsibilities. In its reports and notes, the JIU identifies best practices, facilitates knowledge-sharing, and makes recommendations to executive heads and governing bodies, individually or as a group.

Over the years, the JIU has contributed to several areas of work with the objective to enhance management and administrative efficiency and to promote greater co-ordination among the United Nations organisations. Some of the JIU’s key focus points have included executive management and other administrative matters, human resources, strategic planning and oversight, results-based management, and risk management, among others.

The JIU recommendations have also supported senior management teams among UN organisations in developing or reviewing strategies and policies.

Since 1995, its thematic agenda has also included information and communication technology governance. Since 2019, the JIU has approached digital technology from a more strategic perspective.

Digital Policy Issues Cloud computing The report entitled ‘Managing cloud computing services in the United Nations system’ (JIU/REP/2019/5) argues for a more balanced approach in unlocking the potential benefits of the cloud and in considering specific

risks, in addition to the potential synergies from a UN system-wide perspective. The JIU proposed a number of safeguards and actions in an effort to expand UN common knowledge on cloud computing, increase the level of inter-agency co-operation, and strengthen the negotiating capacity of UN organisations.

Capacity development The issue of e-learning platforms was extensively addressed for the first time at the UN system-wide level in a report entitled ‘Policies and platforms in support of learning: towards more coherence, coordination and convergence’ (JIU/REP/2020/2). The report analyses the potential of new digital technologies as a driving factor that facilitates and stimulates system-wide synergies and convergence. According to the report, current technology-enabled trends and capabilities, such as the increase in remote interactions, mobility, portability, and use of a personal cloud storage system, require the adjustment of policies, curricula, and institutional arrangements. For the UN system, growing digital infrastructure amplifies the ability of UN organisations and their staff to access and to use nearly unlimited knowledge resources. The same technologies offer unprecedented networking options, which should be unconditionally used for more coherence, co-ordination, and convergence among UN agencies.

Blockchain In accordance with its programme of work for 2020, the JIU conducted a review on ‘Blockchain applications in the United Nations system’. The recommendations envisaged in the report are intended to signify a bold move from a traditional compliance perspective to a more prospective focus and from a prescriptive standpoint to a more flexible and anticipative approach.

The main purpose of the report is to assemble information and recommendations leading to a state of readiness of UN system organisations for making efficient use of the technology. The use of blockchain is viewed in

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The Joint Inspection Unit

the context of achieving the sustainable development goals, and the report will propose a decision-making matrix – developed in full consideration of the UN context – for the rigorous determination of the use cases for which the blockchain is the best option compared to other alternatives. The report will be issued in early 2021.

Cybersecurity The programme of work also includes a review of ‘Cybersecurity policies and practices’, which will assess how UN organisations are addressing cybersecurity threats, and the challenges and risks they face in this space, including risk mitigation measures. The review will identify opportunities for strengthening collaboration and co-ordination among organisations, leveraging existing capacities and opportunities, and identifying best practices.

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OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights* Palais Wilson, 52 rue des Pâquis, CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland https://www.ohchr.org/EN/pages/home.aspx

*The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other related UN human rights entities, namely the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Special Procedures, and the Treaty Bodies will be considered together under this section.

The UN Human Rights Office is headed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and is the principal UN entity on human rights. Also known as UN Human Rights, it is part of the UN Secretariat. UN Human Rights has been mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote and protect all human rights. As such, it plays a crucial role in supporting the three fundamental pillars of the UN: peace and security, human rights, and development. UN Human Rights provides technical expertise and capacity development in regard to the implementation of human rights, and in this capacity assists governments in fulfilling their obligations.

UN Human Rights is associated with a number of other UN human rights entities. To illustrate, it serves as the secretariat for the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the Treaty Bodies. The UNHRC is a body of the UN that aims to promote the respect of human rights worldwide. It discusses thematic issues and in addition to its ordinary session, it has the ability to hold special sessions on serious human rights violations and emergencies.

The ten Treaty Bodies are committees of independent experts that monitor implementation of the core international human rights treaties.

The UNHRC established the Special Procedures, which are made up of UN Special Rapporteurs (i.e. independent experts or working groups) working on a variety of human rights thematic issues and country situations in order to assist the efforts of the UNHRC through regular reporting and advice.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR), under the auspices of the UNHRC, is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all UN member states, providing the opportunity for each state to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries. UN Human Rights also serves as the secretariat to the UPR process.

Certain non-governmental organisations and national human rights institutions have the ability to participate as observers in UNHRC sessions after receiving the necessary accreditation.

Digital activities Digital issues are increasingly gaining in prominence in the work of UN Human Rights, the UNHRC, the Special Procedures, the UPR, and the Treaty Bodies. The range of topics covered is constantly growing, encompassing for example: Privacy and data protection-related questions; freedom of opinion and expression; freedom of peaceful assembly and association; racial discrimination; gender-related issues; the enjoyment of economic, social, and cultural rights; the rights of older persons; and the safety of journalists online.

A landmark document which provides a blueprint for digital human rights is the UNHRC resolution (A/HRC/32/L.20) on the promotion, protection, and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet, which was first adopted in 2016.

A second resolution with the same name (A/HRC/38/L.10) was adopted in July 2018. Both resolutions affirm that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online. Numerous other resolutions and reports from UN human rights entities and experts considered in this overview tackle an ever-growing range of other digital issues including the right to privacy in the digital age, freedom of expression and opinion, freedom of association and peaceful assembly, the rights of older persons, racial discrimination, the rights of women and girls, human rights in the context of violent extremism online, and economic, social, and cultural rights.

Digital Policy Issues Human rights basket

Privacy and data protection Challenges to the right to privacy in the digital age, such as surveillance,

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OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights*

communications interception, and the increased use of data-intensive technologies, are among some of the issues covered by the activities of UN Human Rights. At the request of the UN General Assembly and the UNHRC, the High Commissioner prepared two reports on the right to privacy in the digital age, which were presented to the General Assembly in December 2014 and to the UNHRC in September 2018.

cations, including by promoting strong encryption and anonymity-enhancing tools, products, and services, and resisting requests for “backdoors” to digital communications’ and recommends that ‘government digital identity programs are not used to monitor and enforce societal gender norms, or for purposes that are not lawful, necessary, and proportionate in a democratic society.’

The UNHRC also tackles online privacy and data protection. Resolutions on the promotion and protection of human rights on the Internet have underlined the need to address security concerns on the Internet in accordance with international human rights obligations to ensure the protection of all human rights online, including the right to privacy. The UNHRC has also adopted specific resolutions on the right to privacy in the digital age including the latest version from 2019, which put a particular emphasis on the impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) on the enjoyment of the right to privacy. Resolutions on the safety of journalists have emphasised the importance of encryption and anonymity tools for journalists to freely exercise their work.

Freedom of expression

The UNHRC has also mandated the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy to address the issue of online privacy in its resolution on the right to privacy in the digital age from 2015 (A/HRC/RES/28/16). To illustrate, the Special Rapporteur has addressed the question of privacy from the stance of surveillance in the digital age (A/HRC/34/60), which becomes particularly challenging in the context of cross-border data flows.

More recently, specific attention has been given to privacy of health data that is being produced more and more in the day and age of digitalisation and that requires the ‘highest legal and ethical standards’ (A/HRC/40/63).

The 2020 report (A/HRC/43/52) published by the Special Rapporteur provides a set of recommendations on privacy in the online space calling for, among other things, ‘comprehensive protection for secure digital communi-

The High Commissioner and her office advocate for the promotion and protection of freedom of expression, including in the online space. Key topics in this advocacy are: The protection of the civic space and the safety of journalists online; various forms information control, including internet shutdowns and censorship; addressing incitement to violence, discrimination, or hostility; disinformation; and the role of social media platforms in the space of online expression.

In response to the rise of the ‘fake news’ phenomenon, the High Commissioner has joined other organisations in urging stakeholders to ensure that any measures aimed to tackle this phenomenon do not lead to illegitimate restrictions of freedom of expression.

Freedom of expression in the digital space also features highly on the agenda of the UNHRC. It has often underlined that states have a responsibility to ensure an adequate protection of freedom of expression online, including when they adopt and implement measures aimed to deal with issues such cybersecurity, incitement to violence, and the promotion and distribution of extremist content online. The UNHRC has also been firm in condemning measures to intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online, and has called upon states to refrain from and cease such measures.

The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to free-

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OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights*

dom of opinion and expression has been mandated by the UNHRC to also explore issues related to freedom of expression online.

In 2018, the Special Rapporteur published a thematic report on ‘online content regulation’ that tackles governments’ regulation of user-generated online content and that recommends states to ensure an enabling environment for online freedom of expression. The same year, he also presented to the General Assembly a report addressing freedom of expression issues linked to the use of AI by companies and states. A year later, the Special Rapporteur presented a report to the UN General Assembly on online hate speech that discusses the regulation of hate speech in international human rights law and how it provides a basis for governmental actors considering regulatory options and for companies determining how to respect human rights online.

More recently, in 2020, the Special Rapporteur issued a report titled ‘Disease pandemics and the freedom of opinion and expression’ that specifically tackles issues such as access to the Internet, which is highlighted to be ‘a critical element of healthcare policy and practice, public information, and even the right to life.’ The report calls for greater international co-ordination on digital connectivity given the importance of digital access to healthcare information. Other reports addressed the vital importance of encryption and anonymity for the exercise of freedom of opinion and the threats to freedom of expression emanating from widespread digital surveillance.

Online hate speech and discrimination has also been addressed by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief. For instance, in a document published in 2019, the online manifestation of antisemitism (including antisemtic hate speech) was underscored and best practices from the Netherlands and Poland were shared. The report highlights that governments ‘have an affirmative responsibility to address online antisemitism, as the digital sphere is now the primary public forum and marketplace for ideas.’

1 Within the work of the OHCHR, ‘gender rights online’’ is referred to as ‘women rights and gender equality online’.

In another document published that same year, the Special Rapporteur assesses the impact of online platforms on discrimination and on the perpetuation of hostile and violent acts in the name of religion, as well as how restrictive measures such as blocking and filtering of websites negatively impact the freedom of expression.

The issue of online blasphemy has also been addressed on a number of occasions, including in reports from 2018 and 2017.

Gender rights online1 UN Human Rights and the UNHRC have reiterated on several occasions the need for countries to bridge the gender digital divide and enhance the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs), including the Internet, to promote the empowerment of all women and girls. It has also condemned gender-based violence committed on the Internet. In a 2016 resolution on the promotion, protection, and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet, the UNHRC requested the High Commissioner on Human Rights to prepare a report on ways to bridge the gender digital divide from a human rights perspective, in consultation with states and other stakeholders.

Rights of persons with disabilities The promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in the online space has been addressed on several occasions by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities. A report from 2016 underscored that ICTs including the Internet can increase the participation of persons with disabilities in public decision-making processes and that states should work towards reducing the access gap between those who can use ICTs and those who cannot.

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OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights*

Nevertheless, a more recent report from 2019 stressed that the shift to e-governance and service delivery in a digital manner can hamper access for older persons with disabilities who may lack the necessary skills or equipment.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is currently in the process of drafting its ‘General recommendation No. 36 on Preventing and Combating Racial Profiling: A call for contribution’, which among other things addresses forms of AI-based profiling.

Freedom of peaceful assembly and of association

Economic, social, and cultural rights

The exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the digital environment in recent years have attracted increased attention. For example, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in 2019 published a report for the UNHRC focusing on the opportunities and challenges facing the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the digital age.

In March 2020, the UN Secretary-General presented to the UNHRC a report on the role of new technologies for the realization of economic, social, and cultural rights. He identifies the opportunities and challenges held by new technologies for the realisation of economic, social, and cultural rights and other related human rights, and for the human rights-based implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The report concludes with recommendations for related action by member states, private companies, and other stakeholders.

The High Commissioner presented to the 44th session of the UNHRC a report on new technologies such as ICTs and their impact on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of assemblies, including peaceful protests. The report highlighted many of the great opportunities for the exercise of human rights that digital technologies offer and analysed key issues linked to online content takedowns and called on states to stop the practice of network disruptions in the context of protests. It also developed guidance concerning the use of surveillance tools, in particular facial recognition technology.

The Human Rights Committee published in July 2020 its General Comment No. 37 on Article 21 of the ICCPR (right of peaceful assembly), which addresses manifold aspects arising in the digital context.

For her 2020 thematic report to the General Assembly, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance examined how digital technologies deployed in the context of border enforcement and administration reproduce, reinforce, and compound racial discrimination.

2 Within the work of the OHCHR, ‘Child safety online’ is referred to as ‘Rights of the Child’ and dealt with as a Human Rights issue.

Cybersecurity basket Child safety online2

The issue of child safety online has been in the attention of UN human rights entities for some time. A 2016 resolution on Rights of the child: information and communications technologies and child sexual exploitation adopted by the UNHRC calls on states to ensure ‘full, equal, inclusive, and safe access [...] to information and communications technologies by all children and safeguard the protection of children online and offline’, as well as the legal protection of children from sexual abuse and exploitation online. The Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, mandated by the UNHRC to analyse the root causes of sale and sexual exploitation and promote measures to prevent it, also looks at issues related to child abuse such as sexual exploitation of children online which has been addressed in a report (A/HRC/43/40) published in 2020, but also in earlier reports.

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OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights*

The Committee on the Rights of the Child is currently drafting a General Comment on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment.

Sociocultural basket Content policy3

Geneva-based human rights organisations and mechanisms also address issues linked to the use of digital technologies in the context of terrorism and violent extremism.

For example, UN Human Rights, at the request of the UNHRC, prepared a compilation report in 2016, which explores, among other issues, aspects related to the preventing and countering of violent extremism online, and underscores that responses to violent extremism that are robustly built on human rights are more effective and sustainable.

Additional efforts were made in 2019 when the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism published a report where she examined the multifaceted impacts of counter-terrorism measures on civic space and the rights of civil society actors and human rights defenders, including measures taken to address vaguely defined terrorist and violent extremist content. In July 2020, she published a report discussing the human rights implications of the use of biometric data to identify terrorists and recommended safeguards that should be taken.

Infrastructure basket Artificial intelligence

In 2018, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression presented a report to the UN General 3 Within the work of the OHCHR, ‘Content policy’ is referred to as ‘counterterrorism’ dealt with as a Human Rights issue

Assembly on artificial intelligence technologies and implications for the information environment. Among other things, the document addresses the role of AI on the enjoyment of freedom of opinion and expression including ‘access to the rules of the game when it comes to AI-driven platforms and websites’ and therefore urges for a human rights-based approach to AI.

Legal and Regulatory basket Data governance

UN Human Rights maintians an online platform consisting of a number of databases on anti-discrimination and jurisprudence, as well as the Universal Human Rights Index (UHRI) which provide access to recommendations issued to countries by Treaty Bodies, Special Procedures, and the UPR of the UNHCR. UN Human Rights has also published a report titled ‘A human rights-based approach to data - Leaving no one behind in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ that specifically focuses on issues of data collection and disaggregation in the context of sustainable development.

UN Human Rights has worked closely with partners across the UN system in contributing to the Secretary-General’s 2020 Data Strategy, and co-leads, with the Office of Legal Affairs and UN Global Pulse, work on the subsequent Data Protection and Privacy Program.

Development basket Capacity development

UN Human Rights has also launched the UN Human Rights Business and Human Rights in Technology Project (B-Tech Project) that aims to provide guidance and resources to companies operating in the technology space with regard to the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business 91

OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights*

and Human Rights. In November 2019, a B-Tech scoping paper was published by the Office of the High Commissioner that outlines the scope and objectives of the project. In July 2020, UN Human Rights published a foundational paper on business model-related human rights risks.

Extreme poverty4 The Special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights has in recent years increased his analysis of human rights issues arising in the context of increased digitisation and automation. His 2017 report to the General Assembly tackled the socio-economic challenges in an emerging world where automation and AI threaten traditional sources of income and analysed the promises and possible pitfalls of introducing a universal basic income. His General Assembly report in 2019 addressed worrying trends in connection with the digitisation of the welfare state.

the Secretary-General’s Roadmap on Digital Cooperation, presented in June 2020.

UN Human Rights also participates in the UNESCO-led process to develop ethical standards for AI. In addition, the OHCHR is a member of the Legal Identity Agenda Task Force, which promotes solutions for the implementation of SDG target 16.9 (i.e. by 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration). The OHCHR co-leads their work on biometrics.

Digital tools The UNHRC has developed an e-learning tool to assist government officials from least developed countries and Small Islands Developing States as per the mandate of the Trust Fund to develop competencies on the UNHRC and its mechanisms.

Interdisciplinary approaches

Collaboration within the UN system UN Human Rights is a member of the Secretary-General’s Reference Group and contributed to the development of his Strategy on New Technologies in 2018. The OHCHR was co-champion of the follow-up on two human rights-related recommendations of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation. The outcomes of this process were the basis of 4 Within the work of the OHCHR, ‘Extreme poverty’ is dealt with as a Human Rights issue.

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Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Rue de Lausanne 120B, 1202 Genève, Switzerland https://www.geneva-academy.ch/

The Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights – a joint centre of the Faculty of Law at the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies – provides postgraduate education, conducts academic legal research and policy studies, and organises training courses and expert meetings. It concentrates on branches of international law that relate to armed conflict, protracted violence, and the protection of human rights.

Digital activities Digital issues – such as artificial intelligence (AI), new means and methods of warfare, and big data – raise a series of new challenges that can profoundly affect the respect for and protection afforded by international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL).

The Geneva Academy – via dedicated research and policy studies, publications, and events and expert meetings – addresses some of the legal aspects of these challenges and proposes ways to overcome them.

Via its three master’s programmes and training courses, it also trains tomorrow leaders and decision makers on the IHL and IHRL legal frameworks relevant to digital activities.

Its Geneva Human Rights Platform facilitates exchanges and discussions among various stakeholders – experts, practitioners, diplomats, and civil society – around digitalisation and human rights in order to provide policy advice on how to harness potential and mitigate danger in this rapidly changing field.

Digital Policy Issues Human Rights basket Human Rights Principles

The Geneva Academy conducts research that examines the impact of new digital technologies on human rights. This research also assesses the extent to which existing international legal frameworks can continue to ensure the appropriate level of regulation, particularly in the face of ever-changing innovation.

In this context, the Geneva Academy co-operates with the University of Essex’s Human Rights Center in its Human Rights, Big Data and Technology Project. This five-year project, initiated in 2016, maps and analyses the challenges and opportunities presented by the use of big data and associated technologies from a human rights perspective. In this framework, the Geneva Academy notably conducts research on the application of regulatory mechanisms and modes of governance in relation to data collection, retention, and processing. The Geneva Academy also provides links to the project to Geneva-based audiences and ensures targeted dissemination activities.

In addition, the Geneva Academy provided support to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association Clément Voule for his work in preparing his thematic report on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the digital age. This support notably included the organisation of a multistakeholder consultation in Nairobi and dialgoue with tech companies in Silicon Valley.

The Geneva Human Rights Platform (GHRP), hosted by the Geneva Academy, provides a neutral and dynamic forum of interaction for all stakeholders in the field of human rights to debate topical issues and challenges related to the functioning of the Geneva-based human rights system. Relying

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Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights

on academic research and findings, it works to enable various actors to be better connected, break silos, and hence, advance human rights.

Artificial Intelligence

In this context, the GHRP facilitates exchanges and discussions on human rights and digitalisation with a view to move the focus of UN human rights mechanisms beyond the right to privacy or freedom of expression by exploring impact on all rights and formulate specific policy advice.

A recent research brief ‘Human Rights and the Governance of Artificial Intelligence’ addresses the opportunities and risk of AI for human rights, recalls that IHRL should occupy a central place in the governance of AI, and outlines two additional avenues to regulation: public procurement and standardisation.

Infrastructure basket

Legal and Regulatory basket

New (military) technologies are set to revolutionise the ways wars are fought. Significant advances in the fields of cyberspace, AI, robotics, and space technology are at the forefront of contemporary geopolitical power struggles and are already bringing about major transformative shifts in military and humanitarian affairs. Undoubtedly, these developments will have far-reaching and not yet fully understood consequences for future humanitarian needs and the humanitarian and international legal framework at large.

The Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts (RULAC) is a unique online portal that identifies and classifies all situations of armed violence that amount to an armed conflict under international humanitarian law.

Emerging Technologies

Via a lecture series on disruptive military technologies, the Geneva Academy aims to promote legal and policy debate on new military technologies and to deepen the understanding of the different technological trends shaping the digital battlefield of the future.

Its past research also discussed where and when autonomous weapon systems (AWS), also called ‘killer robots’, may be used, and what the procedural legal requirements are in terms of the planning, conduct, and aftermath of AWS use.

Data Governance

RULAC currently monitors 37 armed conflicts – which are regularly updated to include new developments – involving at least 52 states and many more armed non-state actors.

Digital Tools Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the Geneva Academy shifted many of its activities online, including its events and teaching.

For the upcoming academic year (2020-2021), the Geneva Academy will resort to a hybrid teaching method with courses taught simultaneously inclass and online for its three master’s programmes.

In addition, its training and short courses courses will also be available online and in situ.

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Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights

Future of Meetings Any reference to online or remote meetings

Yes: Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the Geneva Academy shifted many of its activities online, including its events and teaching. For the upcoming academic year (2020-2021), the Geneva Academy will resort to a hybrid teaching method with courses taught simultaneously in-class and online for its three master’s programmes.

In addition, its training and short courses will also be available online and in situ.

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UNIGE University of Geneva Rue du Général-Dufour 24, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland http://www.unige.ch/

The University of Geneva (UNIGE) offers more than 280 types of degrees and more than 250 continuing education programmes covering an extremely wide variety of fields across exact sciences, medicine, and humanities.

Digital activities The university has incorporated digital technology into its strategy and appointed a vice-rector in charge of defining and piloting digital initiatives in the fields of education, research, and services to society.

Its digital strategy focuses on three dimensions of digital technology: digital technology for teaching and research, digital solutions for open and connected science and digital expertise in the service fo society.

It also provides courses focusing on digital law, and it has been very active in research related to applied physics and quantum cryptography.

More information on the university’s digital strategy can be found at: https://www.unige.ch/numerique/en

Digital Policy Issues Capacity development In an attempt to develop digital skills of its community, the University of Geneva has put in place a series of measures to meet the needs of its students, researchers, administrative staff, and other community members. To this end, the university offers a series of courses on digital technologies and related issues, participates in a number of projects, and provides training and workshops on particular digital skills and tools. It is also developing and deploying its Open Science roadmap.

Moreover, the university created a Digital Law Center (DLC) at the Faculty of Law over the course of implementing its digital strategy. The DLC provides courses focused on the Internet and law. It also organises its annual Digital Law Summer School, where participants can discuss digital law and policy issues such as cybersecurity, privacy, freedom of expression, and intellectual property with leading experts from academia and international organisations. Every year since 2016, the university has organised the Geneva Digital Law Research Colloquium (which is run by the DLC in co-operation with other leading academic centers, including the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University). This event is a scientific workshop that gives an opportunity to selected next generation digital law and policy researchers to present and discuss various digital policy issues such as freedom of expression online, copyright, and the Internet of Things with senior high level experts.

Leveraging its multidisciplinary culture, the university has recently created a transversal Data Science Competence Center aiming at federating competencies from all faculties and enabling cross-fertilisation between various disciplines to develop advanced research and services.

The university has also developed a Digital Innovation Incubation Programme that supports residency periods for its members at swissnex San Francisco to enhance the links with the Bay Area.

The university has created a portal for online and blended learning with a set of resources to help tutors prepare their courses and classes. Some of the resources are intended for self-training, while others provide users with training/coaching opportunities with University of Geneva e-learning and blended learning experts.

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UNIGE University of Geneva

Digital tools The university maintains an IT Service Catalogue where students can access all digital tools the university provides, such as the UNIGE Mobile App, UNIGE Portal, UNIGE’s data storage system, and many others.

The University of Geneva also offers a number of online courses.

Future of Meetings Any reference to online or remote meetings

The university plans to extend its Zoom license, which was initially acquired for one semester, until the end of the 2020/2021 academic year. Some exams have taken place online.

Any reference to holding meetings outside HQ

The university is using online platforms for e-conferences and plans to deploy them in order to provide alternatives to in-person meetings.

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IHEID Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies Case postale 1672, 1211 Genève 1 https://graduateinstitute.ch/Homepage

The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies is an institution of research and higher education at the postgraduate level dedicated to the study of world affairs, with a particular emphasis on the cross-cutting fields of international relations and development issues.

Through its core activities, the Institute aims to promote international co-operation and contribute to the progress of developing societies.

More broadly, it endeavours to develop creative thinking on the major challenges of our time, foster global responsibility and advance respect for diversity.

By intensely engaging with international organisations, non-governmental organisations, governments and multinational companies, the Institute participates in global discussions and prepares future policymakers to lead tomorrow’s world.

Digital activities As part of its main strategy, the Institute seeks to develop digitally-driven innovation in teaching and research, as well as information technology (IT) services. At the same time, as a research institution focusing on global challenges and their impacts, digitalisation has become one of its fundamental and policy-oriented research areas.

Over the years, the Institute has developed a performing IT infrastructure with secured data storage space and digital platforms (e.g.

Campus, Moodle, TurntIn, Zoom, MyHR, Salesforces, Converis, etc.) to provide seamless services as well as dematerialised/paperless processes (e.g. student applications, course registration, etc.) for students, staff, and professors.

Various publications address topics related to digitalisation and its

impact, such as big data, robotics, crypto mining, terrorism and social media, data in international trade and trade law, Internet governance, digital health, microfinance and Fintech, smart cities, etc.

The Institute also organises workshops, seminars, film screenings, and other events that cover Internet-related issues, ranging from the digital divide and the governance and regulatory aspects of data to cybersecurity.

Digital Policy Issues Capacity development The Institute provides a multidisciplinary perspective on international governance, including research and teaching on Internet governance, digital trade, and artificial intelligence (AI).

In terms of teaching, its Master, PhD, and executive education courses are increasingly focused on the effects of digitalisation on society and the economy, and more generally the global system. Some examples of courses are ‘Internet Governance and Economics’, ‘Internet Governance: the Role of International Law, Cybersecurity and Virtual Insecurity’, ‘Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work’, ‘Technology and Development’, and ‘Big Data Analysis’. Digital skills workshops are also organised for students to provide them with basic digital competence for their future professional or academic life (e.g. big data analysis, digital communication strategy, introduction to programming with Python, data analysis in various contexts, etc.).

In terms of research, a growing number of researchers and PhD candidates analyse the impact of digitalisation on international relations and development issues. A few examples of research topics are Internet and AI governance, digitalisation of trade, fintech, AI and humanitarian

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law, regulatory aspects of data, digital inclusion, and open government data. Some of the prominent research initiatives are listed under respective digital policy issues sections below.

The Institute also supports professors in developing pedagogical skills and in using digital tools. Workshops are offered to all faculty members at the end of the summer to prepare them for hybrid teaching and the use of new technological tools in the classroom.

Artificial intelligence The Institute hosts the new Digital Health and AI Research Collaborative (I-DAIR) directed by former Ambassador of India and Visiting Lecturer at the Institute Amandeep Gill. I-DAIR aims to create a platform to promote responsible and inclusive AI research and digital technology development for health. This platform is supported by the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA).

The faculty also carries out a number of digital policy-related research projects, some of which focus on AI in particular. For example, the project titled ‘Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS) and War Crimes: Who is to Bear Responsibility?’ aims to clarify whether and to what extent the requirements for ascribing criminal responsibility for the commission of an act – and in particular the key concepts of culpability theories – can be applied to the use of LAWS in combat operations. This analysis will serve to identify lacunae and inconsistencies in the current legal framework in the face of the advent of military robotics.

Sustainable development A number of projects carried out by the Institute’s members aim to address the relation between digital technologies and sustainable de-

velopment. For instance, the ‘Modelling Early Risk Indicators to Anticipate Malnutrition’ (MERIAM) project uses computer models to test and scale up cost-effective means to improve the prediction and monitoring of undernutrition in difficult contexts.

The project ‘Governing health futures 2030: growing up in a digital world’, hosted at the Global Health Centre, explores how to ensure that digital development helps improve the health and well-being of all, and especially among children and young people. It focuses on examining integrative policies for digital health, AI, and universal health coverage to support the attainment of the third sustainable development goal.

Focusing on the Global South, the project ‘African Futures: Digital Labor and Blockchain Technology’ strengthens empirical knowledge on changing trends in employment in the region by way of a two-pronged approach to the increasingly interconnected global division of labor: i) App-based work mediated by online service platforms and ii) the use of blockchain technology in mining sites for ethical sourcing, traceability, and proof of origin.

Inclusive finance Projects carried out by the Institute’s members also address the role of digital technologies in enhancing financial inclusion. The project ‘Effects of Digital Economy on Banking and Finance’ studies digital innovations and how fintech extends financial services to firms and households and improves credit allocation using loan-account level data comparing the fintech and traditional banking.

Online education The Institute has developed digital tools (e.g. app for students, responsive website) and used digital services (e.g. social media, Facebook, Google ads, etc.) for many years in its student recruitment and com-

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munication campaigns. Digital tools are also part of the pedagogical methods to improve learning. Flipped classrooms, MOOCs, SPOCs, and podcasts, to name a few, are used by professors in master and PhD programmes, as well as in executive education.

Thanks to the above developments, the Institute was able to respond quickly and effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. In a week, the Institute moved to distance working and online teaching.

Digital tools • Digital collections that allow free access to historical documents, texts, and photographs on international relations from the 16th to 20th century; • Two free online courses (MOOC) on globalisation and global governance.

• Podcasts showcasing professors and guests’ expertise (What Matters Today, In Conversation With, Parlons en).

• Podcasts are also integrated into the curricula of several international history and interdisciplinary master courses to encourage students to use social network platforms to popularise their findings.

Future of Meetings Any reference to online or remote meetings

Events, sessions, and seminars are held online (usually in Zoom), e.g. information sessions for admitted and prospective students are taking place online

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South Centre International Environment House 2, Chemin de Balexert 7-9, 1219 Vernier, Switzerland https://www.southcentre.int; https://taxinitiative.southcentre.int/; https://ipaccessmeds.southcentre.int/

Established in 1995, the South Centre is an intergovernmental policy research think tank composed of and accountable to developing country member states. It conducts research on key policy development issues and supports developing countries to effectively participate in international negotiating processes that are relevant to the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The South Centre promotes the unity of the Global South in such processes while recognising the diversity of national interests and priorities.

The South Centre works on a wide range of issues relevant to countries in the Global South and the global community in general, such as sustainable development, climate change, South-South co-operation, innovation and intellectual property, access to medicines, health, trade, investment agreements, international tax co-operation, human rights, and gender.

Within the limits of its capacity and mandate, the South Centre also responds to requests for policy advice and for technical and other support from its members and other developing countries.

The South Centre has observer status in a number of international organisations.

Digital activities Innovation and development is one of the issue areas that the South Centre works on. As part of its efforts within this domain, it focuses on information technologies. Moreover, digital issues are also tackled in the domain of, inter alia, taxation and the digital economy, data governance, e-commerce, and the 4th industrial revolution.

The South Centre has produced deliverables/research outputs in the following areas: digital and financial inclusion, digital economy, digital taxation, digital industrialisation, and digital trade, among others.

Digital Policy Issues Sustainable development The South Centre has delved into the interplay between digital technologies and development on several occasions through its research outputs. In 2006, it published an analytical note titled ‘Internet Governance for Development’. The document tackled the interplay between development and technology arguing that affordable access to the Internet allows for better education opportunities, greater access to information, improved private and public services, and stronger cultural diversity. More specifically, the document provided recommendations on issues such as openness (e.g. leaving the policy space open for developing countries), diversity (e.g. multilingualism), and security (e.g. funding of Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) in order to maximise the outcomes of discussions for developing countries at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF)).

A year later, the South Centre published the research paper ‘Towards a Digital Agenda for Developing Countries’, in which it looked into the conditions, rights, and freedoms necessary for developing countries to benefit from digital and Internet resources. By bringing together several different strands of ongoing discussions and analyses at the national and international levels, it aims to provide a direction for further research and policy analysis by laying the groundwork and creating awareness of the relevance and scope of digital and Internet content for policymakers in developing countries.

In 2020, the South Centre has continued to research the impact of digital technologies in the context of development. Its research paper ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution in Developing Nations: Challenges and Roadmap’ tackles trends in emerging technologies such as big data, robotics, and Internet of things (IoT), and identifies challenges, namely, the lack of infrastructure, a trained and skilled workforce, scalability, and funding faced by

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developing countries. It then goes on to propose a strategic framework for responding to the 4th industrial revolution, which focuses on capacity building, technology incubations, scientific development, and policy-making.

In light of the ongoing global health pandemic, the South Centre as part of its publication series, shared perspectives of developing countries on digital health. The article uses the example of the adoption of digital technologies in healthcare in Pakistan, and how the COVID-19 crisis advanced further the development of digital health.

Economic basket

In addition to publications, the South Centre organises events within this field such as a workshop on ‘E-commerce and Domestic Regulation’, a technical session on ‘South-South Digital Cooperation to Boost Trade Competitiveness’, and a high-level event on ‘South-South Digital Cooperation for Industrialization’.

The South Centre is also monitoring developments and participating in discussions in the field and across international organisations in Geneva, including the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) eTrade for All initiative.

E-commerce and trade

Taxation

The digital economy is another issue researched by the South Centre in the context of development. For instance, in 2017 it published an analytical note ‘The WTO’s Discussions on Electronic Commerce’, in which it explored the stance of developing countries (i.e. readiness in terms of infrastructure, upskilling, etc.) to engage in cross-border e-commerce. Among other things, it highlighted challenges such as low information technology (IT) adoption, and the lack of electricity supply that limit the uptake of e-commerce activities in Africa for instance. In another analytical note published that same year, it tackled the impact of the digital economy on ‘Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)’, and looked into the type of e-commerce rules that could best serve the interests of MSMEs.

A South Centre policy brief sheds light on some of the implications for developing countries concerning the new international taxation global governance structure and the ongoing corporate tax reform process under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project umbrella in the context of the digitalisation of the economy. Policy responses undertaken are briefly summarised in a ‘SouthViews’ article and elaborated in detail in a research paper by the South Centre Tax Initiative (SCTI).

The SCTI also submitted its comments on the OECD Secretariat’s Proposal for a “Unified Approach” under Pillar One and on the session paper relating to tax consequences of the digitalized economy and– issues of relevance for developing countries to be discussed at the 20th Session of the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation on Tax Matters.

More recently, it addressed issues pertaining to regulation of the digital economy in developing countries, namely, the future of work, market dynamics, and data and privacy protection.

The South Centre also provides analyses and organised many meetings in early 2020 to discuss issues such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) E-Commerce Moratorium and the Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) plurilateral discussions on e-commerce.

Legal and regulatory basket Intellectual property rights

Intellectual property (IP) issues such as digital rights management and international legal frameworks for copyright in the digital age in the context of digital transformation have also been subject to South Centre research.

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In June 2019, it published a policy brief on ‘Intellectual Property and Electronic Commerce: Proposals in the WTO and Policy Implications for Developing Countries’, in which it gave an overview of discussions within the WTO on IP and its potential implications for the digital economy.

Artificial intelligence (AI) was also tackled through the lens of IP. In an input on the draft issues paper on IP policy and AI submitted to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the South Centre provides a number of recommendations which, among other things, underscore that particularities of AI and IP policy in developing countries and capacity building, including South-South dynamics that should be tackled in the final draft of the issues paper.

In September 2020, the South Centre also published a research paper entitled ‘Data in legal limbo: Ownership, sovereignty, or a digital public goods regime?’.

Digital Tools A Public Health Approach to Intellectual Property Rights: a virtual help desk on the use of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) flexibilities for public health purposes https://ipaccessmeds.southcentre.int/ South Centre Tax Initiative: https://taxinitiative.southcentre.int/ Social Media: Twitter: @South_Centre YouTube: SouthCentre GVA Flickr: South Centre LinkedIn: South Centre, Geneva The South Centre has a general and specific e-mailing lists.

Future of Meetings Any reference to online or remote meetings: In light of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the South Centre has increasingly used Zoom and Microsoft Teams for online meetings and webinars.

The South Centre organised a webinar on ‘The COVID-19 Pandemic: Intellectual Property Management for Access to Diagnostics, Medicines and Vaccines’ and a series of webinars on COVID-19 and development, which are as follows – • Energy for sustainable development in Africa in the post-COVID world – looking for the ‘New Normal’ • Webinar 1: COVID-19 impact actions across Africa. First-hand information from policymakers and leading experts • Energy for sustainable development in Africa in the post-COVID world – looking for the ‘New Normal’ • Webinar 2: Sustainable Energy for Africa: transition through growth. How to boost output, improve access and reduce impact on the nature and society?

Technologies, scenarios, strategies, sources of finance and business models.

• Tax Policy Options For Funding the Post-COVID Recovery in the Global South • Responsible Investment for Development and Human Rights: Assessing Different Mechanisms to Face Possible Investor-State Disputes from COVID-19 Related Measures The South Centre also organised a webinar titled ‘Reflexiones sobre la Judicialización de la Salud en America Latina’.

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UNECE United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland http://www.unece.org

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is one of five regional commissions of the UN. Its major aim is to promote pan-European economic integration. To do so, it brings together 56 countries in Europe, North America, and Asia, which discuss and co-operate on economic and sectoral issues.

Digital policy issues

UNECE works to promote sustainable development and economic growth through policy dialogue, negotiation of international legal instruments, development of regulations and norms, exchange and application of best practices, economic and technical expertise, and technical co-operation for countries with economies in transition. It also sets out norms, standards, and conventions to facilitate international co-operation.

UNECE’s subsidiary, CEFACT, serves as a focal point (within the UN Economic and Social Council) for trade facilitation recommendations and electronic business standards, covering both commercial and government business processes. In collaboration with the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standardisation (OASIS), UNECE developed the Electronic Business using eXtensible Markup Language (ebXML). Another output of UNECE is represented by the UN rules for Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport (UN/ EDIFACT), which include internationally agreed upon standards, directories, and guidelines for the electronic interchange of structured data between computerised information systems. UNECE has also issued recommendations on issues such as electronic commerce agreements and e-commerce self-regulatory instruments. CEFACT also works on supporting international, regional, and national e-government efforts to improve trade facilitation and e-commerce systems.

Digital activities UNECE’s work touches on several digital policy issues, ranging from digital standards (in particular in relation to electronic data interchange for administration, commerce, and transport) to the Internet of Things (e.g. intelligent transport systems and automated driving). Its UN Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) develops trade facilitation recommendations and electronic business standards, covering both commercial and government business processes. UNECE also carries out activities focused on promoting sustainable development, in areas such as sustainable and smart cities for all ages; sustainable mobility and smart connectivity; and measuring and monitoring progress towards the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

UNECE’s work in the field of statistics is also relevant for digital policy issues. For example, the 2019 Guidance on Modernizing Statistical Legislation – which guides countries through the process of reviewing and revising statistical legislation – covers issues such as open data, national and international data exchanges, and government data management.

Economic basket

E-commerce and trade

• UN rules for Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Com merce and Transport (UN/EDIFACT) • Recommendation 25 – Use of the UN Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport Standard (UN/EDI FACT) • Recommendation 26 – The Commercial Use of Interchange Agreements for Electronic Data Interchange • Recommendation 31 – Electronic Commerce Agreement • Recommendation 32 – E-Commerce Self-Regulatory Instruments (Codes of Conduct) • Electronic Business using eXtensible Markup Language (ebXML)

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• White Paper: Paperless Trade (2018) • UN Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT)

Infrastructure basket Digital standards

UNECE’s subsidiary body CEFACT has developed, together with OASIS, the Electronic Business using eXtensible Markup Language (ebXML) standard (containing specifications which enable enterprises around the world to conduct business over the Internet). UNECE’s standardisation work has also resulted in the development of EDIFACT), as well as other digital standards in areas such as agriculture (e.g. electronic crop reports, electronic animal passports, and fishering languages for universal eXchange), e-tendering, and transfer of digital records.

• UN/EDIFACT • XML Schemas • Various other standards covering areas such as supply chain management, transport and logistics, agriculture, accounting and audit, travel and tourism, and environment • UN/CEFACT

Internet of things (IoT) and Artificial intelligence (AI) As part of its work in the field on intelligent transport systems, UNECE carries out several activities in the field of automated driving. It hosts multilateral agreements and conventions ruling the requirements and the use of these technologies (such as the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic).

Its activities (e.g. facilitating policy dialogue and developing regulations and norms) are aimed at contributing to enabling automated driving functionalities and to ensuring that the benefits of these technologies can be captured without compromising safety and progress achieved in areas such as

border crossing and interoperability. It also collaborates with other interested stakeholders, including the automotive and information and communication technology (ICT) industries, consumer organisations, governments, and international organisations.

Another area of work for UNECE is related to harnessing smart technologies and innovation for sustainable and smart cities. In this regard, it promotes the use of ICTs in city planning and service provision and it has developed (together with the ITU) a set of key performance indicators for smart sustainable cities. UNECE also works to facilitate connectivity through sustainable infrastructure. For instance, it assists countries in developing smart grids for more efficient energy distribution, and it administers international e-roads, e-rail, and e-waterway networks.

• Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (1968) • Proposal for a new UN Regulation on uniform provision concern ing the approval of vehicles with regards to cyber security and cyber security management system (June 2020) • Proposal for a new UN Regulation on uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles with regards to Automated Lane keeping Systems (April/June 2020) • Proposal for a new UN Regulation on uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles with regard to software update processes and of software update management systems (December 2019) • Revised Framework document on automated/autonomous vehicles (December 2019) • Key Performance Indicators for Smart Sustainable Cities (2015) • Resolution on the deployment of highly and fully automated vehicles in road traffic • Paper on artificial intelligence and vehicle regulations (2018) 105

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• World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) • Working Party on Automated/autonomous and Connected Vehicles • Global Forum for Road Traffic Safety (WP.1) • UNECE Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management • International Telecommunication Union (ITU): UNECE and ITU are co-organising the annual Future Networked cards events.

Together, they have developed the Key Performance Indicators for Smart Sustainable Cities.

• United for Smart Sustainable Cities - UNECE is one of the co-ordinators

Blockchain UNECE’s subsidiary body CEFACT has been exploring the use of blockchain for trade facilitation. For instance, work carried out within the Blockchain White Paper Project has resulted in two white papers: One looking at the impact of blockchain on the technical standards work of CEFACT and another looking at how blockchain could facilitate trade and related business processes. The ongoing Chain Project is focused on developing a framework/mechanism for the development and implementation of blockchain services infrastructure, and creating a whitepaper on strategy for development and implementation of interoperable global blockchain technology infrastructure. Another blockchain-related project looks into the development of a standard on the creation of a cross-border inter customs ledger using blockchain technology.

• White Paper: Technical Applications of Blockchain to UN/CEFACT deliverables (2019) • White Paper: Blockchain in Trade Facilitation (2019) • Briefing note on Blockchain for the United Nations SDGs (2018)

• UN/CEFACT Chain Project • UN/CEFACT Project: Cross Border Inter-ledger Exchange for Preferential COO Using Blockchain

Development basket Digital and environment

UNECE’s work in the area of environmental policy covers a broad range of issues, such as the green economy, shared and safe water, environmental monitoring and assessment, and education for sustainable development.

Much of this work is carried out by the Committee on Environmental Policy, which, among other tasks, supports countries in their efforts to strengthen their environmental governance and assesses their efforts to reduce their pollution burden, manage natural resources, and integrate environmental and socioeconomic policies. UNECE has put in place an Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Programme to assist member states in working with environmental data and information and enable informed decision-making processes. As part of this programme, it promotes the use of electronic tools for accessing information and knowledge on environmental matters and is developing a Shared Environmental Information System across the UNECE region. The system is intended to enable countries to connect databases and make environmental data more accessible.

• UNECE Environmental Conventions (not necessarily covering digital issues directly, but relevant) • Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution • Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context • Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes • Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents • Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in 106

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Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) • Recommendations on electronic information tools aimed to assist Parties, Signatories and other interested States in promoting development, maintaining, enhancing, and using electronic information tools to support the implementation of the Aarhus Convention (2005) • The Recommendations are under review and a Task force on access to information is working on updating them • The Pan-European Strategic Framework for Greening the Economy • The Batumi Initiative on Green Economy (BIG-E) • UNECE Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment • Working Group on Environmental Monitoring and Assessment • Task Force on Environmental Statistics and Indicators • Task Force on Waste Statistics • Task Force on access to information

Sustainable development UNECE assists countries in its region to address sustainable development challenges (in areas such as environment, connectivity, and urbanisation) through leveraging its norms, standards and conventions, building capacities, and providing policy assistance. It focuses on driving progress towards the following SDGs: 3 (good health and well-being), 6 (clean water and sanitation), 7 (affordable and clean energy), 8 (decent work and economic growth), 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), 12 (responsible consumption and production), 13 (climate action), and 15 (life on land). SDG 5 (gender equality) and 17 (partnerships) are overarching for all UNECE activities. Activities undertaken

by UNECE in relation to these SDGs converge under 4 high-impact areas: sustainable use of natural resources; sustainable and smart cities for all ages; sustainable mobility and smart connectivity; and measuring and monitoring progress towards the SDGs.

UNECE has developed a series of tools and standards to support countries in measuring and monitoring progress towards the SDGs. It has also put in place an Innovation Policy Outlook which assesses the scope, quality, and performance of policies, institutions and instruments promoting innovation for sustainable development.

• Towards Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the UNECE Region (report, March 2020)

Legal and regulatory basket Data governance

UNECE carries out multiple activities of relevance for the area of data governance. To start with, its work on trade facilitation also covers data management issues. For example, it has issued a White Paper on a data pipeline concept for improving data quality in the supply chain and a set of Reference Data Model Guidelines. Several projects carried out in the framework of UNECE’s subsidiary CEFACT also cover data-related issues.

Examples include the Cross-border Management Reference Data Model Project (aimed to provide a regulatory reference data model within the CEFACT semantic library in order to assist authorities to link this information to the standards of other organisations) and the Accounting and Audit Reference Data Model Project.

Secondly, UNECE has a Statistical Division which coordinates international statistical activities between UNECE countries and helps to strengthen, modernise, and harmonise statistical systems, under the guidance of the Conference of European Statisticians. Its activities in this area are guided by the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, adopted in 1992 and later endorsed by the UN Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly. Areas of work include: economic statistics, statistics on population, gender and society, statistics related to sustainable development and the environment, and modernisation of official statistics. In 2019, UNECE pub-

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lished a Guidance on Modernizing Statistical Legislation to guide countries through the process of reviewing and revising statistical legislation. The guidance covers issues such as open data, national and international data exchanges, and government data management.

• White Paper: Data Pipeline (2018) • Reference Data Model Guidelines (2016) • Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics (1992) • Guidance on Modernizing Statistical Legislation (2019) • Conference of European Statisticians • High-Level Group for the Modernisation of Official Statistics (HLG-MOS) • UN/CEFACT Project: Cross-border Management Reference Data Model • UN/CEFACT Project: Accounting and Audit Reference Data Model Project

Digital tools UNECE Dashboard of SDG indicators UNECE digital tools facilitating access to statistical information: • UNECE Statistical Database • UNECE Statistics Wikis

• COVID-19: the role of the Water Convention and the Protocol on Water and Health

Future of meetings Any reference to online or remote meetings

UNECE Executive Committee – Special procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic (adopted in April 2020 and extended in July 2020)..

• Authorises the Chair of the Commission to convene remote informal meetings of the members of the Executive Committee.

• Encourages UNECE subsidiary bodies to explore innovative formats to conduct business remotely.

The Executive Committee held a remote informal meeting of members on 20 May 2020. Subsequently, its 110th meeting was also held online, on 10 July 2020.

The Conference of European Statisticians held its 68th plenary as a hybrid meeting on 22 June and as an informal virtual meeting on 23–24 June 2020.

Several UNECE groups have been holding online meetings.

For instance, the 118th session of the Working Party on General Safety Provisions (GRSG) (15–17 July) was held via Webex, without interpretation, and is considered an informal meeting

UNECE online platforms and observatories gathering updates and policy resources to help member states respond to the COVID-19 crisis: • Platform for National Statistical offices • Food Outlook • Observatory on Border Crossings Status • Data Sources on Coronavirus impact on Transport

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Any reference to deliberation or decision making online

UNECE Executive Committee – Special procedures during the COVID-19 period (adopted in April 2020 and extended in July 2020)..

• Use of the silence procedure for decision-making Proceedings of the 118th session of GRSG: ‘Decisions taken during the informal virtual meeting will be circulated after the meeting in the three ECE official languages to the delegations of Contracting Parties via their missions in Geneva for final approval under silence procedure of 10 days.’

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UNIDIR United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland https://unidir.org/

Founded in 1980, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) is an autonomous institute within the UN, conducting independent research on disarmament and related problems.

Digital activities UNIDIR is concerned with cybersecurity, such as threats and vulnerabilities related to information and communication technologies (ICTs), and the use of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) applications in warfare. It supports the UN GGE and OEWG processes.

It focuses on research and awareness raising on this topic with a broad range of stakeholders and maps the cybersecurity policy landscape.

Digital Policy Issues Cybersecurity UNIDIR’s Security and Technology Programme (SecTec) builds knowledge and raises awareness on the security implications of new and emerging technologies. Cyber stability is one area of focus for UNIDIR. Key topics include electronic and cyberwarfare, the role of regional organisations in strengthening cybersecurity, and the exploitation of ICT threats and vulnerabilities. UNIDIR provides technical and expert advice to the chairpersons of the UN GGE and OEWG on norms, international law, confidence-building measures, capacity building, co-operation, and institutional dialogue. The annual cyber stability conference brings various stakeholders together to promote a secure and stable cyberspace and in particular the role of the UN GGE and OWEG. In addition, UNIDIR organises a series of workshops on the role of regional organisations in strengthening cybersecurity and cyber stability. The Cyber Policy Portal is an online confidence-building tool that maps the cybersecurity policy landscape, fostering transparency and reducing the risk of conflict in cyberspace.

• Electronic and Cyber Warfare in Outer Space • Supply Chain Security in the Cyber Age: Sector Trends, Current Threats and Multi-Stakeholder Responses • Limiter l’utilisation à des fins malveillantes des menaces et vul nérabilités dans les TIC • Stemming the Exploitation of ICT Threats and Vulnerabilities • Fact sheet - Gender in Cyber Diplomacy • Cyber Stability Conference 2019 report: Strengthening Global Engagement • Innovations Dialogue 2019 Report • The Role of Regional Organizations in Strengthening Cybersecurity and Stability • Cyber stability conference 2019 • Innovations Dialogue Annual Conference • The 2nd International Security Cyber Issues Workshop Series: The Role of Regional Organizations in Strengthening Cybersecurity and Stability • Implementing Cyber Norms: National Experiences And Emerging Good Practices • UNIDIR Side Event: Supply Chain Security In The Digital Age • Multilateral Responses To Cyber Security Challenges: A Converstion With The Chairs Of The UN GGE And The OEWG • Operationalizing Cyber Norms: Critical Infrastructure Protection • Geneva Peace Week: Legal and Humanitarian Challenges in the Age of Cyber Conflict • Presentation to the first session of the OWEG on Regular Institutional Dialogue • Historical Briefing on the GGE Process for the GGE informal consultations - 5 December 2019 (Part 1 & Part 2) • The 2nd International Security Cyber Issues Workshop Series “Pre serving and Enhancing International Cyber Stability: Regional Realities and Approaches” • The UN, Cyberspace and International Peace and Security 110

UNIDIR United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research

Artificial Intelligence ‘AI and the weaponisation of increasingly autonomous technologies’ is one of the current research areas of UNIDIR, which aims to raise awareness and build capacities of various stakeholders, including member states, technical communities, academia, and the private sector. Research on AI covers a broad range of topics from human decision-making, autonomous vehicles, and swarm technologies.

Future of Meetings Any reference to online or remote meetings

Some meetings and conferences moved online Online practitioners workshop

Digital tools • Cyber Policy Portal

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UNITAR United Nations Institute for Training and Research 7 bis Avenue de la Paix, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland https://unitar.org/

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) was created in 1963 to train and equip young diplomats from newly-independent UN Member States with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the diplomatic environment.

Digital policy issues

Over the years, UNITAR has acquired unique expertise and experience in designing and delivering a variety of training activities. It has become a leading institute in the provision of customised and creative learning solutions to institutions and individuals from both the public and private sectors.

As part of its Prosperity Division, UNITAR looks at artificial intelligence (AI) and a number of emerging technologies such as blockchain and augmented reality and considers their impact on individuals, societies, and inclusive and sustainable economic growth. One example is its Frontier Technologies for Sustainable Development: Unlocking Women’s Entrepreneurship through Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Afghanistan and Iraq course.

UNITAR provides training and capacity development activities to assist mainly developing countries, with special attention to least developed countries (LDCs), small island developing states (SIDS), and other groups and communities who are most vulnerable, including those in conflict situations.

In 2019, UNITAR delivered 671 individual activities, including training, learning, and knowledge-sharing events, benefiting 133 421 participants. About 75% of participants who took part in learning events were from developing countries, including LDCs.

Digital activities Of UNITAR’s activities, 59% are delivered face-to-face, while 38% are delivered via its e-learning platform. Close to 80% of UNITAR’s face-to-face activities take place in field locations, and the remainder are conducted from UNITAR’s headquarters in Geneva and through its out-posted offices in New York City and Hiroshima.

Artificial intelligence

Cybersecurity UNITAR tackles cybersecurity issues through education and training activities, as well as events. Its training and education activities cover areas such as cybersecurity, cyberwarfare, cyber operations and human rights, digital diplomacy, and broader capacity building initiatives (e.g. e-workshops and ‘in-focus series’). Particular courses and workshops include Digital Diplomacy and Cybersecurity, Diplomacy 4.0, and In-Focus series on International Humanitarian Law and Cyberwarfare, as well as the Cybersecurity and Information Technology Series.

Privacy and data protection Privacy and data protection are two interrelated Internet governance issues. Data protection is a legal mechanism that ensures privacy, while privacy is a fundamental human right. UNITAR deals with legal mechanisms ensuring data protection and privacy in numerous courses and events. One example is the course on Introduction to Privacy and Data Protection Law (2020), where different legal mechanisms that protect privacy worldwide are analysed in-depth.

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UNITAR United Nations Institute for Training and Research

Intellectual property law and data governance UNITAR also covers copyrights, patents, and trademarks issues in courses such as the Introduction to International Intellectual Property Law, which considers the role of intellectual property in the modern economy, while examining the fundamentals of copyright protection and patent law in the international community.

Furthermore, UNITAR tackles issues related more broadly to data governance (e.g. official statistics, data governance, communities and partnerships, and the data value chain) through massive online open courses (MOOCs) such as the Introduction to data governance for monitoring the SDGs, which analyses effective data governance systems for monitoring progress in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and explores how to manage data-related partnerships, capabilities, and resources in the context of the SDGs.

Capacity development Most of UNITAR’s activities fall in the category of capacity development.

UNITAR offers online, face-to-face, and blended-format courses for both institutions and individuals. Since the launch of the four-year strategic framework (covering 2018-2021), its work is guided by strategic objectives organised around four of the five thematic pillars of the 2030 Agenda, namely Peace, People, Planet, and Prosperity. Some of these educational and training programmes cover Internet and digital policy-related areas, such as privacy and data protection, cybersecurity, and cybercrime, new emerging technologies (blockchain, AI, and augmented reality), and digital diplomacy.

UNITAR also offers a wide range of masters programmes and graduate certificates related to diplomacy, peace and security, human rights, and humanitarian interventions.

Furthermore, UNITAR organises special events such as the Geneva Lecture Series, which consist of open lectures that are held on a regular basis at the Palais des Nations in Geneva with the aim of raising awareness for specific global challenges and deepening and broadening the participation of citizens and civil society.

Digital tools UNITAR offers its training and courses through its e-learning platform as well as a number of different online platforms that provide users with tools and resources in specific thematic areas.

• The Migration and Sustainable Development Knowledge Hub • Click4it wiki • UN CC: E-learning Platform • Chemicals and waste platform • Mercury Platform • Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) Platform • StaTact toolkit • E-tutorial and global framework for climate services In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, UNITAR has published a number of resources on online learning and online event management addressing how to make online events more inclusive, hor to turn face-to-face into online events, designing learning events and online facilitation cards

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ICT4Peace ICT for Peace Foundation Chemin de Sous-Bois 14, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland http://www.ict4peace.org

Established in 2003, the ICT for Peace Foundation (ICT4Peace) is a policy and capacity-building oriented organisation, aiming to leverage information and communication technologies (ICTs) to protect human lives and dignity and to help communities and stakeholders involved in peacebuilding, crisis management, and humanitarian assistance. ICT4Peace promotes cybersecurity and a peaceful cyberspace through negotiations with governments, international organisations, companies, and other actors.

Digital activities All ICT4Peace’s activities are focused on the use of ICTs to fulfil its key goals: save lives, protect human dignity, and promote peace and security in cyberspace. To this end, it observes the development of ICTs, conducts policy research with publications, raises awareness, and proposes practical, policy, and strategic recommendations to the UN and its stakeholders regarding crisis information management systems (CIMS) and norms of responsible state behaviour and confidence building measures in cyberspace. It also develops and implements capacity building programmes.

Digital policy issues Sociocultural basket Content policy

In the area of online content policy, ICT4Peace is engaged in activities related to the use of the Internet for misinformation, disinformation, defamation, and hate speech. Regarding the prevention of the use of ICTs for terrorist purposes, it co-launched the ‘Tech against Terrorism Platform’ with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate. Via this platform, ICT4Peace organises workshops and produces publications with the main aim of raising awareness and promoting a multistakeholder dialogue to develop community standards for the prevention of violent extremism online consistent with UN principles, including in the area of human rights.

Since the emergence of COVID-19,ICT4Peace has launched a review of the risks and opportunities of ICTs and social media during a pandemic and in particular discusses their impact on peace building.

Cybersecurity basket

Network security, cyber conflict and warfare In 2011, ICT4Peace called for a code of conduct and for norms of responsible state behaviour and confidence building measures for an open, secure, and peaceful cyberspace. It advocates for an open, free, secure, and resilient Internet and encourages all stakeholders to work together to identify and analyse new cyber challenges and threats and develop solutions at national and global levels. In particular, it advocates against the increasing militarisation of cyberspace. Since 2011, ICT4Peace has supported international negotiations through the UN GGE and the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) in New York, as well as at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Association of Southeast Asian Nationa (ASEAN), the Organization of American States (OAS), and the African Union (AU) with policy recommendations and multiple publications, workshops, and capacity-building programmes. In particular, during UN GGE and OEWG negotiations in 2019, ICT4Peace issued a call to governments to publicly commit not to attack civilian critical infrastructure and proposed a ’States Cyber Peer Review Mechanism for state-conducted foreign cyber operations’. In 2018, ICT4Peace proposed the establishment of an independent network of organisations engaged in attribution peer review.

ICT4Peace has highlighted emerging concerns and suggested governance solutions in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS), and peace time threats.

Violent extremism Responding to and preventing violent extremism using ICTs is an import-

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ICT4Peace ICT for Peace Foundation

ant activity of ICT4Peace. It has taken part in several projects (e.g. the UNCTED-ICT4Peace project), conducted research, participated in public presentations and panel discussions, and wrote policy papers to address the spread of violent content and the rise in extremism on the Internet and social media (as a follow-up to attacks on civilians in Christchurch and in Sri Lanka).

Digital tools

Development basket Capacity development

In 2010, ICT4Peace and Ushahidi developed a plugin called ‘The Matrix’ for Ushahidi’s web-based platform to validate information generated from the ground.

In line with its aim of enhancing the CIM performance of the international community through ICTs, ICT4Peace developed and carried out training courses on the role of ICTs, media, and communications in conflict management, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding. Since 2014, it has also carried out over 20 cybersecurity policy and diplomacy workshops with the UN, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), ASEAN, and AU in order to familiarize policymakers and diplomats with the concepts of international law, norms of responsible state behaviour, and capacity building..

ICT4Peace has also supported and championed the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)’s launch of the Humanitarian Data Exchange HDX since the 2010 Haiti earthquake.ICT4Peace recommended the use of Application of Programming Interface (APIs) to connect both the UN family and the Volunteer and Technical Community (V&TC) for disaster response. Information featured in the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) also comes from OCHA’s Common and Fundamental Operational Datasets (COD/FOD datasets), which ICT4Peace helped to support and develop.

ICT4Peace has been developing wikis for information crisis management.

They feature vital information from governments, the UN system, non-governmental organisations, and other actors, and include situation reports, information mapping and GIS data, photos, videos, and more.

Human rights basket Human rights principles

ICT4Peace has also been active in the area of ICTs and human rights, publishing papers, delivering workshops, and supporting other actors to address the human rights implications of digital technologies.

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Kofi Annan Foundation P.O.B. 157, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland https://www.kofiannanfoundation.org/

The Kofi Annan Foundation was established in 2007 by Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the UN, to mobilise political will to overcome threats to peace, development problems, and issues related to human rights.

The Foundation’s Strategic Framework for 2020-2024 describes its mission as ‘helping build peaceful, democratic, and resilient societies’. Its four strategic objectives are: • To strengthen democracy and elections, because popular legitimacy provides the basis for democratic governance, accountability, and respect for human rights and the rule of law; • To facilitate youth engagement and ensure that young people’s voices are heard because they are active agents of change and must be given the opportunity to shape the world they will inherit; • to enhance transitions to peace, promote reconciliation, and build trust and cohesion within societies, because it strengthens their ability to withstand future political, economic, social, or environmental shocks; and • To raise awareness of Kofi Annan’s values and actions, and promote his core belief that structured international co-operation is key to solving challenges in today’s interconnected world.

Digital activities The Kofi Annan Foundation addresses digitalisation within the scope of transitions to peace, as well as elections and democracy, in the follow-up to the Kofi Annan Commission on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age.

Digital policy issues Human Rights Principles In order to pursue its work in the area of transitions to peace, the Kofi Annan Foundation is partnering in 2020 with United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in a ‘Building peace online’ project. The objective of this initiative is to develop a new digital platform that will contribute to strengthening the capacity of the peace-building and mediation community when it comes to truth-seeking, reconciliation and ensuring accountability for crimes committed during conflict. The Foundation will therefore share its extensive research findings on peace and transitional justice, whereas UNITAR will contribute with its experience in designing and delivering online training.

In regard to its activities on elections and democracy, the Foundation’s digital work is based on the findings of the Kofi Annan Commission on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age. The Commission was first established in 2018 and was composed of members from civil society and government, the technology sector, academia, and the media. The objectives of the Commission were to: Identify and frame the challenges to electoral integrity arising from the global spread of digital technologies and social media platforms; develop policy measures to tackle these challenges and highlight the opportunities that technological change offers for strengthening electoral integrity and political participation; and define and articulate a programme of advocacy to ensure that the key messages emerging from the Commission were widely diffused and debated around the world.

In addition to articles that deal with issues such as the interplay between democracy and the Internet, the impact of digital on elections and democracy in West Africa, and the digital dangers to democracy, the Commission published an extensive report in 2020 titled ‘Protecting electoral integrity in 116

Kofi Annan Foundation

the digital age’. It addresses, among other things, hate speech, disinformation, online political advertising, and foreign interference in elections. The report proposes a set of 13 recommendations that address capacity-building, norm-building, and actions to be taken by public authorities and social media platforms. The Foundation is now working to implement certain recommendations, in co-operation with a number of key stakeholders, including digital actors.

Future of meetings Any reference to online or remote meetings

Yes. The Kofi Annan Foundation organises webinars on a variety of topics, including on the impact of COVID-19 on democracy and elections in various regions of the world, on youth resilience during the pandemic, and on violence against women in politics.

Any reference to deliberation or decision making online

The Foundation has held its two more recent Board meetings online, with decisions on programmatic and resource matters taken by members participating remotely.

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ECMA European association for standardizing

information and communication systems

Rue du Rhône 114, 1204 Geneva, Switzerland http://www.ecma-international.org

Ecma International is an industry association that works on standardisation in information and communications technology (ICT) and consumer electronics.

The association develops global standards and technical reports in order to facilitate and standardise the use of ICTs and consumer electronics. It also aims to encourage the correct use of standards by influencing the environment in which they are applied.

Its membership includes entities such as Alibaba, Facebook, Google, Hitachi, IBM, Intel, Konica Minolta, and Microsoft, as well as prominent universities and research institutes.

Digital activities Since its creation in 1961, Ecma has published numerous standards and technical reports covering areas such as data presentation and communication, data interchange and archiving, access systems and interconnection and multimedia, programming languages, and software engineering and interfaces. One of the oldest programming languages developed by Ecma is FORTRAN, which was approved in 1965. ECMAScript, with several billion implementations, is one of the most used standards worldwide.

Digital policy issues Digital standards A large part of Ecma’s activity is dedicated to defining standards and technical reports for ICTs (hardware, software, communications, media storage, etc.). This work is carried out through technical committees and task groups focusing on issues such as information storage, multimedia coding and communications, programming languages, open XML formats, and product-related environmental attributes. The standards

and technical reports developed in committees and groups are subject to an approval vote in the Ecma General Assembly. Once approved by the assembly, some standards are also submitted to other standardisation organisations (such as the International Organization for Standardization, the International Electrotechnical Commission, and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute) for their approval and publication through a liaison agreement that Ecma has with those organisations.

Telecommunications infrastructure • Standards related to corporate telecommunication networks: ECMA307; ECMA-308; ECMA-309; ECMA-326; ECMA-332; ECMA-355; ECMA360; ECMA-361 • Standards related to access systems and interconnection: ECMA342; ECMA-412; ECMA-417 • Standards related to wireless proximity systems. ECMA-340; ECMA352; ECMA-356; ECMA-362; ECMA-373; ECMA-385 ECMA-386; ECMA-390; ECMA-391; ECMA-403; ECMA-409; ECMA-410; ECMA-411; ECMA-415; ECMA-368; ECMA-369; ECMA-381; ECMA-387; ECMA-392; ECMA-397; ECMA-398; ECMA-399; ECMA-401 • Technical reports related to corporate telecommunication networks: TR/91; TR/92; TR/95; TR/96; TR/100; TR/101; TR/102; TR/103; TR/75; TR/86

Network security • ECMA-205; ECMA-206; ECMA-219; ECMA-235; ECMA-271

Sustainable development/Digital and environment • ECMA-328; ECMA-341; ECMA-370; ECMA-383; ECMA-389; ECMA-393; ECMA-400

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ECMA European association for standardizing

information and communication systems

Programming languages such as ECMAScript (JavaScript) and C# • ECMA-262, ECMA-334, ECMA-335, ECMA-367, ECMA-372, ECMA-402, ECMA-404, ECMA-408, ECMA-414

Data-related standards • Multiple Ecma standards covering issues such as data interchange, data presentation, and data communication • Ecma technical reports covering data communication and data interchange • Technical Committees (TC) and Task Groups (TG) covering issues such as access systems and information exchange between systems (TC51), product-related environmental attributes (TC38), office open XML formats (TC45), and ECMAScript modules for embedded systems (TC53).

Digital tools In June 2020, Ecma’s General Assembly held a virtual meeting and approved two standards related to the ECMAScript language, accepted new members, and recognised Ecma contributors with the coveted Ecma recognition award. The meeting was held using videoconferencing and document-sharing tools.

For public communications purposes, Ecma uses its website, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Future of meetings Any reference to online or remote meetings

In June 2020, Ecma’s 119th General Assembly was held as a virtual meeting and approved two standards related to the ECMAScript language, accepted new members, and recognized Ecma contributors with the coveted Ecma recognition award. The meeting was held using videoconferencing and document-sharing tools.

Several technical committees are also scheduled to hold virtual meetings throughout the remainder of 2020.

Any reference to holding meetings outside HQ

Ecma meetings are typically held outside of Ecma’s HQ at the invitation of a technical committee member who hosts the meeting at their own or another facility.

Any reference to deliberation or decision making online

Economy and efficiency are factors in choosing the meeting place and the meeting mode. Digital or a combination of digital and face-to-face meetings are possible options. This is decided upon by the committee.

Other resources

• Ecma standard • Ecma technical reports

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GCSP Geneva Center for Security Policy Maison de la paix, Chemin Eugène-Rigot 2D, 1211 Genève, Switzerland https://www.gcsp.ch/

Founded in 1995, the Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP) is an international non-profit foundation with an aim to advance peace, security, and international co-operation. Its Foundation Council is made up of 52 member states and the Canton of Geneva. The GCSP focuses on the following activities: (a) awareness raising, capacity building, and executive education; (b) facilitation of events and discussions; for example through its Diplomatic Dialogue programme; (c) provide analysis and research on global problems; and (d) support innovation through a fellowship programme, scholarships, and prizes.

Digital activities The GCSP provides analysis that covers several digital topics, including cybersecurity and transformative technologies. Its executive education is offered online and in blended formats. In response to COVID-19, the GCSP launched a series of webinars titled ‘Global Crisis, Global Risk and Global Consequences’.

Digital policy issues Cyber security basket The GCSP tackles cybersecurity issues through education and training activities, as well as policy analysis and events. It also provides a platform for dialogue and exchanges on cyber challenges among cyber experts from the public, private, and civil society sectors. The training and education activities cover areas such as cybersecurity strategy formulation, international law relating to cyber issues, cyber diplomacy, and broader capacity building initiatives (e.g. workshops and student challenges). Policy papers published by the GCSP focus on the nature of cybersecurity, developing norms in the digital era, international legal analyses, and developing holistic solutions. Particular courses include Meeting the Cyber Security Challenge 2020 and Cyber Security: A Virtu-

al Learning Journey and are catered to public and governmental staff and private and non-governmental employees.

The GCSP’s flagship annual cybersecurity event is the Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge. In partnership with the Atlantic Council, this strategy and policy competition pits over 200 students from around the world in a strategy and policy competition. Teams are judged by experts, high-level policymakers,thought leaders from industry and the public sector (including NATO and the EU), and government representatives.

The Challenge normally takes place at the GCSP headquarters in Geneva, but in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Competition took place entirely virtually.

• Podcast: The Battle for Cyberspace • The World Health Organisation: The New Cyber Target during a Global Health Crisis and What We can Learn • Technology in the Time of Covid-19 • A Snapshot Analysis of the Crypto AG revelations • Going Digital Testimonials • Why cybersecurity matters more than ever during the coronavirus pandemic?

• The Increasing Importance of Hybrid Politics in Europe: Cyber Power is Changing the Nature of Politics • Spying in a transparent world: Ethics and intelligence in the 21st century • Why should we care about 3D-printing and what are potential security implications?

• Cyber Jihad: Understanding and Countering Islamic State Propaganda • Cybersecurity Challenges in the Middle East • Meeting the Cyber Security Challenge 2020 • Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge 2020 • Cyber Security: A Virtual Learning Journey

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GCSP Geneva Center for Security Policy

Infrastructure basket Artificial intelligence

As part of its Transformative Technologies cluster, the GCSP looks at artificial intelligence (AI) and a number of ‘disruptive technologies’, which refers to synthetic biology, neuro-morphic chips, big data, quantum computing, 3D and 4D printing, brain-computer interfaces, hypersonic technology, and cognitive enhancement. In particular, the GCSP focuses on the dual-use character of these technologies, their potential use in warfare and the future of warfare, and the existing legal provisions among warfare and humanitarian rules in relation to such technologies. Overall, activities as part of this cluster aim to alert policymakers to both the challenges and opportunities associated with these technologies. These aims are also reflected in associated education activities, such as the course on Transformative Technologie and the Future of Geopolitics.

• The Impact of Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence on Strategic Stability • Perils of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems Proliferation: Preventing Non-State Acquisition • Geopolitics and Global Futures Symposium 2020

Development basket

communities worldwide and foster trust between regions. The GCSP’s cybersecurity dialogues aim to remove barriers to communication and encourage the uptake of the opportunities today’s digital landscape has to offer.

The GCSP also facilitates and engages in high-level dialogue at the track 1.5 level to ensure there is as much communication as possible between parties who are often in conflict with one another. It provides a platform and mechanism for the exchange of ideas in order to build consensus on topics as diverse as international norms, agreement on legal paradigms, and regional socio-economic development.

Several other events organised by the GCSP also have a capacity development focus; one example being the annual Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge, a student competition in international cybersecurity strategy and policy. The Challenge was held entirely online in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the publications produced by the organisation can help inform various stakeholders about the challenges and concerns in the area of cyber governance.

• Meeting the Cyber Security Challenge 2020 • Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge 2020 • Geopolitics and Global Futures Symposium 2020

Capacity development

Digital tools

Many of the GCSP’s activities fall in the category of capacity development activities. The GCSP offers courses and other educational and training programmes related to the Internet and digital policy, such as cybersecurity, transformative technologies, and strategic foresight.

In addition to capacity building through its executive education programmes, the GCSP also leverages its considerable intellectual and networking resources (i.e. its fellows and alumni) to engage with

GCSP offers online courses, webinars, and online dialogue series.

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DCAF Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance Maison de la Paix, Chemin Eugène-Rigot 2D, 1211 Genève, Switzerland https://www.dcaf.ch/

DCAF, the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance, is dedicated to making states and people safer through more effective and accountable security and justice. Since 2000, DCAF has facilitated, driven, and shaped security sector reform (SSR) policy and programming worldwide.

Digital activities Cyberspace and cybersecurity have numerous implications for security provision, management, and oversight, which is why DCAF is engaged on these topics within its work. DCAF has implemented a cycle of policy projects to develop new norms and good practices in cyberspace. At the operational level, cybersecurity governance has become a prominent part of SSR programming.

Digital Policy Issues Capacity development DCAF supported the drafting of the Global Counterterrorism Forum’s (GCTF) Zurich-London Recommendations on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) and Terrorism Online. Subsequently, it co-developed the Policy Toolkit, which transforms these recommendations into practical tools for states. DCAF applies the Policy Toolkit in its work in the Western Balkans, and several UN bodies – as well as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – are planning to incorporate it into their activities. DCAF has also developed a French language guide on good practices concerning cyberspace governance for the Ecole nationale à vocation régionale (ENVR) de la cybersécurité in Senegal, which is mainly targeted at cybersecurity practitioners in Francophone Africa.

DCAF contributes to effective and accountable cybersecurity in Europe and Central Asia by providing practical guidance and support for the governance of the cybersecurity sector; supporting the development of national and international legal and policy frameworks to promote good cybersecu-

rity governance; and facilitating multistakeholder engagement in cybersecurity. This work is organised in several service lines: providing national cybersecurity assessments; developing policy advice; enhancing regional and transnational co-operation between cybersecurity authorities; building the capacity of Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs); promoting dialogue and co-ordination between state and non-state cybersecurity actors; and publishing policy research on good governance in cybersecurity.

DCAF regularly works with partners, including the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Regional Cooperation Council, the OSCE, and DiploFoundation.

To increase the transparency and accountability of the security sector in the Middle East and North Africa, DCAF supports the automation of internal processes, information sharing, document management systems, and data visualisation and analysis in parliaments, ministries, public administrations, and oversight institutions. Furthermore, four online Sector Observatories (‘Marsads’) provide centralised information and analyses on the Tunisian, Libyan, Palestinian, and Egyptian security sectors and their actors, and three legal databases provide searchable online access to legislation governing the security sectors in Libya, Tunisia, and Palestine.

Finally, DCAF has provided legal expertise to national oversight institutions in regard to possible privacy violations through and misuse of COVID-19 apps developed by national governments.

In 2016, DCAF developed a social media guide for ombuds institutions and the armed forces under their jurisdiction in order to support the use of social media as a safe and effective communication tool.

Digital tools DCAF uses social media platforms (i.e. Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube) to inform stakeholders and the public about its activities, including in relation to cybersecurity.

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The Spamhaus Project 18 Avenue Louis Casai, CH-1209 Geneva, Switzerland https://www.spamhaus.org/

Founded in 1998, The Spamhaus Project is an international non-profit organisation that tracks spam and related cyber-threats such as phishing, malware, and botnet. It also provides real-time threat intelligence to major networks, corporations, and security vendors, and works with law enforcement agencies to identify and pursue spam and malware sources worldwide. Spamhaus is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and in Andorra la Vella, Andorra.

Digital activities The organisation’s activities centre around issues related to cybersecurity (primarily cybercrime). To this end, Spamhaus tracks cyber-threats, develops real-time databases, and provides threat intelligence to all stakeholders.

Spamhaus also compiles a real-time database of IP addresses of hijacked computers infected by illegal third-party exploits (The Spamhaus Exploits Block List (XBL)), as well as a list of domain names with poor reputations (The Spamhaus Domain Block List (DBL)).

Moreover, it also maintains the Register of Known Spam Operations database, a depository of information and evidence on known and persistent spam operations. The database should be of help to service providers with customer vetting and to the Infosecurity industry with Actor Attribution.

As of November 2020, Spamhaus Blocklists have protected more than 3 billion user mailboxes.

Digital policy issues Cybercrime The Spamhaus Project compiles several widely used anti-spam lists to reduce the amount of malware that reaches users of many internet service providers and email servers.

For instance, The Spamhaus Block List (SBL) Advisory is a database of IP addresses from which Spamhaus advises not to accept e-mail.

Queriable in real time by mail systems throughout the Internet, the database allows mail server administrators to identify, tag, or block incoming connections from IP addresses that Spamhaus deems to be involved in the sending, hosting, or originating spam.

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UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Rue de Montbrillant 94, 1201 Genève, Switzerland https://www.unhcr.org/

Established in 1950 after the end of World War 2, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a UN agency mandated to help and protect refugees and internally displaced and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integration, or resettlement to a third country.

Digital Policy Issues

Whereas the majority of its activities take place in the field (given that 90% of its staff are based on the ground) and include, among other things, the provision of protection, shelter, emergency relief, and repatriation, it also works with political, economic, and social actors to ensure that refugee policies on the national level are enacted and that laws are compliant with international frameworks. Also, the organisation takes on advocacy activities where it works with governments and non-governmental actors to promote best practices and provide assistance to those in need.

To promote the inclusion of refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), stateless persons, and other vulnerable individuals, the UNHCR focuses a part of its work on digital identity. Within this scope, it published in 2018 its ‘UNHCR Strategy on Digital Identity and Inclusion’. In this document, the UNHCR defines the challenges faced by individuals, and in particular, foreigners, migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees who lack legal identity papers. It highlights the advantages brought about by digitalisation and defines three main objectives for achieving the digital inclusion and digital identity: 1) Empower refugees, stateless, and forcibly displaced persons to access, among other things, the job market, education, and financial services; 2) strengthen states’ capacity to register and document all individuals living on their respective territories and ensure conformity with international standards of data security and privacy; and 3) improve service delivery (e.g. delivery of legal and protection) through the use of the Internet and mobile technologies.

As recognition for its work, in 1954, the UNHCR was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Digital activities The UNHCR’s digital activities centre around its core objective: To aid refugees and displaced persons. The organisation, therefore, has been very active in the area of digital inclusion and digital identity. In this context, the UNHCR, for instance, looks for ways that digital identity can facilitate the protection and empowerment of refugees and asylum-seekers. In addition, the Refugee Agency has conducted substantial work in the field of privacy and data protection and in the transition to online learning to ensure the right to education.

Sociocultural basket Digital identity

From a practical point of view, the Refugee Agency uses the Population Registration and Identity Management Ecosystem (PRIMES), which gathers the UNHCR’s digital registration, identity management, and case management tools into a single internally connected and interoperable ecosystem. The tool makes use of personal information, including biographic and biometric data, to provide the necessary assistance, protection, and services to refugees and other displaced individuals.

Online education Online learning plays also features in the UNHCR’s work. In a recent publication titled ‘Supporting Continued Access to Education during COVID-19’, the UNHCR underscored its vital role in advocating for and ensuring the inclu-

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UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

sion of refugees in national response plans in order to ensure the continuity of learning. The document sheds light on some of the activities that it has undertaken in light of the health crisis, including the launch of online learning platforms in Jordan as well as related education programmes in Uganda.

In the broader context of online education, in its ‘Education 2030: A Strategy for Refugee Inclusion’, the UNHCR highlights the increasingly important role played by digital technologies and proposes the strengthening of policies and practices to promote the development of digital and transferable skills through connected and blended learning methods. Keeping within its broader approach, in 2016, the UNHCR, together with Arizona State University, initiated the Connected Learning in Crisis Consortium (CLCC). The objective of the initiative is to promote, co-ordinate, and support the provision of quality higher education in the contexts of conflict, crisis, and displacement, and uses information technology to combine face-to-face and online learning.

In the domain of access to education, the Refugee Agency maintains several platforms. To illustrate, its online platform ‘UNHCR Opportunities’ allows refugees, IDPs, and other displaced persons to find accredited higher education or scholarship programmes that have been verified by UNHCR. The ‘Learn and Connect’ portal enables UNHCR staff and partners to access a comprehensive set of learning activities.

Development basket

Sustainable development The UNHCR is firmly committed to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The interplay between digital and development is evident in the Agency’s contributions in the field of digital inclusion. To this end, the UNHCR has published the above-mentioned ‘Strategy on Digital Identity and Inclusion’.

The Refugee Agency has also developed the Digital Access, Inclusion and Participation programme, to ensure that refugees and other displaced commu-

nities have access to digital technology and connectivity, and increasing their participation in the Refugee Agency’s work. The UNHCR’s Innovation Service leads the programme.

In 2018, the UNHCR launched the Global Compact for Refugees, a framework for more equitable responsibility-sharing, noting that sustainable solutions to refugee situations cannot be realised without international co-operation.

Therefore, it sets out four key objectives: To ease the pressures on host countries, enhance refugee self-reliance, expand access to third-country solutions, and support conditions in countries of origin for return with safety and dignity.

Moreover, the Refugee Agency developed a digital platform for the Global Compact on Refugees, which enables the sharing of experiences and knowledge on the implementation of the Global Compact for Refugees.

The UNHCR has also worked with students and young people to raise awareness of many challenges faced by refugees. For instance, the Refugee Agency has launched ‘The MUN Refugee Challenge’ to encourage students worldwide to debate on and shape solutions to numerous refugee crises.

Human Rights basket

Privacy and data protection The UNHCR has been very vocal in the area of data protection, emphasising that ‘Data protection is part and parcel of refugee protection’. Since 2015, the Refugee Agency has maintained its own data protection policy. The policy is accompanied by the ‘Guidance on the Protection of Personal Data of Persons of Concern to UNHCR’, published in 2018, with the aim of assisting UNHCR personnel in the application and interpretation of the data protection policy.

The Refugee Agency recently published its ‘Data Transformation Strategy 2020-2025’, aimed at strengthening its role as a leading authority on data and information related to forcibly displaced and stateless persons.

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New Actors

CyberPeace Institute Campus Biotech Innovation Park, 15 avenue de Sécheron, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland https://cyberpeaceinstitute.org

The CyberPeace Institute, an independent, neutral, and collaborative non-governmental organization, was created to enhance the stability of cyberspace. It aims to decrease the frequency, harm, and scale of cyber-attacks on civilians and critical civilian infrastructure, and increase the resilience of vulnerable actors. The Institute subscribes to the following principles in its work: • Impact: Reducing the frequency, harm, and scale of cyber-attacks by pushing for greater restraint in the use of cyber-attacks, increasing accountability for attacks that occur, and enhancing capabilities to prevent and recover from attacks.

• Inclusiveness: Being inclusive and collaborative in the approach, cooperating with, and supporting, existing synergistic efforts.

• Independence: Operating free from the direction or control of any other actors, including states, industries, and other organisations.

• Integrity: Ensuring that its work and interactions with the cybersecurity community and victims of cyber-attacks reflect the highest ethical and analytical standards.

• Neutrality: Supporting the stability and security of cyberspace rather than the interests of individual actors; as such, engaging with stakeholders and cyber-attack victims regardless of geographic location, nationality, race, or religion.

• Transparency: Being transparent about its operations and methodologies, when it is feasible and responsible.

The Institute’s work is structured around three pillars: accountability, assistance, and advancement. These pillars form the core of the Institute’s mission, building on the simple reality that infrastructure, networks, regulations, norms, and protocols are merely enablers in cyberspace.

To fulfil this mission, and to deliver products and services which have a real impact, the Institute aims to achieve four strategic objectives, ensuring a human-centric response to the technological, ethical, and regulatory challenges of cyberspace. Each of these objectives enables operational,

tactical, and strategic responses with the goal of empowering people by maintaining a vibrant, open, free, and peaceful online space. The first three objectives are aligned with the three pillars, while the fourth objective ensures that the Institute and its staff are at the forefront of what will be tomorrow’s challenges in cyberspace.

• Strategic Objective 1: To increase and accelerate support towards the most vulnerable.

• Strategic Objective 2: To close the accountability gap through collaborative analyses of cyber-attacks.

• Strategic Objective 3: To advance international law and norms in order to promote responsible behaviour in cyberspace.

• Strategic Objective 4: To forecast and analyse security threats associated with emerging and disruptive technologies, to innovate breakthrough solutions, and to close the skill gap to address global cyber challenges.

The Institute has an international scope, and is independent, apolitical, and impartial in its operations, publications, and partnerships.

Digital activities The Institute provides assistance to vulnerable communities, analyses cyber-attacks to increase accountability, advocates for the advancement of the role of international law and norms for responsible behaviour in cyberspace, forecasts future threats (with a focus on disruptive technology), and supports capacity building.

Example of operational activities include: • Mapping the threat landscape in relation to critical civilian infrastructure.

• Supporting the delivery of assistance at scale to the most vulnerable victims of cyber-attacks.

• Co-ordinating resources to amplify the impact of existing assistance efforts.

• Conducting forensic and impact analyses of sophisticated cyber-attacks

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and cyber operations, in co-operation with a consortium of experts from academia, industry, and civil society.

• Co-ordinating relief efforts through a network of volunteers and providing knowledge products to increase resiliency.

• Advancing the role of international law and norms governing the behaviour of state and non-state actors in cyberspace.

• Analysing responses to violations of norms, and how normative or legal gaps are exposed or undermined.

• Increasing public awareness of the real-life impact of cyber-attacks, and providing a platform where vulnerable populations can tell their stories.

• Analysing potential threats and opportunities stemming from the convergence of disruptive technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence, brain machine interface, augmented Reality, virtual Reality, 5G, etc.).

• Acting as a platform to share innovative approaches and capacity-building strategies.

Digital Policy Issues Cybersecurity basket Critical infrastructure

Consistent with its human-centric approach, one of the Institute’s key focuses is the protection of civilian infrastructure from systemic cyber-attacks. For instance, in 2020, the Institute, together with a number of partners, launched Cyber 4 Healthcare, a targeted service for healthcare organisations fighting COVID-19. The initiative helps people find trusted and free cybersecurity assistance provided by qualified and reputable companies. The Institute has also issued a call for governments to stop all cyber-attacks on healthcare organisations and to work with civil society and the private sector to ensure that medical facilities are protected and that perpetrators are held accountable.

Network security To increase the scale and impact of its efforts to assist civilian victims of cyber-attacks, the Institute is building a CyberVolunteer Network, composed of volunteers from a range of backgrounds and locations worldwide, as well as partners with established assistance capabilities. The network provides emergency incident response and longer-term recovery plans to civilian victims recovering from significant cyber-attacks perpetrated by malicious actors. It also assists vulnerable individuals in increasing their resilience and guarding against future cyber-attacks.

Sociocultural basket

Interdisciplinary approaches In order to contribute to closing the accountability gap in cyberspace, the Institute seeks to advance the role of international law and norms. This includes initiatives such as: publishing analyses of the economic and social impacts of cyber-attacks; driving external engagement with stakeholders, individuals, and organisations focused on enhancing the stability of cyberspace; conducting reviews of cyber-attacks based on international law and norms; and assessing potential remedies to fill the identified gaps. The Institute is actively engaged in the work of the Open-Ended Working Group on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security, and joined the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace.

Development

Capacity development In 2020, the Institute established a series of webinars called CyberPeace Labs. Within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first series, Infodemic: A Threat to Cyberpeace, explores how malicious actors are ex128

CyberPeace Institute

ploiting infodemics to facilitate cyber-attacks. The series gathers experts from academia, the private sector, international organisations, civil society, and governmental bodies as discussants. The discussions from the series produced a set of best practices and actionable recommendations to inform the Institute’s initiatives and, ultimately, to improve resilience against cyber-attacks and online peace.

The Institute aims at enabling and possibly scaling operational partnerships for cyber capacity building, notably with grassroots practitioners and civil society organisations, to maximise impact on local communities and individuals while taking into account specific human contexts.

Digital tools The Institute organises webinars (i.e. CyberPeace Labs), provides useful video materials and discussion recordings on its YouTube channel, maintains blogs on Medium, and actively uses a number of social media channels (i.e. Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook).

The Institute will also develop tailored products like its Resilience Toolkits, which will be tailored to improve cyber-hygiene and designed, produced, and delivered in collaboration with local partners and stakeholders to accelerate existing efforts at the regional level.

Resources The Institute acts at the operational and policy level, looking into potential tech disruptions and analysing the cyber-threat landscape.

Some of the latest achievements include the following initiatives: • ‘The COVID-19 Infodemic’: A campaign explaining the nexus between disinformation and cyber-attacks, providing the public with a set of

recommendations to break the chain of fake news, hate speech, and misinformation. More information here: https://cyberpeaceinstitute.org/ covid19-infodemic/ • ’A Call to All Governments: Work Together Now to Stop Cyber-attacks on the Healthcare Sector’: A campaign for all governments to take action to stop cyber-attacks on the healthcare sector. More information here: https://cyberpeaceinstitute.org/call-for-government/ • ‘Cyber 4 Healthcare’: A pro bono initiative to co-ordinate free assistance to healthcare professionals, analyse data to determine violations of laws and norms, and hold malicious actors accountable. Cyber 4 Healthcare is the first in a series of projects which will focus on systemic attacks against critical civilian infrastructures. More information here: https:// cyberpeaceinstitute.org/cyber4healthcare/ The Institute regularly contributes to the international debate on cyber-peace via publications on its website. Its latest communications include: • Cyberpeace Institute. (2019). Closing the accountability gap: A proposal for an evidence-led accountability framework [Position Paper]. Accessible at: https://cyberpeaceinstitute.org/news/2019-12-02-the-cyberpeace-institutes-position-paper-to-the-united-nations-open-endedworking-group/ • A series of blogposts and webinars addressing the outbreak of COVID-19 and the related infodemic: • Blogpost: “Infodemic: A Threat to Cyberpeace”. Accessible at: https:// cyberpeaceinstitute.org/blog/2020-03-18-covid-19-infodemic-andcyberpeace • Webinar: CyberPeace Lab: The Nexus Between the COVID-19 Infodemic and Cyber-attacks. Accessible at: https://cyberpeaceinstitute. org/blog/2020-03-24-webinar-the-nexus-between-disinforma-

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tion-and-cyber-attacks • Blogpost: What is the Infodemic? Accessible at: https://cyberpeaceinstitute.org/blog/2020-03-25-what-is-the-infodemic • Blogpost: A Brief History of Cyber-attacks: From Ebola to COVID-19.

Accessible at: https://cyberpeaceinstitute.org/blog/2020-03-26a-brief-history-of-infodemics-from-charlie-hebdo-to-ebola-andcovid-19 • Blogpost: How the COVID-19 Infodemic Accelerates Cyber-attacks.

Accessible at: https://cyberpeaceinstitute.org/blog/2020-03-26-thecovid-19-infodemic-and-malicious-cyber-activities • Blogpost: Protect yourself. Protect others: STOP, INVESTIGATE, CONTAIN, REPORT. https://cyberpeaceinstitute.org/blog/2020-03-27offline-and-online-protecting-yourself-is-protecting-others • Blogpost: Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Health Sector’s Risk Profile. Accessible at: https://cyberpeaceinstitute.org/blog/202004-09-how-expanding-healthcare-efforts-increases-the-health-sectors-risk-profile • Blogpost: The Covid-19 Infodemic: When One Epidemic Hides Another.

Accessible at: https://cyberpeaceinstitute.org/blog/2020-07-09-thecovid-19-infodemic-when-one-epidemic-hides-another • Op-Ed: Ensuring Cybersecurity for Critical for Civilian Infrastructure.

Accessible at: https://cyberpeaceinstitute.org/blog/2020-06-11-ensuring-cybersecurity-for-critical-civilian-infrastructure The Institute regularly contributes to high-level international fora in the field of international security. Some recent examples include: • Attendance of the informal intersessional consultative meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security; UN HQ, NYC, December 2019.

• Review of the ‘Initial “Pre-draft” of the report of the Open-Ended Working Group on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security’, April 2020.

Future of meetings Series of webinars called CyberPeace Labs: initial focus on ’The COVID-19 Infodemic’ initiative as part of a dedicated campaign.

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GESDA Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator c/o Fondation Campus Biotech Geneva, Chemin des Mines 9, 1202 Geneva https://gesda.global/

The Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) was established to explore how advances in science and technology can most efficiently be translated into and used as tools for the benefit of humanity as a whole. It wants to interlink the digital revolution with other disruptive fields of science and with the diplomatic world.

As part of its efforts on scouting emerging technologies, GESDA deals with three primary questions: • Who are we? What does it mean to be human in the era of robots, gene editing, and augmented reality?

• How are we going to live together? How can technologies reduce inequality and foster inclusive development?

• How can we assure mankind’s well-being with the sustainable health of our planet Earth? How can we supply the world’s population with the necessary food and energy and regenerate our planet?

As far as methodology is concerned, GESDA aims to bring together people of different mindsets and communities to figure out how to use the future to build the present, and in particular the best of what is being explored in the world’s leading research laboratories. In order to achieve this, GESDA has started developing an overview of scientific trends at various time horizons (5, 10, and 25 years), which will provide the diplomatic community, the impact community (philanthropy, industry), and the citizen community worldwide with an outlook on the next possible science advances.

• GESDA will prepare these communities to understand the issues, opportunities, and concerns around upcoming disruptive sciences and technologies.

• GESDA will bring these communities to a decision point on specific actions and then help financially launch concerted actions through its Impact Fund.

• GESDA will convene the global scientific community (one of the most interconnected around the world) in global discussions about future governance and geopolitics.

As of 2020, GESDA is developing its first thematic platforms in order to anticipate possible advances in four scientific frontier issues, as well as their related challenges: • Quantum revolution and advanced artificial intelligence (AI), with for instance the challenge of privacy.

• Augmented human, with for instance the challenge of advanced gene editing or neuroenhancement.

• Eco-regeneration and geo-engineering, with for instance the challenges of synthetic biology, decarbonisation, and regenerative agriculture.

• Science and diplomacy, with for instance the challenge of future world geopolitics, including multilateral conflict modelling, forecasting, and prevention.

In 2021, the GESDA Board of Directors will choose and fund (in partnership with other foundations) a limited number of large-scale, high-impact initiatives aiming to : • Help the world population benefit more rapidly from the advances of science and technology as stated by Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; • Contribute to inclusive human development by reducing poverty and inequality while increasing the number of developing and emerging economies, in line with Agenda 2030; and • Leverage the role of Geneva and Switzerland as a hub of multilateralism capable of anticipating cutting-edge science and technologies, as well as translating them into effective tools for humanity.

GESDA was created as a global foundation in 2019. The founders are the Swiss Federal Council and the Canton of Geneva with the City of Geneva. It became operational in January 2020 with the ultimate objective to strengthen the contribution of Switzerland to multilateralism as the host country of the UN in Geneva.

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GESDA Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator

It emerged out of recommendations by a high-level working group made up of experts from International Geneva, inspired by the importance of leveraging the assets of this multinational and multidimensional ecosystem.

Digital activities All the science fields at the core of GESDA’s target activities include big data and high performance computing, as well as digital frameworks and infrastructure.

However, GESDA focuses on ‘science anticipation’ in general and not only on digitalisation. It wants to interlink the digital revolution with other disruptive fields of science in order to cope with and to promote the developing so-called ‘info-bio-nano-cogno-convergence”. GESDA’s headquarters is the Campus Biotech in Geneva.

Activities, reflections, and discussions regarding the GESDA’s thematics are supported by an online weekly review of articles and editorials from the world press, as well as online content (blogs, websites, and chat tools) and top science journals. This weekly digest has been sent out since Summer 2020 and is titled ‘GESDA’s BESTREADS’.

Digital policy Issues GESDA is working on ten interdisciplinary and interrelated scientific emerging topics. Five of these topics are more specifically related to digital policy issues.

Overview of scientific emerging topics under investigation as of August 2020 Platform 1

Platform 2

Platform 3

Platform 4

Quantum revolution and advanced AI

Human augmentation

Eco-regeneration and geo-engineering

Science and diplomacy

1. From context-driven and higher order reasoning AI to artificial general intelligence

3. Cognitive engineering and memory enhancement

5. Decarbonizing the industry and negative emission technologies

7. Future of global governance and multilateralism

2. Quantum communication and computation

4. Genomic medicine, chimera, and human genetic resource management

6. Eco-regeneration (including space and oceans), resources and synthetic life

9. Social Augmentation

8. Anticipating third globalisation and future of work to promote inclusive development and circular economy

10. Values, behaviours, and futures literacy

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GESDA Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator

Artificial Intelligence

Cognitive engineering and memory enhancement

The third wave of AI is about integrating contextual information, common sense, and higher order reasoning into machine learning algorithms. Instead of learning from large data sets, these algorithms will understand and perceive the world on their own, and learn by understanding the world and reason with it. This is the next step toward truly intelligent machines and artificial general intelligence (AGI, i.e. the fourth wave of AI), defined as the level of machine intelligence to have the capacity to learn and understand any intellectual task better than a human. A recent survey conducted by the Future of Humanity Institute found that AGI will be achieved with a probability of 50% in 45 years and of 10% in 9 years. This will have implications ranging from our understanding of fundamental science questions (abstracting new laws of physics) to new applications in virtually all areas.

Through deep-brain, temporal lobe, or cortical stimulation, but also non-invasive stimulation techniques, neuroscientists aim at restoring brain functions affected by common neuro-degenerative diseases. Combining the learnings from these interventions with advanced AI technologies, the mid- to long-term goal is to close the loop between brain activity and computers in order to augment the cognitive capacities of human beings. While the human brain is not always able to take the morally optimal decision (for example the ’trolley problem’, but also AI-assisted policing or an AI-augmented judiciary), the forthcoming augmentation – or even fusion – between computed and ‘brain’ intelligence will allow to ‘enhance’ human decision-making on moral and ethical issues, with the risk of brain hacking via computational systems.

Quantum computing and communication While the first special purpose quantum devices to support research are already in the pipeline, a significant amount of science and engineering is needed to demonstrate a quantum advantage for real problems and develop the first fault-tolerant scalable quantum computers (10 years). Large-scale quantum computing could be available in 25 years with an impact, for example, on chemical catalysis (i.e. carbon, nitrogen fixation), quantum-inspired machine learning, and quantum-driven discoveries and modelling (i.e. compounds, materials). At the level of networked quantum communication systems, they will evolve from a quantum Internet, which allows unconditionally secure communication through device-independent quantum cryptography, to a large-scale quantum network for unconditionally secure computations. At this stage, traditional RSA cryptography protocols will be crackable, raising questions of security and privacy, as well as access control to quantum computation.

Social Augmentation Future technologies at the convergence of digital and neuro- sciences will have a strong impact on future societies and the position of human beings therein.

Depending on choices made, those technologies could augment social interactions and work towards citizen empowerment. Social, socio-technical, cultural, network-based, and immaterial innovations will probably bring forth important breakthroughs and possibly deliver many future-emerging innovations and offer the possibility to evolve towards a human-centered digital world.

Values, behaviours, and futures literacy Coming societal disruptions will affect our values and behaviours. At the same time, social understanding of (disruptive) technology is essential, should they be deployed at scale for the common good. Futures literacy, or the set of skills that allows people to better understand and ‘use-the-future’ (anticipate), for instance in how AI works, becomes an essential component for this. There is also 133

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a need to explore the education and training components in future science and technologies in order to ensure beneficial and inclusive deployment as well as to inform citizens, users, and leaders.

GESDA is also already accompanying two projects on the digital evolution:

Any reference to deliberation or decision making online

One of two annual board of directors meetings is held online.

The International Digital Health and AI Research Collaborative (I-DAIR) project in collaboration with Fondation Botnar located in Basel, which was launched in September 2019 at the Graduate Institute Geneva. I-DAIR explores how inclusive and responsible AI research and digital technology can help advance progress in the field of health and ultimately create a platform for global research collaborations on the matter. It aims to forge ahead recommendations on digital health issued by the UN High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation and objectives set by the World Health Organization (WHO) in regard to universal health coverage.

The joint initiative of the University of Geneva and ETH Zurich to develop science in diplomacy; for example, digital diplomacy and online negotiation engineering.

Digital tools and the future of meetings Any reference to online or remote meetings

GESDA will develop its online presence and activities in Fall 2020. This encompasses the development of online scouting tools and the implementation of tools facilitating remote meetings.

Any reference to holding meetings outside HQ

Will be developed in close collaboration with the members of the board located in Cape Town, Singapore, London, and Paris, as well as with Swiss embassies worldwide.

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GSPI Geneva Science-Policy Interface Uni Mail, Bd du Pont-d’Arve 40, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland https://gspi.ch/

The Geneva Science-Policy Interface (GSPI) was launched in 2018 by the University of Geneva with the support of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The GSPI strengthens co-operation between the research community and Geneva-based international organisations and actors, with the objective of generating impactful policies and programmes to address complex global challenges.

Policy discussions on new technologies, namely, the use of drones as part of humanitarian action, were also organised by the GSPI in previous years. The conversation centred around the practical use of drones to deliver humanitarian aid and what can be done by stakeholders such as policymakers, the private sector, and NGOs to maximise the opportunities and reduce the risks of such technologies.

The GSPI fulfils its mission by creating opportunities for and supporting the design and implementation of impactful collaborations between the science, policy, and implementation communities by brokering actionable scientific knowledge for decision makers and by contributing to the advancement, professionalisation, and recognition of the science-policy field in Geneva and beyond.

The GSPI also addresses the role of digital technology in the domain of healthcare. Together with the Geneva Health Forum, the GSPI has established a working group to discuss the digitisation of clinical guidelines for management of childhood illness in primary care in low and middle-income countries. In line with the efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO), and the principles of donor alignment for digital health, the working group will provide recommendations in November 2020 on how digitalisation can improve the management of childhood illness.

Digital activities As part of its activities on the interplay between science, policy, and implementation actors, the GSPI also tackles digital issues. With data being a centrepiece of evidence-based policies, several of the GSPI’s activities touch on digitalisation and the use of digital tools in domains such as health, development, and the environment.

The GSPI is also looking into how computational simulations can be harnessed to develop policy. Among other things, the GSPI argues that technology can allow for robust and safe policy testing, and a better understanding of policy processes.

Digital Policy Issues

Legal and Regulatory basket

Infrastructure basket Emerging technologies

In regard to emerging technologies and digitisation, the GSPI is involved in a number of ways. From the policy discussion standpoint, the GSPI organised in 2019 together with the University of Geneva a discussion entitled ‘Digitisation: What role for International Geneva’. The discussion explored what experience and know-how could Geneva-based organisations share so as to empower and protect users in the context of the digital revolution.

Data Governance

On the subject of data governance, the GSPI organised with a number of other partners a discussion at the 2019 WSIS Forum on aerial data produced by drones and satellites in the context of aid and development. The session explored the interplay between international organisations, NGOs, and scientists and how they can work together to help monitor refugee settlements, provide emergency response in case of natural disasters, and scale agriculture programmes.

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GSPI Geneva Science-Policy Interface Uni Mail, Bd du Pont-d’Arve 40, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland https://gspi.ch/

Artificial Intelligence & Online Platforms The GSPI’s 2020 Impact Collaboration Programme focused on data-driven decision-making as its annual theme. Selected projects covering housing policies, marine biodiversity, energy transition, and chemical waste management not only include digital data as source material, but many of them make innovative use of digital tools (artificial intelligence, online platforms).

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Libra Association Quai de l’Ile 13, Geneva https://libra.org/en-US/

The Libra Association is an independent membership organisation based in Geneva. Its membership consists of geographically distributed and diverse businesses (e.g. payment, technology, telecommunications, and venture capital companies) and nonprofit organisations.

The Association is responsible for the governance of the Libra network and the development of the Libra Project.

Digital activities Building on the potential of blockchain technology, Libra intends to create a new kind of digital infrastructure and a global payment system aimed at addressing a global audience. To this end, the software that implements the Libra Blockchain is open source, so that anyone can build on it.

Digital issues Infrastructure basket Blockchain

The aim of the Libra Blockchain is to serve as a basis for financial services, including a new global payment system that meets the daily financial needs of billions of people, including underserved individuals.

According to the Libra Association’s White Paper, the blockchain model is built from the ground up to address the following three requirements: Scale to billions of accounts, by ensuring high transaction throughput, low latency, and an efficient, high-capacity storage system; safety of funds and financial data; and flexibility, so that it can power future innovation in financial services. The document also outlines the path forward, including how to ensure that the Libra Blockchain reaches a production-ready state. In this context, the Libra Association underlines that it will co-operate with entities such as wallet services and exchanges in order to ensure the system is operational before its

release. It also highlights that it will focus on the provision of well-documented APIs and libraries to enable users to interact with the Libra Blockchain. Among other things, it intends to create a framework for the collaborative development of the Libra Blockchain technology adhering to its open-source approach.

Economic basket Cryptocurrencies

The Libra Association is also involved in the domain of cryptocurrencies. As part of its payment system, the Libra Association announced the development of single- and multi-currency stablecoins – the so-called Libra coin. The single-currency stablecoin, which is in itself a digital asset that has a specific face value in one fiat currency, will be fully supported by the Libra Reserve that is expected to be made up of cash or cash equivalents and short-term government securities denominated in the same currency as the stablecoins. The multi-currency stablecoin, for its part, will be a digital compound of the Libra single-currency stablecoins and, among other things, will be used as a cross-border settlement coin.

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Swiss Digital Initiative Campus Biotech Innovation Park, 15 avenue de Sécheron, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland https://swiss-digital-initative.org/

The Swiss Digital Initiative aims to bridge the gap between principles and practice and to safeguard ethical standards in the digital world through specific projects. It brings together academia, government, civil society and business to find solutions to strengthen trust in digital technologies and in the actors involved in ongoing digital transformation. The initiative has a global focus and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It was initiated by the association digitalswitzerland and under the patronage of Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer. The first project of the initiative is the development of a Digital Trust Label.

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Organisations with Representation in Geneva

ICANN Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers Regus Center, Rue du Rhône 14, 1204 Geneva, Switzerland https://www.icann.org/

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a non-profit public-benefit corporation whose role is to co-ordinate the global Internet’s systems of unique identifiers, and to ensure the stable and secure operation of these systems. ICANN’s main responsibility is to co-ordinate the allocation and assignment of the three sets of unique identifiers for the Internet (also known as ‘critical Internet resources’: domain names, Internet protocol (IP) addresses and autonomous system numbers, and protocol port and parameter numbers), as well as to facilitate the co-ordination of the operation and evolution of the Domain Name System (DNS) root name server system.

ICANN is legally incorporated in the United States, and maintains several regional offices and engagement centres around the world.

ICANN and its community carry out policy work all year long; this work culminates in three main annual meetings.

Digital activities ICANN’s Geneva office was particularly active during the multistakeholder process that led to the 2016 transition of the IANA functions stewardship from the US government to the global multistakeholder community. It then engaged in extensive consultation and outreach activities aimed at attracting support for the transition process.

Currently, ICANN’s activities in Geneva focus mainly on: • Work carried out within the International Telecommunication Union working groups dealing with technical issues related to the Internet and ICANN’s mandate.

• Participation in IGF activities, including the preparation and running of the annual IGF event.

• Participation in academic and policy events organised by the University of Geneva, the Geneva Internet Platform, the Graduate Institute, and other academic and policy organisations in Geneva.

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ISOC Internet Society Rue Vallin 2, CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland https://www.internetsociety.org/

The Internet Society (ISOC) supports and promotes the development of the Internet as a global technical infrastructure, a resource to enrich people’s lives, and a force for good in society.

ISOC is a US-based organisation with a global presence (through local chapters, staff, and special interest groups). In Geneva, ISOC focuses on collaborating international organisations, the tech community, and civil society in advancing its main missions of: • Building and supporting the communities that make the Internet work; • Advancing the development and application of Internet infrastructure, technologies, and open standards; and • Advocating for policy that is consistent with its view of the Internet

• Support and active participation in the activities of the IGF, including developing and promoting innovative concepts such as best practice forums; • Support for the activities of the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) Digital Watch as an information and knowledge hub dedicated to providing timely and reliable information about Internet governance and digital policy; and • Participation in academic and policy events organised by the University of Geneva, GIP, Graduate Institute, and other academic and policy organisations in Geneva.

Digital activities • Participation in the International Telecommunication Union’s working group activities, in particular those focusing on issues related to ensuring the stability and functionality of the Internet (e.g. technical infrastructure); • Participation in the World Summit on the Information Society Forum and other multistakeholder processes and deliberations hosted by Geneva-based organisations; • Support for capacity building and outreach activities in humanitarian, educational, and societal contexts, among others;

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UNEP The United Nations Environment Programme Chemin des Anémones 11-13, 1219 Châtelaine, Switzerland https://www.unep.org/

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the world’s leading environmental authority, setting the global environmental agenda, promoting the coherent implementation of the environmental aspects of sustainable development within the UN system, and serving as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.

UNEP integrates digital and data tools and policies in its activities.

This convergence between digital and the environment is the basis of UNEP’s new programme on Digital Transformation for Environmental Sustainability for 2022-2025.

UNEP-Geneva also participates in the following activities: • The new Policy Network on Environment and Digitalization within the Internet Governance Forum; • The initiatives of the Geneva Environmental Network; and • Academic and policy events and initiatives of the: World Meteorological Organization, Group on Earth Observation, University of Geneva, World Economic Forum, and World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

Digital activities The UNEP’s European office in Geneva works on the project ‘Digital Ecosystem for Earth Platform’. More specifically, the project focuses on linking the ecosystem in International Geneva to the following UNEP initiatives: • A Global Environmental Data Strategy; • A World Environment Situation Room, where global environmental trends can be analysed in real-time using big data, AI and other frontier technologies; and • A new programme on Digital Transformation for Environmental Sustainability for 2022-2025.

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GIP Geneva Internet Platform 7bis, Avenue de la Paix, CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland https://www.giplatform.org/

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DiploFoundation 7bis, Avenue de la Paix, CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland https://www.diplomacy.edu/

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Geneva Internet Platform 7bis Avenue de la Paix CH-1202 Geneva Switzerland