Sustainable development Archives | Page 299 of 300

South Centre

Established in 1995, the South Centre is an intergovernmental policy research think tank composed of and accountable to developing country member states. It researches key policy development issues and supports developing countries to effectively participate in international negotiating processes that are relevant to achieving 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 cooperation (SSC), financing for development, innovation and intellectual property, traditional knowledge, access to medicines, health, biodiversity, trade, investment agreements, international tax cooperation, human rights, gender, and the fourth industrial revolution.

Within the limits of its capacity and mandate, the South Centre also responds to requests for policy advice and technical and other support from its members and other developing countries.

The South Centre has observer status in several international organisations.

Digital activities

Innovation and development are some of the issue areas 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 fourth 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.

The South Centre continued to monitor discussions and new regulatory developments at the country level, undertake research and participate in multiple forums on digital governance including the negotiations of the UN GDC adopted by the UNGA in September 2024, the discussions in the CSTD, on digital health in the G20 Health Working Group, WIPO Conversations on Intellectual Property and Frontier Technologies, AI resolutions in the UNGA, the UNESCO AI Ethics Work, digital regulation and governance issues in ITU, and the AI for Good Summit held in Geneva in May 2024. On the sidelines of these meetings, the Centre discussed areas for cooperation with the ministries of member countries.

Digital policy issues

Intellectual property rights

In June 2019, the South Centre published a policy brief on Intellectual Property and Electronic Commerce: Proposals in the WTO and Policy Implications for Developing Countries, which provided an overview of discussions within the WTO on IP and its potential implications for the digital economy.

In September 2020, the Centre published a research paper on Data in Legal Limbo: Ownership, Sovereignty, or a Digital Public Goods Regime? and in 2022, a research paper titled The Liability of Internet Service Providers for Copyright Infringement in Sri Lanka: A Comparative Analysis.

The South Centre continued to collaborate with a network of academic research institutions from the North and South, led by American University, Washington School of Law, and participated in the annual meeting of the global network of experts on the right to research and copyright in June 2024 in Washington DC that dealt, inter alia, with the intersection of AI, copyright and information law.

The South Centre also provided inputs to the First Open Consultations Process Meeting held on 18 November 2024, within the WSIS+20 High-Level Event 2025.

In light of the global health pandemic, the South Centre, as part of its publication series SouthViews, shared the perspectives of developing countries on digital health, challenges and recommendations to overcome these, and the use of digital technology for education in developing countries. A SouthViews on Access to Medical Equipment in a Pandemic Situation: Importance of Localized Supply Chains and 3D Printing was also published.

E-commerce and trade

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, which explores 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 highlights challenges such as low IT adoption and the lack of electricity supply, which limit the uptake of e-commerce activities in Africa, for instance. Another analytical note published that same year tackles the impact of the digital economy on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and looks into the type of e-commerce rules that could best serve the interests of MSMEs. In 2019, it addressed issues on the 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 organises many meetings to discuss issues such as the WTO E-Commerce Moratorium and the Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) plurilateral discussions on e-commerce.

The South Centre has published a research paper on the WTO Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmissions. This paper highlights the adverse impacts of the continuing moratorium on developing and least developed countries. The moratorium is causing almost all developing and least developed countries to lose tariff revenues at a time when they are most needed. With no clarity on the definition of electronic transmissions and thereby on the scope of the moratorium, its continuation can lead to substantive tariff revenue losses for developing and least developed countries in the future.

The South Centre has issued a statement on the landmark shift of the United States Trade Representative’s decision to rein in the Big Tech digital trade agenda under the E-Commerce JSI negotiations.

In 2024, the South Centre actively engaged in discussions on the WTO e-commerce moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions, a critical issue for developing countries facing revenue losses and diminished policy space in the digital economy. The Centre prepared a detailed commentary on the WTO’s mapping of quantitative studies related to the moratorium, highlighting the fiscal implications and addressing gaps in existing analyses, particularly the unequal impact on developing economies. This work aimed to equip member states with insights to advocate for evidence-based decisions that preserve their ability to implement national policies in the digital era.

During the WTO Information Session on the moratorium, the Centre also responded to member inquiries, clarifying technical issues and offering strategies to mitigate long-term trade and policy challenges. The Centre emphasised the importance of balancing global trade objectives with the need to safeguard the fiscal stability and policy autonomy of developing countries. These contributions underscore the South Centre’s dedication to ensuring that the evolving digital trade framework is equitable and inclusive for the Global South.

The South Centre provided technical support by preparing draft negotiating texts on the Work Programme on E-commerce and the moratorium on electronic transmissions at the WTO Thirteenth Ministerial Conference (MC13). Our comprehensive commentary on the MC13 Decision (Policy Brief No. 130 ‘Unpacking the WTO MC13 Decision on the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce’) further assisted developing countries in understanding the implications of the decisions and refining their negotiation strategies.

The South Centre also monitors developments and participates in discussions on the ground and across international organisations in Geneva, including the UNCTAD eTrade for All initiative.

In 2022, the South Centre organised/co-organised two sessions during UNCTAD eCommerce week: Data Regulation: Implications for the Digitization of the Economy and Development and Exploring a Global Framework for Data Governance. The South Centre Executive Director also participated in the eTrade for All Leadership Dialogue. See the Centre’s contribution here.

The South Centre has launched a policy brief analysing the EU-ESA Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Digital Trade Chapter, assessing its alignment with development priorities. This research aims to provide actionable recommendations to member states, ensuring that regional trade agreements reflect the interests of developing countries and promote sustainable growth. Through these efforts, the Centre continues to drive inclusive digital development and foster equitable participation in the global digital economy.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) marks a historic achievement in Africa’s quest for economic integration, with the ambitious goal of establishing the world’s largest free trade area by uniting 54 African countries. As digital trade emerges as a critical engine of economic growth, the formulation of the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol has become a cornerstone of this broader framework. The Digital Trade Protocol aims to harmonise regulations across member states, streamline cross-border digital transactions, and position African countries to compete effectively in the global digital economy. However, the diversity in digital infrastructure and regulatory environments across the continent presents significant challenges, making the negotiations both intricate and sensitive. Ensuring that the protocol fosters inclusive growth while respecting national digital sovereignty is paramount. The South Centre has had an active role in this process by providing technical expertise and drafting negotiating texts to support African delegates to advocate for their countries’ interests. The analyses and contributions to the development of the Digital Trade Protocol, along with comments on its annexes, have contributed to shaping a framework that balances regional cooperation with national priorities. Additionally, the South Centre has convened strategic meetings with some African delegates, facilitating collaboration and building consensus on key issues.

Taxation

The taxation of the digital economy is the single biggest issue in international taxation today. Countries around the world are trying to find solutions for taxing Big Tech companies that operate with very different business models, owing to which they can escape taxation under outdated international tax rules meant for a brick-and-mortar economy. The key solution being negotiated is known as Amount A of Pillar One of the OECD’s Two Pillar Solution. The South Centre has been actively involved in Amount A negotiations, briefing its member states and submitting comments on every single set of Model Rules that have been put out for public comment, articulating the concerns and issues of developing countries. In 2022, we published the world’s first set of country-level revenue estimates on Amount A, contrasted with the UN solution of Article 12B of the UN Model Tax Convention. Revenue estimates were published for the member states of the South Centre and the African Union, with whom the study was jointly conducted. In October 2023, we published another policy brief titled Beyond the Two Pillar Proposals: A Simplified Approach for Taxing Multinationals, which offers an alternative policy solution different from those of the UN and the OECD. We also published a policy brief in June 2023 titled Taxation of Digital Services: What hope for the African States? which argues that African countries need to improve digital connectivity to be able to collect more taxes under the OECD digital tax solution of Amount A. This is because the revenue sourcing rules of Amount A allocate profits using digital indicators such as viewing of advertisements, IP addresses, etc.

At the UN Tax Committee, we participated in the 26th Session in New York, where we mobilised developing country members through peer exchanges and briefings and also participated in the negotiations to promote the interests of our member states and other developing countries, inter alia, on the taxation of the digital economy. Ahead of the UN Tax Committee session, we published a study on the taxation of computer software. The study on computer software showed that 34 of the South Centre’s member states could have collected $1 billion in taxes in 2020 from computer software sales had there been the corresponding standards by the UN. The study helped mobilise support from developing countries and brought to a close a 20-year negotiation on the taxation of computer software.

We also published a policy brief titled Conceptualizing Remote Worker Permanent Establishment, which provided an innovative solution for taxing the emerging phenomenon of work from home/work from anywhere.

The UNCTAD Intergovernmental Group of Experts on the Digital Economy invited the South Centre to present the policy options for taxing the digital economy to UN member states. Our presentation was so appreciated that the governments of Palestine and Cambodia immediately requested capacity building on the subject.

Given our expertise in the taxation of the digital economy, in June 2023, we co-organised a G20-South Centre event on international taxation. This was on capacity building for Indian tax officials on the Two Pillar Solution and the international tax standards being negotiated in the UN. This was also our first G20 event, and was widely praised and appreciated by Indian participants. We mobilised international tax experts from across Asia, Africa, and Latin America to share their perspectives on these topics with Indian officials.

In May 2023, we partnered with the UNDP to co-organise a Capacity Building Workshop on the taxation of the digital economy in May 2023. The two organisations shared the policy options available to Sri Lanka to tax the digital economy, which included a digital services tax. The workshop was so impactful that within a few days, the government introduced a digital services tax and, in the record time of two months, got it passed by Parliament. We remained engaged and provided technical briefs to the Sri Lankan Parliament, particularly the Finance Committee.

We were also invited to participate in the Addis Tax Initiative (ATI) General Assembly in Zambia, where we provided capacity building on ATI member states on the taxation of the digital economy. After the workshop, the Finance Ministry of Zambia reached out to the South Centre Tax Initiative (SCTI) for detailed policy advice.

The SCTI recognised that it was of prime importance that South Centre member states and other developing countries make an informed decision on whether or not to sign the Amount A Multilateral Convention (MLC), and also to contrast it with feasible alternatives. Hence, in collaboration with the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) and West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF), in June 2024, the South Centre released Research Paper No. 199 titled A Toss Up? Comparing Tax Revenues from the Amount A and Digital Service Tax Regimes for Developing Countries, which provided key information to decision makers and was reported in the international media. In October and November 2024, partnership with WATAF and ATAF, teh South Centre held technical briefings for their members on their aforementioned joint publication, showcasing the country level revenue estimates for all South Centre and African Union members under Amount A and Digital Service Taxes (DSTs) and available policy options for the taxation of the digital economy. The study indicates that Amount A is unlikely to result in tangible revenue gains for developing countries due to high thresholds and restrictive provisions of the rules, among others. On the other hand, DSTs can provide, on average, three times higher revenues from Amount A for South Centre and African Union member states.

The SCTI participated as a panellist in a meeting organised by the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group in October 2024 to discuss the status of taxing e-commerce in the context of the WTO Moratorium, where they presented SCTI’s research on revenue estimates from the OECD vs UN solutions for taxing the digital economy. The SCTI also served as a panellist on the GDC during the 32nd International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE) Conference and as a speaker at a conference on Taxation Without Borders organised by the University of Gothenburg in October 2024, where they discussed the OECD solution for taxing the digital economy and other alternatives like DSTs and revenue implications.

In August 2024, the Centre, together with UNDP, organised a workshop for Angola on the taxation of the digitalised economy.

During the 57th Session of the Human Rights Council in September 2024, the South Centre made a statement on ‘Realizing the right to development: The case for a United Nations Framework Convention On International Tax Cooperation’, highlighting the possible content of protocols to the United Nations Tax Convention for taxing illicit financial flows and digital services.

The SCTI published reports on how the two early protocols for the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation (FCITC) could be structured and the potential areas of priority. In December 2024, the South Centre published a policy brief titled ‘Towards a UN Protocol for Taxing Cross-Border Services in a Digitalized Economy’, which was first published in November 2024 as a Think20 (T20) Brasil Road map.

Multiple news channels and agencies regularly solicit the South Centre’s views on the concerns of the developing countries in international tax negotiations on the taxation of the digital economy.

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, 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 policy space open for developing countries), diversity (e.g. multilingualism), and security (e.g. funding of computer security incident response teams (CSIRTs)) 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, which looks 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 provides 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 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 the IoT, and identifies challenges, namely, the lack of infrastructure, a trained and skilled workforce, scalability, and funding faced by developing countries. It goes on to propose a strategic framework for responding to the fourth industrial revolution, which focuses on capacity building, technology incubations, scientific development, and policymaking.

Discussions towards the adoption of the GDC had been included as one of the proposals made by the United Nations Secretary-General in his report Our Common Agenda (A/75/982). The main objective of this proposal was ‘to protect the online space and strengthen its governance’ based on ‘shared principles for an open, free and secure digital future for all’. The issue of digital governance is quite complex and includes the need to reaffirm the fundamental commitment to connecting the unconnected, avoiding fragmentation of the internet, providing people with options as to how their data is used, applying human rights online, and promoting the regulation of AI.

The need to guarantee the implementation of human rights online required discussions leading towards the GDC to be conducted with utmost transparency, public disclosure, and accountability. Likewise, the private IT sector must respect human rights, apply human rights due diligence and increased accountability, and allow broader oversight from the state and civil society. In some instances, public-private partnerships (PPPs) can be a useful tool to support an inclusive digital transformation, but public participation and oversight of PPPs, guided by strong principles of transparency and the protection and respect for human rights, are necessary to support the transfer of technology, skills, and knowledge needed to promote inclusive digital transformation. The South Centre was actively engaged with other partners to strengthen multilateralism in this process and to limit the detrimental impacts of multistakeholderism in global governance.

The South Centre combines expertise in global matters of governance in the discussion of the GDC to strengthen multilateralism through an intergovernmental process that protects the voices of developing and least developed countries. We prepared a submission to the GDC on applying human rights online.

In 2020 and 2021, SouthViews on Technology and Inequality: Can We Decolonise the Digital World?, on Digital Transformation: Prioritizing Data Localization, and An Introduction to the UN Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries were also published.

For developing countries, the priority continues to be the bridging of the digital divide and strengthening capacities to harness new technologies and connectivity by upgrading infrastructure, skills, and education. Policies and regulatory frameworks must be context specific, such as on data privacy and data flows, and adaptable in light of the rapid pace of technological change, including generative AI and its effects. At the UNGA, there is continued discussion on the future of AI governance, with one resolution on AI safety being adopted in May 2024, led by the United States, and another resolution on international cooperation on AI being under negotiation, led by China (later adopted in July). The South Centre provided analysis on the first resolution of the UNGA on Artificial Intelligence, as well as, the second resolution of the UNGA on Artificial Intelligence, focused on enhancing international cooperation for capacity-building on AI.

The discussions leading up to the GDC highlighted the digital divide and the need for an inclusive and equitable digital future. Developing countries’ access to digital technologies for education, health, agriculture, and other activities is crucial for their development. Robust national policy space is needed to regulate the digital economy.

As part of the preparations for the adoption of the GDC and the Summit of the Future, the South Centre underscored the importance of addressing the digital divide and ensuring that the benefits of digital transformation are shared equitably. The Centre has strongly warned about the implications of a multistakeholder approach to digital governance, as it may not sufficiently recognise developing countries’ diverse needs and interests. It continues to favour developing countries’ access to digital technologies and data, as well as robust policy space to regulate the digital economy.

TheSouth Centre gave inputs on the third revised draft of the GDC. The Centre also published an article that considered some of the shortcomings of the Zero Draft of the GDC, particularly in attaining equitable international data governance and democratic participation in a digital multistakeholder scenario to avoid data monopolies and ensure inclusive policymaking processes, while recentring the objectives of internet governance for inclusive and development-oriented information societies. The Centre also published a research paper on the Pact for the Future and organised a dialogue with the G77 and China on the Summit of the Future, to analyse and share ideas on the risks and opportunities for developing countries.

The Centre engaged in collaborations to further its digital development agenda. At the IT for Change side event during the CSTD Working Group on Data Governance and AI, the Centre contributed insights into how governance structures can address the digital divide, supporting inclusive and equitable development across the Global South.

Digital tools

The South Centre has general and specific email lists and is moving to become a paperless organisation. To subscribe to our email lists, please visit our main website or contact us.

Future of meetings
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the South Centre has continued to hold occasional virtual meetings and webinars. To learn more about these events, please visit: https://www.southcentre.int/category/events/the-south-centre-events; https://taxinitiative.southcentre.int/event/; https://ipaccessmeds.southcentre.int/event/.

Kofi Annan Foundation

The Kofi Annan Foundation is an independent not-for-profit organisation, established in Switzerland in 2007 by the late former UN Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Kofi Annan. Its board is composed of prominent personalities from the public and private sectors, and it has a small team based in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Kofi Annan Foundation wants a fairer and more peaceful world, where no one is left behind, where democratic principles and the rule of law are upheld, and divides are bridged through dialogue and international cooperation.

The Foundation works closely with partners from international and regional organisations, foundations, universities, and civil society. It channels expertise, convenes all stakeholders around the table, and forges coalitions of trusted influence that can make change happen.

The Kofi Annan Foundation has three strategic objectives:

Strengthening democracy and elections, because popular legitimacy provides the basis for democratic governance, accountability, and respect for human rights and the rule of law.
Empowering youth to build a peaceful, sustainable future because they are active agents of change and must be given the opportunity to shape the world they will inherit.

Advocating for a more effective, inclusive, and equitable multilateral system, and promoting Kofi Annan’s core belief that structured international cooperation is key to solving challenges in today’s interconnected world.

Digital activities

The Kofi Annan Foundation addresses digitalisation within the scope of youth, and peace, as well as elections and democracy in the follow-up to the Kofi Annan Commission on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age (KACEDDA).

The Commission has proposed a series of actions to mitigate the negative impact of social media on elections and democracy, several of which the Foundation is directly implementing. These include new models to counter political disinformation, pre-electoral pledges regarding digital behaviour and activities, and the gauging of digital vulnerabilities of elections. The Foundation is also mobilising digital tools and platforms to increase the representativeness and inclusivity of elections and democratic decision-making, particularly for young people.

The Kofi Annan Foundation leverages digital platforms and technology to advance its mission of promoting peace, sustainable development, and human rights. Through our online presence, the Foundation disseminates information, engages with global audiences, and implements initiatives that harness digital tools for greater impact.

Some of our digital activities include:

Extremely Together: This global youth-led initiative empowers young people to prevent violent extremism. Utilising digital storytelling, social media campaigns, and online resources, Extremely Together engages youth in promoting peace and countering radicalisation narratives.

Kofi Annan Changemakers: Facilitating intergenerational dialogue, this programme connects young leaders with experienced mentors through virtual platforms. The digital format allows for widespread participation, fostering a global exchange of ideas and strategies for positive change.

Kofi Annan Commission on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age (KACEDDA): The Commission has proposed a series of actions to mitigate the negative impact of social media on elections and democracy, several of which the Foundation is directly implementing. These include new models to counter political disinformation, pre-electoral pledges regarding digital behaviour and activities, and the gauging of digital vulnerabilities of elections. The Foundation is also mobilising digital tools and platforms to increase the representativeness and inclusivity of elections and democratic decision-making, particularly for young people.

Electoral Vulnerability Index: The Kofi Annan Foundation has developed the Electoral Vulnerability Index (EVI), a predictive tool designed to assess the risk of election-related violence. This initiative aims to identify elections that may be particularly susceptible to violence, thereby enabling international and domestic actors to prioritise resources and interventions effectively.

Digital policy issues

Capacity development

While the Foundation does not use this terminology to describe its work, we have adopted it in line with our internal taxonomy. Its use in this publication is for consistency and clarity within that framework.

Fostering youth leadership

Sharing the leadership values, wisdom, and lessons of Kofi Annan with the next generation is an important element of the legacy work of the Foundation. Digital tools allow us to reach young people in every corner of the globe who would otherwise not be able to benefit from his advice and that of the people who worked closely with him. Two cohorts of Kofi Annan Changemakers – young leaders from different fields and backgrounds – have now harnessed digital communications tools and platforms to improve their leadership skills and build critical capacities.

The Foundation has expanded its youth and peace projects to regions including Colombia, Pakistan, and Southeast Asia. New initiatives include:

• Bridges to Peace – Preventing and countering violent extremism and terrorism in Uganda

• Environment of Peace – Youth-led research on climate, environment, and peace

• Voices of Reconciliation – Using music to strengthen youth’s resilience to violence in Colombia

• Champions for Peace – Empowering young people in Southeast Asia

The Foundation has launched the Leadership Excellence in Politics (LEiP) initiative focused on rebuilding trust in political leadership for the 21st century. Additionally, the Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize has been established to recognise exceptional leadership in defending, renewing, and promoting democracy.

Ethical and democratic leadership

The WYDE Civic Engagement – Accountability Hubs brings together a group of exceptional young leaders from sub-Saharan Africa in a comprehensive digital and in-person training and networking programme to enhance their skills in ethical and democratic leadership, project management, advocacy, and communications and develop pilot actions to put their project ideas into practice with dedicated seed grants.

Digital tools and AI

The Foundation works with civil society, electoral management bodies, and the private sector to develop capacity and tools to counter electoral-related disinformation. It has developed a tool, the Electoral Vulnerability Index, to identify elections at risk from digital threats and predict election-related violence.
The Foundation has published a report titled ‘GenAI at the Ballot Box: A Review of Generative AI Use in the 2024 European Parliament Elections’ and convened discussions with policymakers and civil society in Brussels to identify strategies to protect future elections from the malicious use of AI.

Human rights issues

Digital rights and youth participation

The Digitalise Youth Project, part of the Digital Democracy Initiative, aims to address the shrinking civic space and rampant disinformation in the Sahel and neighbouring regions by empowering local youth activists and civil society organisations. Launched in January 2025, it focuses on enhancing digital skills, promoting civic tech solutions, and raising awareness about online political engagement. By connecting human rights defenders and the tech community, the project equips young activists and media organisations with the knowledge and tools to navigate the digital ecosystem, protect themselves from surveillance, and fight against disinformation. In addition to its capacity-building work, Digitalise Youth’s advocacy efforts seek to promote digital rights at local, regional, and international levels.

Ensuring the protection of human rights in the digital era

The Foundation works with electoral stakeholders to mitigate the impact of online disinformation and hate speech and to ensure that threats from the digital space do not undermine citizens’ rights to political participation and that digital tools increase voters’ ability to make informed and educated electoral decisions.

The Foundation has also established a gender, equality, and inclusion initiative to ensure these principles are integrated across all its work.

Violent extremism

The Extremely Together programme consists of young people from around the world working to counter the impact of extremism in their communities. The initial cohort of ten impressive leaders has grown to include national hubs throughout South and Southeast Asia, East Africa, and the Sahel. Digital tools allow these young people to draw on the network and support of the Kofi Annan Foundation and share experiences to improve the impact of their work.

Interdisciplinary approaches

Supporting elections with integrity

Regarding its activities on elections and democracy, the Foundation’s digital work is based on KACEDDA’s findings. 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 an advocacy programme to ensure that the key messages emerging from the Commission were widely diffused and debated around the world.

The Kofi Foundation has joined the Global Network for Securing Electoral Integrity (GNSEI), which convenes election stakeholders to advance electoral integrity in the face of critical threats to democracy.

The Foundation’s Elections and Democracy projects are active in countries including Ghana, Kenya, the DRC, Malaysia, Nigeria, and more broadly in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2022, the Foundation urged Kenyan electoral candidates to pledge to appropriate and peaceful online behaviour, including avoiding all forms of gender-based violence, as part of its project ‘Securing the Digital Environment for the 2022 Election in Kenya’, funded by UNDEF.

In addition to articles addressing issues such as the interplay between democracy and the internet, the impact of digital on elections and democracy in West Africa, and digital dangers to democracy, the Commission published an extensive report titled Protecting Electoral Integrity in 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 cooperation with key stakeholders from civil society, academia, the private sector, and government.

The Foundation has published additional reports, including ‘Eliminating Violence Against Women in Politics’, and has hosted workshops addressing online gender-based political violence, such as a two-day multistakeholder workshop with the Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD-Kenya) in Nairobi in November 2021.

In 2022, the Foundation joined the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD) network to reinforce European actions promoting democracy worldwide. It regularly convenes discussions in Brussels to strengthen and inform EU mechanisms that play a role in protecting digital rights, such as the Media Freedom Act and the Artificial Intelligence Act.

Advancing multilateralism

The Foundation has expanded its focus to include a dedicated area of multilateralism that advocates for a fairer, more inclusive multilateral system. Key initiatives include:

• Multilateralism and Democracy – Understanding how democratic leadership is essential to solving global challenges

• Kofi Annan Commission on Food Security – Calling for urgent action to reform global food governance

The Foundation is collaborating with the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy on a project titled ‘Understanding the Links Between Multilateralism and Democracy to Tackle Global Challenges More Effectively’, which includes thematic roundtables on topics such as ‘Artificial Intelligence and Democracy’.

Digital tools

Conferencing technologies

Raising awareness of Kofi Annan’s legacy

The Kofi Annan Foundation uses digital tools to raise awareness of Kofi Annan’s legacy, by providing electronic access to selected speeches and quotations, as well as to a collection of his papers compiled by the City University of New York on our website and to some of his recorded statements and discussions via our official YouTube channel.

Through our podcast, Kofi Time, we promote Kofi Annan’s values and their relevance today to a global audience. In Kofi Time, Ahmad Fawzi, one of Kofi Annan’s former spokespersons and communications advisors, examines how Kofi Annan tackled a specific crisis and its relevance to today’s world and challenges. Kofi Annan’s call to bring all stakeholders to the table – including the private sector, local authorities, civil society organisations, academia, and scientists – resonates now more than ever with many who understand that governments alone cannot shape our future.

In the first 10-part series, Fawzi interviews some of Kofi Annan’s closest advisors and colleagues, including Dr Peter Piot, Christiane Amanpour, Mark Malloch-Brown, Michael Møller, and others. Kofi Time is available to stream via the Kofi Annan Foundation website, SoundCloud, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

Social media channels

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

_{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 are considered together on this page.}

The UN Human Rights Office is headed by the 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 UNGA 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 UN 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 the 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 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 that 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 situation in their countries. UN Human Rights also serves as the secretariat to the UPR process.

Certain NGOs and national human rights institutions participate as observers in UNHRC sessions after receiving the necessary accreditation.

Digital activities

Digital issues are increasingly gaining prominence in the work of the UN Human Rights, the UNHRC, the Special Procedures, the UPR, and the Treaty Bodies. The GDC, adopted in September 2024, recognised the central role of human rights in all digitalisation efforts, identifying respect, protection and promotion of human rights as one of its main objectives, and designating UN Human Rights as one of the main implementing UN entities.

A landmark document that provides a blueprint for digital human rights is the UNHRC resolution (A/HRC/20/8) on the promotion, protection, and enjoyment of human rights on the internet, first adopted in 2012, starting a string of regular resolutions with the same name addressing a growing number of issues. All 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; economic, social, and cultural rights; human rights and technical standard setting; business and human rights; and the safety of journalists. In 2024, UN Human Rights published an overview report (A/HRC/56/45) mapping the work and recommendations of the UNHRC, UN Human Rights, Human Rights Treaty Bodies, and Special Procedures in the domain of human rights and new and emerging digital technologies, including AI.

Digital policy issues

Artificial intelligence

UN Human Rights works extensively in the AI field. For example, a 2021 report to the UNHRC (A/HRC/48/31) analysed how AI impacts the enjoyment of the right to privacy and other human rights in areas such as policing, delivery of public services, employment and online information management. It clarified measures that states and businesses should take to ensure that AI is developed and used in ways that benefit human rights and prevent and mitigate harm.

The UN Human Rights B-Tech Project is running a Generative AI project that demonstrates how the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights should guide more effective understanding, mitigation, and governance of the risks associated with generative AI. The B-Tech Project also contributes to the implementation of the GDC, in particular with regard to the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights regarding AI products and services.

UN Human Rights also weighs in on specific policy and regulatory debates, such as an open letter concerning the negotiations of the EU AI Act. A brief titled Key Asks for State Regulation of AI, released in 2025, offers recommendations on AI regulation for states.

In 2018, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression presented a report to the UNGA on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technologies and Implications for the Information Environment. Among other things, the document addresses the role of AI in 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 calls for a human rights-based approach to AI.

For her 2020 thematic report to the Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance analysed different forms of racial discrimination in the design and use of emerging technologies, including the structural and institutional dimensions of this discrimination. She followed up with reports examining how digital technologies, including AI-driven predictive models, deployed in the context of border enforcement and administration, reproduce, reinforce, and compound racial discrimination. In 2024, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance published a new thematic report, highlighting how the belief that technology is neutral allows AI to perpetuate racial discrimination. Through examples, she examines issues like data problems, algorithm design, intentional misuse, and accountability, analysing efforts and providing recommendations for regulation to prevent racial discrimination. In 2023, the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy published a report on the principles of transparency and explainability in the processing of personal data in AI (A/78/310), stressing the importance of taking measures to ensure that AI is ethical, responsible, and human rights-compliant.

Several other special procedures mandate holders have discussed AI and human rights, including in reports on the implications of AI for the right to freedom of thought, the right to education, the right to health, the rights of older persons, and the rights of persons with disabilities. Important insights concerning AI have also been presented in areas such as counter-terrorism, and extreme poverty.

In its 2021 report on new and emerging digital technologies, the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee discussed issues associated with AI.

In 2020, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination published its General Recommendation No. 36 on preventing and combating racial profiling by law enforcement officials (CERD/C/GC/36), which focuses on algorithmic decision-making and AI in relation to racial profiling by law enforcement officials.

Child safety online

Within the work of the UN Human Rights, ‘child safety online’ is referred to as ‘rights of the child’ and dealt with as a human rights issue.

The issue of child safety online has garnered the attention of UN human rights entities for some time. The 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 and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography, and other child sexual abuse material, mandated by the UNHRC to analyse the root causes of the sale and sexual exploitation and promote measures to prevent it, also looks at issues related to child abuse, such as the sexual exploitation of children online, as addressed in a report (A/ HRC/43/40) published in 2020, but also in earlier reports.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child published its General Comment No. 25 on Children’s Rights in Relation to the Digital Environment (CRC/C/GC/25), which lays out how states parties should implement the convention in relation to the digital environment and provides guidance on relevant legislative, policy, and other measures to ensure full compliance with their obligations under the convention and the optional protocols in the light of opportunities, risks, and challenges in promoting, respecting, protecting, and fulfilling all children’s rights in the digital environment.

In 2024, the resolution A/HRC/RES/56/6 on the Safety of the Child in the Digital Environment was adopted by the UNHRC. This resolution requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to hold five regional workshops to assess child safety in the digital environment, involving various stakeholders. UN Human Rights is also asked to prepare a report summarising these consultations with recommendations for a global framework on child safety, to be presented at the Human Rights Council’s sixty-second session, in June 2026.

Human Rights Council resolution 56/6 requested UN Human Rights to convene a series of consultations to assess the risks to the safety of the child in the digital environment and related best practices and to publish a report on these consultations in June 2026.

Data governance

UN Human Rights maintains an online platform consisting of a number of databases on anti-discrimination and jurisprudence, as well as the Universal Human Rights Index (UHRI), which provides access to recommendations issued to countries by Treaty Bodies, Special Procedures, and the UPR of the UNHCR.

UN Human Rights’ report A Human Rights-Based Approach to Data – Leaving no one Behind in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 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. It was co-led with the Office of Legal Affairs and UN Global Pulse in drafting the Data protection and privacy policy for the Secretariat of the United Nations (ST/SGB/2024/3).

UN Human Rights is an observer in the Working Group on Data Governance at all levels under the auspices of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, established by the GDC.

Capacity development

UN Human Rights launched the Guiding Principles in Technology Project (B-Tech Project) to provide guidance and resources to companies operating in the technology space with regard to the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs on BHR). It also provides advice to states with regard to their duty to protect human rights from adverse impacts stemming from business activities, and the mix of measures of regulatory and policy options for doing so. Following the publication of a B-Tech scoping paper in 2019, several foundational papers have delved into a broad range of business-related human rights issues, from business-model-related human rights risks to access to remedies. At the heart of the B-Tech Project lies multistakeholder engagement, informing all of its outputs. The B-Tech Project is enhancing its engagement in Africa and Asia, working with technology company operators, governments, investors, and other key digital economy stakeholders, including civil society, across Africa in a set of African economies and their tech hubs to create awareness of implementing the UNGPs on BHR. Another thematic priority is B-Tech’s work on women’s and girls’ rights.

Following a multistakeholder consultation held on 7–8 March 2022, the High Commissioner presented a report on UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and Technology Companies (A/HRC/50/56), which demonstrated the value and practical application of the UNGPs in preventing and addressing adverse human rights impacts of technology companies.

Extreme poverty

Within the work of the OHCHR, ‘extreme poverty’ is dealt with as a human rights issue.

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. Moreover, in his 2022 report to the UNHRC on non-take-up of rights in the context of social protection, the Special Rapporteur highlighted, among other things, the benefits and considerable risks associated with the automation of social protection processes.

Content policy

Geneva-based human rights organisations and mechanisms have consistently addressed content policy questions, in particular in the documents referred to under the freedom of expression and the freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. Other contexts where content policy plays an important role include rights of the child, gender rights online, and rights of persons with disabilities. Moreover, the use of digital technologies in the context of terrorism and violent extremism is closely associated with content policy considerations.

In 2016, UN Human Rights, at the request of the UNHRC, prepared a compilation report exploring, among other issues, aspects related to the prevention 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 examining 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.

In August 2022, responding to a request from the General Assembly in resolution A/RES/76/227, the Secretary-General released his Countering Disinformation for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (A/77/287) report, outlining the challenges of disinformation, the international legal framework and the information and best practices shared by states, UN entities, and others on countering disinformation. A public webpage has been published to highlight the disinformation topic.

In 2023, the Secretary-General published the Report on Terrorism and Human Rights (A/78/269), further analysing the impact of counter-terrorism measures on civic space with a special consideration on the use of new technologies in counter-terrorism efforts.

Interdisciplinary approaches

Collaboration within the UN system

UN Human Rights has led a UN system-wide process to develop a human rights due diligence (HRDD) guidance for digital technology, as requested by the Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation and his Call to Action for Human Rights. The HRDD guidance pertains to the application of human rights due diligence and human rights impact assessment related to the UN’s design, development, procurement, and use of digital technologies, and was completed in 2022. The guidance was adopted by the Executive Committee in 2024 and is being rolled out. The HRDD Guidance has sparked interest from other organisations and states.

As part of the implementation of the Secretary-General’s Call to Action for Human Rights, UN Human Rights launched the UN Hub for Human rights and Digital Technology, which provides a central repository of authoritative guidance from various UN human rights mechanisms on the application of human rights norms to the use and governance of digital technologies.

In addition, UN Human Rights 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 free birth registration). It leads its work on exclusion and discrimination in the context of digitised identity systems.

The Secretary-General addressed, in his report on human rights in the administration of justice (A/79/296) published in 2024, human rights challenges and good practices of the application of digital technologies and artificial intelligence in the administration of justice. The report provides a summary of UN activities to support states and civil society in their efforts to develop and implement digital and AI systems in the administration of justice, with a focus on human rights.

Technical standard settings and human rights

In June 2023, UN Human Rights presented the first UN report systematically analysing the intersection of technical standards-setting and human rights. It sheds light on how technical standards shape how human rights can be enjoyed in a digital environment. It identifies multiple challenges and provides extensive recommendations for the effective integration of human rights considerations into standards-setting processes. UN Human Rights has rolled out a project for the coming years to support the implementation of those recommendations. As part of this project, it works closely with standard-setting organisations, such as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and many stakeholders, including states, civil society, the technical community, academic institutions, and businesses.

United Nations Convention against Cybercrime

UN Human Rights participated in the process of the negotiation of the new United Nations Convention against Cybercrime, adopted by the General Assembly in December 2024. The Office supported member states with in-depth analysis and recommendations for aligning the treaty with human rights law, standards and principles, and will continue providing advice in this area.

Neurotechnology

Rapid advancements in neurotechnology and neuroscience, while holding promises of medical benefits and scientific breakthroughs, pose a number of human rights and ethical challenges. Against this backdrop, UN Human Rights has been contributing significantly to an inter-agency process led by the Executive Office of the Secretary-General to develop a global roadmap for the effective and inclusive governance of neurotechnology.

In 2024, at the request of the UNHRC in its resolution 51/3, the Advisory Committee published a study report on the impact, opportunities, and challenges of neurotechnology with regard to the promotion and protection of all human rights (A/HRC/57/61). This report, available in an easy-to-read format, highlights the specific human rights at risk, identifies vulnerable groups, examines settings where individuals are exposed to coercive uses of neurotechnologies, and explores aspects of human augmentation. It also provides insights into solutions to maximise opportunities and outlines a protective framework to mitigate risks.

Two resolutions on neurotechnology and human rights (A/HRC/RES/51/3 and A/HRC/RES/58/6) were published in 2022 and 2025, respectively, emphasising the importance of promoting and protecting human rights in the context of neurotechnology and digital advancements. The resolutions highlight the need for ethical, legal, and societal considerations to ensure human dignity, autonomy, and non-discrimination. The most recent resolution also asked the Advisory Committee to draft a set of recommended guidelines for applying the existing human rights framework to the conception, design, development, testing, use, and deployment of neurotechnologies.

In 2025, the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy published a report titled Foundations and Principles for the Regulation of Neurotechnologies and the Processing of Neurodata from the Perspective of the Right to Privacy (A/HRC/58/58)..

Global Digital Compact

Objective 3 of the GDC highlights the importance of fostering an inclusive, open, safe and secure digital space that respects, protects, and promotes human rights. UN Human Rights co-leads the implementation of this objective with UNESCO and safeguards the integration of human rights aspects throughout the text. In the framework of this objective, the GDC acknowledged its human rights advisory service for digital technologies, which aims to bridge the gap in expertise at the intersection of digital technologies and human rights by offering tailored advice, building capacity, and informing states and stakeholders.

Smart cities

‘Making Cities Right for Young People’ is a participatory research project, supported by Foundation Botnar, which examines the impact of the digitalisation of cities on the enjoyment of human rights. It also examines strategies to ensure that ‘smartness’ is measured not solely by technological advancements but by the realisation and promotion of inhabitants’ human rights and well-being, and explores ways to promote digital technologies for civic engagement, participation, and the public good, with a focus on meaningful youth participation in decision-making processes. Launched in 2023, this project surveys the current landscape and details key human rights issues in urban digitalisation. Based on participatory research carried out in three geographically, socially, culturally, and politically diverse cities, it produced a report with initial findings and developed a roadmap for future human-rights-based work on smart cities. Building on this first phase of the project, it will expand its geographical scope and support future youth engagement in urban digitalisation processes.

Migration

In 2020, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance published a report titled Racial Discrimination and Emerging Digital Technologies: A Human Rights Analysis (A/HRC/44/57), outlining the human rights obligations of states and corporations to address it.

In 2021, the Special Rapporteur published a complementary report (A/HRC/48/76), addressing the issue of the development and use of emerging digital technologies in ways that are uniquely experimental, dangerous, and discriminatory in the border and immigration enforcement context. The report highlights that technologies are being used to promote xenophobic and racially discriminatory ideologies, often due to perceptions of refugees and migrants as security threats, and the pursuit of efficiency without human rights safeguards, with significant economic profits from border securitisation and digitisation exacerbating the issue.

In September 2023, UN Human Rights published a study, conducted with the University of Essex, that analyses the far-reaching human rights implications of specific border technologies. It provides recommendations to states and stakeholders on how to take a human-rights-based approach in ensuring the use of digital technologies at borders aligns with international human rights law and standards. The study draws from a collective body of expertise, research, and evidence, as well as extensive interviews and collaborative meetings with experts.

Privacy and data protection

Challenges to the right to privacy in the digital age, such as surveillance, communications interception, and the increased use of data-intensive technologies, are among the issues covered by the activities of the UN Human Rights. At the request of the UNGA and the UNHRC, the High Commissioner prepared four reports on the right to privacy in the digital age. The first report, presented in 2014, addressed the threat to human rights caused by surveillance by governments, in particular mass surveillance. The ensuing report, published in September 2018, identified key principles, standards, and best practices regarding the promotion and protection of the right to privacy. It outlined minimum standards for data privacy legal frameworks. In September 2021, the High Commissioner presented a ground-breaking report on AI and the right to privacy (A/HRC/48/31), in which she called for a ban on AI applications that are incompatible with international human rights law, and stressed the urgent need for a moratorium on the sale and use of AI systems that pose serious human rights risks until adequate safeguards are put in place. In September 2022, the High Commissioner presented a report focusing on the abuse of spyware by public authorities, the key role of encryption in ensuring the enjoyment of human rights in the digital age, and the widespread monitoring of public spaces. The new report, based on resolution 54/21, is expected to be published in September 2025. In 2023 and 2024, UN Human Rights published two briefs titled What is Encryption? and Hacking & Spyware. While the first document explains the encryption process, its restrictions, and its relationship with privacy, the second document emphasises the impact of spyware and human rights and key measures to end abuses.

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, addressing issues such as mass surveillance, AI, the responsibility of business enterprises, and the key role of the right to privacy as an enabler of other human rights. Resolutions on the safety of journalists have emphasised the importance of encryption and anonymity tools for journalists to freely exercise their work. Two resolutions on new and emerging technologies (2019 and 2021) have further broadened the lens, for example, by asking for a report on the human rights implications of technical standard-setting processes.

The UNHRC has also mandated the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy to address the issue of online privacy in its 2015 Resolution on the Right to Privacy in the Digital Age (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 the privacy of health data that is increasingly being produced in the day and age of digitalisation, and that requires the highest legal and ethical standards (A/HRC/40/63). In this vein, in 2020, the Special Rapporteur examined data protection and surveillance in relation to COVID-19 and contact tracing in his preliminary report (A/75/147), in which he provided a more definitive analysis of how pandemics can be managed with respect to the right to privacy (A/76/220). In another 2020 report (A/HRC/43/52), the Special Rapporteur provides a set of recommendations on privacy in the online space calling for, among other things, ‘comprehensive protection for secure digital communications, including by promoting strong encryption and anonymity- enhancing tools, products, and services, and resisting requests for “backdoors” to digital communications’ and recommending that ‘government digital identity programmes 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 Special Rapporteur also addressed the challenges of AI and privacy, as well as children’s privacy, particularly the role of privacy in supporting autonomy and positive participation of children in society, in his 2021 report (A/HRC/46/37).

In 2022, the Special Rapporteur examined developments in privacy and data protection in Ibero-America in her report titled Privacy and Personal Data Protection in Ibero-America: A Step Towards Globalization? (A/HRC/49/55), and published the principles underpinning privacy and the protection of personal data (A/77/196).

More recently, in 2023, at the request of the UNHRC, the Special Rapporteur addressed the issue of the implementation of the principles of purpose limitation, deletion of data and demonstrated or proactive accountability in the processing of personal data collected by public entities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (A/HRC/52/37).

In her 2024 report titled Legal Safeguards for Personal Data Protection and Privacy in the Digital Age (A/HRC/55/46), the Special Rapporteur provided a comparative study of personal data protection and privacy laws across five continents. The report examines mechanisms for data subjects to control their personal data and legal avenues for protecting their rights and addressing misuse. During the same year, the Special Rapporteur proposed the updating of General Assembly resolution 45/95 Guidelines for the regulation of computerized personal data files (A/79/173), to bring it into line with the socio-technological reality of the twenty-first century.

Freedom of expression

The High Commissioner and his 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 of 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.

Freedom of expression in the digital space also features highly on the agenda of the UNHRC. It has often been underlined that states have a responsibility to ensure adequate protection of freedom of expression online, including adopting and implementing measures aimed at dealing with issues such as 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 the dissemination of information online and has called on states to refrain from and cease such measures.

In 2021, at the request of the UNHRC resolution 47/16, the High Commissioner prepared a report on internet shutdowns (A/HRC/50/55), which looks at trends in internet shutdowns, analysing their causes, legal implications, and impact on a range of human rights, including economic, social, and cultural rights. She called on states to refrain from the full range of internet shutdowns and for companies to uphold their responsibilities to respect human rights. She stressed the need for development agencies and regional and international organisations to bridge their digital connectivity efforts with efforts related to internet shutdowns. The UNHRC resolution 57/29 mandated UN Human Rights

to prepare a report on a human rights approach to meaningful connectivity and overcoming digital divides, including addressing threats to individuals’ access to the internet. The report will be presented in June 2026.

UN Human Rights also weighs in on a range of law-making processes that are relevant to the exercise of the right to freedom of expression. For example, it has engaged with the development of the EU Digital Services Act and commented extensively on global trends in regulating social media.

Special Rapporteurs on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression have been analysing issues relating to free expression in the digital space for more than a decade. Reports in the first half of the 2010s already addressed the importance of universal access to the internet for the enjoyment of human rights, free expression in the context of elections, and the adverse impacts of government surveillance on free expression. In 2018, the Special Rapporteur published a report on online content regulation. It tackles governments’ regulation of user-generated online content, analyses the role of companies, and recommends that states should ensure an enabling environment for online freedom of expression and that businesses should rely on human rights law when designing their products and services. UN Human Rights published a brief on the thematic report titled A Human Rights Approach to Online Content Regulation. The same year, he also presented to the UNGA 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 UNGA on online hate speech that discusses the regulation of hate speech in international human rights law and how it provides a basis for government actors considering regulatory options and for companies determining how to respect human rights online.

In 2020, the Special Rapporteur issued Disease Pandemics and the Freedom of Opinion and Expression, a report 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’. 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.

The Special Rapporteur, while acknowledging the complexities and challenges posed by disinformation in the digital age, noted that responses by states and companies to counter disinformation were inadequate and detrimental to human rights. In her 2021 report Disinformation and Freedom of Opinion and Expression (A/HRC/47/25), she examined the threats posed by disinformation to human rights, democratic institutions, and development processes, and called for multidimensional and multistakeholder responses to disinformation that are well grounded in the international human rights framework and urged companies to review their business models and states to recalibrate their responses to disinformation.

More recently, in 2022, the Special Rapporteur issued Reinforcing Media Freedom and the Safety of Journalists in the Digital Age (A/HRC/50/29), a report in which she calls on states and the international community to strengthen multistakeholder cooperation to protect and promote media freedom and the safety of journalists in the digital age, and ensure independence, pluralism, and viability of the media. She also calls on digital services companies and social media platforms to respect the UNGPs on BHR.

Online hate speech and discrimination have also been addressed by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief. For instance, a report published in 2019 underscored the online manifestation of antisemitism (including antisemitic hate speech) and shared best practices from the Netherlands and Poland. 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’. 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 and undue limitations on expressing critical views of religions and beliefs imposed by governments has also been addressed on a number of occasions, including in a 2018 report.

In 2024, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, at the request of the UNHRC, prepared a thematic report identifying challenges and best practices in assessing civic space trends, along with recommendations to enhance information-gathering. Based on inputs from states and civil society, the report highlights the roles of various actors, common elements of civic space, gaps, and challenges, and calls for increased data access, safe working conditions for contributors, and improved assessment of online civic space trends. UN Human Rights published a brief titled Tracking civic space trends, related to this report.

In 2023 and 2025, UN Human Rights published two briefs on internet shutdowns and social media platforms in the Middle East, North and East Africa. While the first document explains the importance of shutdowns, their human rights violations, and how to prevent and respond to them, the second document addresses issues faced by human rights defenders, including online attacks, platform policies, and access, and highlights key recommendations.During its 58th session, the UNHRC adopted a resolution titled Human Rights Defenders and New and Emerging Technologies: Protecting Human Rights Defenders, Including Women Human Rights Defenders, in the Digital Age (A/HRC/58/23), which asked UN Human Rights to convene regional workshops and prepare a report about risks created by digital technologies to human rights defenders and best practices to respond to these concerns.

Gender rights online

Within the work of the OHCHR, ‘gender rights women rights and gender equality online’

On several occasions, UN Human Rights and the UNHRC have reiterated the need for countries to bridge the gender digital divide and enhance the use of ICTs, including the internet, to promote the empowerment of all women and girls. It has also condemned gender-based violence committed on the internet. Implementing a 2016 UNHRC resolution on the Promotion, Protection, and Enjoyment of Human Rights on the Internet, in 2017, the High Commissioner on Human Rights prepared a report on ways to bridge the gender digital divide from a human rights perspective.

Rights of persons with disabilities

The promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in the online space have been repeatedly addressed by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities. A 2016 report 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.

Nevertheless, a 2019 report 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 Special Rapporteur also examined the opportunities and risks posed by AI, including discriminatory impacts in relation to AI in decision-making systems. In his 2021 report (A/HRC/49/52), the Special Rapporteur emphasises the importance of disability-inclusive AI and the inclusion of persons with disabilities in conversations about AI.

More recently, in 2024, at the request of the UNHCR resolution 51/10, the High Commissioner prepared a report on cyberbullying against persons with disabilities. The report examines the experiences of persons with disabilities facing cyberbullying, the relevant human rights frameworks, prevailing trends and challenges, promising counter-cyberbullying practices, and provides recommendations for rights-respecting responses and inclusion in the digital environment.

Rights of older persons

The mandate of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons has repeatedly addressed complex issues relating to digital technologies, for example, in the report Robots and Rights: The Impact of Automation on the Human Rights of Older Persons (A/HRC/36/48) and on data gaps concerning older persons (A/HRC/45/14). In 2026, UN Human Rights will publish a report on countering cyberbullying against older persons, as requested by the UNHRC (resolution 57/6).

Freedom of peaceful assembly and association

The exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association in the digital environment has attracted increased attention in recent years. For example, the High Commissioner presented 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, to the 44th session of the UNHRC. The report highlighted many of the opportunities for the exercise of human rights that digital technologies offer, 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.

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

In 2019, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association published a report for the UNHRC focusing on the opportunities and challenges facing the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association in the digital age. In the report, he condemned the widespread practice of internet shutdowns and raised concerns about technologically mediated restrictions on free association and assembly in the context of crises.

International Telecommunication Union

ITU is the United Nations specialised agency for digital technologies, driving innovation in ICTs together with 194 member states and a unique membership in the UN system of over 1,000 companies, universities, research institutes, and international organisations. Established 160 years ago in 1865, ITU is the intergovernmental body responsible for coordinating the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promoting international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, improving communications infrastructure in the developing world, and establishing the worldwide standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communications systems. From broadband networks to cutting-edge wireless technologies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, intelligent transport systems, radio astronomy, oceanographic and satellite-based Earth monitoring, as well as the convergence of fixed/mobile phone, the internet, cable television, and broadcasting technologies, ITU is committed to connecting the world. For more information, visit www.itu.int.

Digital activities

Some of ITU’s key areas of action include radiocommunication services (such as satellite services, and fixed/mobile and broadcasting services), developing telecommunications networks (including future networks), standardising various areas and media related to telecommunications, and ensuring access to bridge the digital divide and addressing challenges in ICT accessibility. ITU’s work supports emerging technologies in fields such as 5G, AI, intelligent transport systems, disaster management, agriculture, metaverse, quantum technologies, smart sustainable cities, and the internet of things (IoT); access and digital inclusion; accessibility of ICTs to persons with disabilities; digital health; ICTs and climate change; cybersecurity; gender equality; and child online protection. These and many more ICT topics are covered within the framework of radiocommunication, standardisation, and development work, through various projects, initiatives, and studies carried out by the organisation.

Digital policy issues

Telecommunication infrastructure

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

The ITU International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) have as an overall aim the facilitation of global interconnection and interoperability of telecommunications facilities. Through the ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R), 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.

International standards developed by the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) enable the interconnection and interoperability of ICT networks, devices, and services worldwide. It has 10 technical standardisation committees called study groups (SGs), with mandates covering a wide range of digital technologies:

The work on standards is complemented by short-term exploration/incubation ITU-T Focus Groups (FGs) whose deliverables guide the ITU-T SGs in new areas of standardisation work. Some current and recent groups include:

Collaboration among various standards bodies is a high priority for ITU-T. Many platforms have been established to support coordination and collaboration on a range of topics, for example:

Collaboration on Intelligent Transport Systems Communication Standards (CITS)
Global Standards Collaboration (GSC)
World Standards Cooperation (WSC)
Digital Currency Global Initiative
Financial Inclusion Global Initiative (FIGI) Symposium
United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) initiative
Global Initiative on AI for Health (GI-AI4H)
Global Initiative on Resilience to Natural Hazards through AI Solutions
Global Initiative on Virtual Worlds and AI

The Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D) establishes an enabling environment and provides evidence-based policy-making through ICT indicators and regulatory and economic metrics, which facilitates benchmarking and the identification of trends in ICT legal and regulatory frameworks. As part of global activities, the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) has published a series of collaborative digital regulation country reviews. All country reviews follow a standard methodology and put forward a set of actionable recommendations on developing a better understanding of the role and impact of collaboration and collaborative governance, as well as the use of new tools for regulating ICT and digital markets.

The Digital Regulation Platform aims to improve the human and institutional capacity of the ITU membership. In 2024, articles were published on data governance, transformative technologies (AI) challenges and principles of regulation, and one is being finalised focusing on a guide for incorporating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) into policymaking and regulation for compliance. Two modules are being reviewed and articles updated: spectrum management and access for all, under the ITU-EU project in Central Africa, supported by the EU Delegation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In 2023, ITU-D launched the Digital Regulation Network DRN, a peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing platform for regulators. The aim of the Network is to accelerate sustainable digital transformation through common approaches to collaborative digital policy, regulation and governance across economic sectors and across borders.

ITU-D sends regulatory and tariff surveys to membership, with data being received and analysed for integration into the ICT Regulatory Tracker and ITU Data Hub and publication in early 2025. Visualisation tools on the G5 Accelerator platform allow for a customised analysis and deep dive into the data on 54 indicators by region or country.

The above activities result in increased awareness and access to regulatory and economic data and analysis to support evidence-based decision-making.

ITU is committed to enhancing both human and institutional capacity within its membership, prioritising the delivery of high-quality training programmes. In this context, training courses were conducted through the ITU Academy and the ITU Academy Training Centres (ATCs), with the aim of making a meaningful impact on ITU membership. From May 2024 to December 2024, the ITU Academy registered 9,500 additional users, bringing the total number of learners to over 58,400, from all member states, with more than 70 per cent coming from developing countries. During this period, over 79 courses were delivered via the platform to over 13,000 registered course participants, of which more than 5,400 had completed their courses by December 2024. Over 1,000 participants also completed course evaluation surveys, and 95 per cent reported that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their experience.

During the second year of implementation, in the same period (May – December 2024) ATCs delivered 67 courses, attracting over 2,600 registrations, with more than 1,100 course completions by December 2024. In 2024, BDT organised several training sessions on how to conduct engaging online training, aimed at the instructors of the 14 ATCs. The goal of the initiative was to impact the quality of the training courses by improving facilitation, virtual delivery skills, and allowing for exchanges of best practices among the participating institutions.

The Global Symposium for Regulators 2024 (GSR-24) is a knowledge exchange platform that features topical thematic sessions bringing together regulators, policymakers and digital stakeholders from around the world and providing a global platform for knowledge exchange. GSR also features the Regional Regulatory Associations (RA) and Digital Regulation Network (DRN) meetings, Heads of Regulators’ Executive Roundtable, the Industry Advisory Group on Development Issues (IAGDI-CRO), and the Network of Women (NoW) in the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector.

As part of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)+20 Forum High-Level Event 2024, ITU-D leads the interactive session of Action Line C6 (Enabling environment).

Such knowledge exchange platforms result in strengthened partnerships, engagement, and collaboration of regulators, regulatory associations, the private sector, and policymakers from across different sectors, enriching conversations and showcasing collaboration across sectors to accelerate digital transformation.

The impact statement of the Telecommunication Development Bureau’s (BDT) thematic priority on network and digital infrastructure is ‘Reliable connectivity to everyone’.

ITU-D SG1 also focuses on various aspects related to telecommunications 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 aspects of national telecommunications/ICTs’; Question 5/1 on ‘Telecommunications/ICTs for rural and remote areas’; Question 6/1 on ‘Consumer information, protection and rights’; and Question 5/2 on ‘Adoption of telecommunications/ICTs and improving digital skills’.

IMT-2020

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. ITU-R SGs together with the mobile broadband industry and a wide range of stakeholders, established the 5G standards.

The activities 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 operate without interference.

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 the passive optical network (PON), Carrier Ethernet, and the 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 and satellite convergence. ITU standards also address ML 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

ITU-R manages the coordination, notification, and recording of frequency assignments for space systems, including their associated earth stations. Its main role is to process and publish data and examine frequency assignment notices submitted by administrations of the ITU member states towards their eventual recording in the Master International Frequency Register (MIFR).

ITU-R also develops and manages space-related assignment or allotment plans and provides mechanisms for the development of new satellite services by determining how to optimise the use of available and suitable orbital resources.

Currently, the rapid pace of satellite innovation is driving an increase in the deployment of non-geostationary satellite systems (non-GSO). 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.

To this end, during the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19), ITU established regulatory procedures for the deployment of non-GSO systems, including mega-constellations in low Earth orbit. At the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference, ITU agreed on orbital tolerances for the operations of such non-GSO systems.

Additionally, ITU held its first Space Sustainability Forum in Geneva in September 2024. Recognising the rapid growth of commercial space ventures, ITU gathered governments, space agencies, and private stakeholders to address the economic, environmental, and operational dimensions of space sustainability.

In 2025, ITU launched the ‘Space Connect’ series, examining low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, focusing on the rapid growth in satellite deployments (rising from roughly 1,000 active satellites in 2014 to nearly 10,000 by 2024) and the market shift toward broadband applications. The episodes investigate different constellation architectures, evolving market dynamics, new players, and the overall impact on radio spectrum usage.

Regarding climate change, satellite data today is 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.

Emergency telecommunications

Emergency telecommunications are an integral part of the ITU mandate. To mitigate the impact of disasters, the 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 delivering vital information to all stakeholders, including those most vulnerable, as well as in the immediate aftermath of disasters to ensure the timely flow of vital information needed to coordinate response efforts and save lives. ITU supports its member states in the four phases of disaster management:

Design and Implementation of National Emergency Telecommunications Plans (NETPs).
Development of tabletop simulation exercises.
Design and Implementation of Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS), Including the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP),
Development of Guidelines and Other Reports on the Use of ICTs for Disaster Management.

ITU activities in the field of radiocommunications make an invaluable contribution to disaster management. They facilitate prediction, detection, and alerting through the coordinated 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-T SG2 plays a role as the lead study group on telecommunications for disaster relief/early warning, network resilience, and recovery. Other study groups are working on emergency telecommunications within their mandates. Examples are shown in the following paragraphs.

ITU standards offer common formats for the exchange of all-hazard information over public networks. They ensure that networks prioritise emergency communications. 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 protection against environmental factors, focusing on 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. They provide for ‘movable and deployable ICT resource units’ in various sizes, such as emergency containers, vehicles, or hand-held kits housing network resources and a power source – to provide temporary replacements for destroyed ICT infrastructure.

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 (JTF) on SMART Cable Systems, a multidisciplinary body established in 2012. Currently, several projects are ongoing to realise SMART cables.

ITU-T G.9730.2 Recommendation was approved by ITU-T SG15 in August 2024, as the first ITU-T standard on SMART cables. In addition, the work on ‘Impact assessment framework for evaluating how ICT-based subsea infrastructure could support climate, environmental and biodiversity monitoring in the oceans’ (L.SMART) is ongoing within ITU-T SG5.

In ITU-D, a lot of effort is directed at mainstreaming disaster management in telecommunications/ICT projects and activities as part of disaster preparedness. This includes infrastructure development and the establishment of enabling policy, legal, and regulatory frameworks. 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 damage to the network through the use of geographical information systems. On the basis of its findings, ITU and the host country embark on resuscitating the infrastructure while ensuring that disaster-resilient features are integrated to reduce network vulnerability in the event of disasters striking in the future.

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.

ITU-D SQ Question 3/1 ‘Utilising telecommunications/ICTs for disaster risk reduction and management’ was agreed at the World Telecommunication Development Conference 2022 (WTDC-22) and will operate for the 2022–2025 study period. This Question continues the work of Question 5/2 of the 2018–2021 period.

The ITU/WMO/UNEP Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Natural Disaster Management (FG-AI4NDM), established by ITU-T SG2 worked between March 2021 and March 2024 to develop best practices for leveraging AI in data collection and handling, improving modelling across spatiotemporal scales, and providing effective communication. Building on the activities of the FG-AI4NDM, the Global Initiative on Resilience to Natural Hazards through AI Solutions was created. This Global Initiative is a collaborative effort between ITU, WMO, UNEP, UPU and UNFCCC.

Work includes the following:

Disruptive Technologies and Their Use in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, a 2019 report.
The Global Forum on Emergency Telecommunications(GET-19), which took place 6–8 March 2019, Balaclava, Mauritius.
National Emergency Telecommunication Plans.
Emergency Telecommunication Simulation Exercises.
ITU-DSG Question 5/2: Utilizing Telecommunications/ICTs for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management(2018 – 2021) with vid eo and annual deliverables.
The Guide to Develop a Telecommunications/ ICT Contingency Plan for a Pandemic Response 2020, Focused on Telecommunications/ICT Service Delivery and Business Continuity in the Context of a Pandemic.
ITU published Women, ICT and Emergency Telecommunications – Opportunities and Constraints in 2020. It explores the digital gender divide blocking women from becoming equal stakeholders in society, putting entire communities at greater risk during emergencies.
With the ETC, ITU developed the Disaster Connectivity Map (DCM), with information critical for first responders on network outages and connectivity gaps following disasters.
ITU joined the Crisis Connectivity Charter(CCC) in 2019, joining the satellite industry and the humanitarian community in making satellite communication more available.
ITU established an ITU Emergency Telecommunications Roster. ITU staff are trained on deployment of ITU telecommunications equipment and on supporting the ETC on the ground.
ITU, with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), launched a Call to Action on Emergency Alerting in 2021, inviting all partners to support countries in implementing CAP. The organisations are supporting the WMO to establish a CAP HelpDesk.

Strengthening the Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems, ITU partnered with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), WMO, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO), and the World Broadcasting Unions in 2020 to develop Media Saves Lives to reinforce broadcasters’ role in the early warning chain.

Artificial intelligence

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 (ML) 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.

AI for Good is the United Nations’ leading platform on Artificial Intelligence for sustainable development. Focused on identifying trustworthy AI applications, building skills and standards, and advancing AI governance for sustainable development, the platform is organised by ITU in partnership with over 40 UN sister agencies and co-convened with the Government of Switzerland.

This AI governance dialogue will facilitate exchanges between key stakeholders on effective approaches to AI governance. The high-level plenary session will explore the changing landscape of AI governance, with a focus on innovative policy implementation across regions. Discussions will address risk management strategies and the emerging role of AI agents, particularly their implications for the future of work, investment, and cross-sector collaboration.

The AI Skills Coalition, spearheaded by AI for Good under the AI for Good Impact Initiative, will serve as the UN-led global, open, trusted, and inclusive platform for AI education and capacity building.

Various ITU-T SGs address aspects of AI and ML within their mandates. The work has so far resulted in ITU-T Recommendations and Supplements, for example, in the L-, M-, P-, and Y-series of ITU-T Recommendations.

The adoption of Resolution 101 (New Delhi, 2024) at the 2024 World Standardization Telecommunication Assembly (WTSA-24) further emphasises the recognised role of ITU in establishing trusted AI standards

The first International AI Standards Summit, co-organised with ISO and IEC, brought together global experts to advance standards for responsible and inclusive AI. The next summit will take place in 2025 in South Korea. Prior to the Summit, the International AI Standards Dialogue will be held as part of the AI for Good Global Summit 2025.

The ITU-T AI/ML in 5G Challenge, introduced in 2020, rallies like-minded students and professionals from around the globe to study the practical application of AI and ML in emerging and future digital communications networks and sustainable development. The second Challenge (in 2021) attracted over 1,600 students and professionals from 82 countries, competing for prizes and global recognition. The 2022 Challenge covered a wide range of topics, including AI/ML in 5G, GeoAI, and tinyML. By mapping emerging AI and ML solutions, the Challenge fostered a community to support the iterative evolution of ITU standards. To learn more, see the Challenge GitHub.

ITU is also actively working on the environmental impact of AI. The AI and the Environment report highlights existing and emerging standards that support the AI’s environmental efficiency. ITU, France, and UNEP co-initiated the Coalition for Sustainable AI and contributed to the report on Standardization for AI Environmental Sustainability – Towards a Coordinated Global Approach launched at the AI Action Summit.

Several ITU-T FG are considering the use of AI and ML, including:

ITU-T Focus Group on Costing Models for Affordable Data Services (FG-CD)
ITU Focus Group on Metaverse (FG-MV)
ITU-T Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) for Digital Agriculture (FG-AI4A)
ITU-T Focus Group on AI for Natural Disaster Management (FG-AI4NDM)
ITU-T Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Health (FG-AI4H)
ITU-T FG-AINN: Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence Native for Telecommunication Networks (FG AINN)

Main activities related to ITU-R SGs and reports include:

ITU-R SG1 covers spectrum management and monitoring. In relation to AI, Question ITU-R 241/1 ‘Methodologies for assessing or predicting spectrum availability’ was approved in 2019 and is under study.
ITU-R SG6 covers all aspects of the broadcasting service. SG6 deliverables and work items related to AI and ML, including Question ITU-R 144/6 ‘Use of artificial intelligence (AI) for broadcasting’; and Report ITU-R BT.2447 ‘Artificial intelligence systems for programme production and exchange’.

During the 40th High-Level Committee on Programmes (HLCP) session in October 2020, the Inter-Agency Working Group on AI (IAWG-AI) was established to focus on policy and programmatic coherence of AI activities within the UN. IAWG-AI, co-led by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and ITU, aims to combine the ethical and technological parts of the UN to provide a solid foundation for current and future system-wide efforts on AI, ensuring respect for human rights and accelerating progress towards the SDGs.

ITU also coordinates an annual UN Activities on AI report, a joint effort with almost 50 UN agencies and entities, all partners of AI for Good or members of the IAWG-AI. The report usually presents over 400 cases and projects run by the UN system, in areas covering all 17 SDGs, ranging from smart agriculture and food systems to transportation, financial services, and healthcare. The report contains an Executive Summary that presents an analysis of all the projects submitted to the report, providing a snapshot of the key tracks, trends, and gaps in AI activities within the UN system.

The UN-led initiative, United 4 Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC), coordinated by ITU, UNECE, UNEP, and UN-HABITAT, and supported by 19 UN agencies and programmes, has been examining how AI can be employed in the smart city domain and through its thematic group on Artificial Intelligence in Cities for implementing AI-based solutions in line with the SDGs.

ITU, through its Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT), organises the Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR), ITU’s flagship annual event, bringing together regulators to address emerging challenges such as data governance, 5G licensing, and cross-border data flows. Key outcomes from GSR24 included the GSR Best Practice Guidelines on a roadmap for regulators to harness transformative technologies (e.g., AI, 5G) by promoting agile, risk-aware policies, and stakeholder collaboration..

As part of its ‘Green Digital Action’ initiative, ITU emphasises green AI to reduce data-centre emissions.

Critical internet resources

Over the years, ITU has adopted several resolutions that deal with internet technical resources, such as Internet Protocol-based networks (Resolution 101 (Rev. Bucharest, 2022)), IPv4 to IPv6 transition (Resolution 180 (Rev. Bucharest, 2022)), and internationalised domain names (Resolution 133 (Rev. Bucharest, 2022)). ITU has also adopted a resolution on its role regarding international public policy issues pertaining to the internet and the management of internet resources, including domain names and addresses (Resolution 102 (Rev. Bucharest, 2022)). In addition, the ITU Council has set up a Working Group on International Internet (CWG-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.

ITU is also the facilitator of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Action Line С2 – Information and communication infrastructure.WTSA-24 recognised the importance of the common understanding on the technical requirements and standardisation aspects of digital public infrastructure by adopting the new WTSA Resolution 103 ‘Enhancing standardization activities on digital public infrastructure’.

Digital standards

In the work of ITU the issue of digital standards is addressed as ‘International standards’

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 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 ML.

ICT networks, devices, and services interconnect and interoperate thanks 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. 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 process aims to ensure that all voices are heard and that the resulting standards have the consensus-derived support of the diverse and globally representative ITU membership.

ITU members develop standards year-round in ITU-T SGs. Over 6,000 ITU-T Recommendations are currently in force, and over 300 new or revised ITU-T Recommendations and Supplements are approved each year.

For more information on the responsibilities of ITU SGs, covering ITU-T SG as well as those of the ITU 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 meets every four years to review the overall direction and structure of ITU-T. This conference also approves the mandates of the Telecommunication Standardization Sector Study Group (ITU-T SSGs) (WTSA Resolution 2) and appoints the leadership teams of these groups.

ITU develops international standards supporting the coordinated development and application of IoT technologies, including standards leveraging IoT technologies to address urban development challenges.

WR to TL recognition procedure

Based on an MoU signed by ITU-T, the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), ITU recognises testing laboratories (TLs). These are accredited by an accreditation body (AB) that is a signatory to the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) for testing. The scope of accreditation contains ITU-T Recommendation(s). All TLs which meet the criteria are listed in the ITU TL Database. More details are also available in the ITU C&I Portal.

Human rights and human-centric technologies

In recent years, ITU has strengthened its commitment to embedding human rights in the development and deployment of digital technologies, particularly in the context of technical standards. This work is grounded in the recognition that standards have far-reaching implications for privacy, data protection, freedom of expression, accessibility, and non-discrimination. In response to calls from the UN Human Rights Council and the Global Digital Compact, ITU has deepened its collaboration with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), engaging in joint dialogues, multistakeholder consultations, and awareness-raising activities to ensure that standards development reflects fundamental rights principles.

At the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24), a landmark side event co-organised with OHCHR, the European Union, France, and the Czech Republic emphasised the need to embed human rights from the earliest stages of standardisation. The event was accompanied by a powerful statement from the Freedom Online Coalition, supported by 42 countries, calling for international standards that are not only technically sound but also aligned with the SDGs and human rights. For the first time, resolutions adopted at WTSA explicitly referenced human rights, including those related to emerging technologies such as AI and the metaverse.

Through its standardisation work, ITU has addressed the human dimensions of technologies across several ITU-T study groups. These include the development of standards for e-waste management (SG5), smart sustainable cities and digital inclusion (SG20), and accessible telehealth services (SG21). ITU has also advanced work on AI watermarking and deepfake detection—crucial for safeguarding the authenticity of information and the right to freedom of expression in an era of generative content. The AI for Good platform, convened with over 40 UN agencies, provides a trusted space to promote the development of AI that is inclusive and rights-respecting.

In this effort, ITU promotes inclusive participation by reducing barriers for civil society and experts from the Global South to engage in standardisation, offering fellowships, online participation options, and targeted training. Initiatives such as the Network of Women and Youth Advisory Board aim to diversify the voices shaping the digital future. By anchoring its digital governance and technical standards in human rights, ITU affirms its vision for a digital world that empowers individuals, protects the most vulnerable, and promotes equality and inclusion at its core.

Internet of things

Within the work of ITU, the work related to the IoT also includes ‘Smart cities’.

These standards not only enable the broad range of IoT applications—from smart manufacturing to smart cities and global monitoring systems—but also ensure interoperability and efficient integration of both wired and wireless technologies across networks.

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

Harmonisation of frequency ranges and technical and operating parameters used 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), IMT-2020 (5G), and IMT-2030 (6G).
Use of fixed-satellite and mobile-satellite communications for IoT.

ITU-D SG2 Question 1/2 ‘Creating smart cities and society: Employing information and communication technologies for sustainable social and economic development’ includes case studies on IoT application and identifies the trends and best practices implemented by member states, as well as the challenges faced, to support sustainable development and foster smart societies in developing countries.

ITU-T SG20 is at the forefront of this effort, driving the development of innovative standards (ITU-T Recommendations), guidelines, methodologies, and best practices for IoT, digital twins, and smart sustainable cities and communities (SSC&C). Its work focuses on accelerating digital transformation in urban and rural areas by addressing IoT-enabled digital services, systems, and applications. This includes developing architectural frameworks, ensuring interoperability, and promoting human-centric approaches in digital health, accessibility, and inclusion.

Between 2022 and 2024, ITU and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) for Digital Agriculture (FG- AI4A), established by ITU-T SG20, explored (1) how emerging technologies including AI and IoT can be leveraged for data acquisition and handling, (2) facilitating modelling from a growing volume of agricultural and geospatial data, and (3) providing communication for the optimisation of agricultural production processes.

United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) Initiative

ITU facilitates international discussions on the public policy dimensions of people-centred smart cities, principally through the U4SSC initiative, an initiative supported by 19 UN bodies with the aim of achieving SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities). U4SSC drives global collaboration through its thematic groups, which focus on key areas such as digital transformation, digital wellbeing, digital public infrastructure, city platforms, and artificial intelligence for sustainable cities.

ITU standards have provided a basis for the development of Key Performance Indicators for Smart Sustainable Cities. More than 200 cities worldwide have adopted the indicators as part of the collaboration driven by ITU within the framework of the U4SSC initiative. To promote the work of U4SSC, a series of U4SSC Country Hubs has been set up globally including in Vienna, Austria, hosted by the Austrian Economic Centre (AEC), and in Kyebi, Ghana. U4SSC Hubs provide a unique platform at the national and local level to accelerate cooperation between the public and private sectors and help facilitate the digital transformation in cities and communities while enabling technology and knowledge transfer.

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.

ITU reports provide potential blockchain adopters with a clear view of the technology and how it could best be applied. Developed by the FG DLT, 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 FG studied high-potential DLT use cases and DLT platforms said to meet the requirements of such use cases. These studies guided the Group’s abstraction of 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 between ITU and Stanford University to continue the work of the ITU Focus Group on Digital Currency, including Digital Fiat Currency (FG DFC). The Digital Currency Global Initiative provides an open, neutral platform for dialogue, knowledge sharing, and research on applications of the 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.

ITU-T SG3 is studying economic and policy aspects when using distributed ledger technologies such as for the improved management of the Universal Service Fund or to handle accounting.

ITU-T SG5 is studying the environmental efficiency of digital technologies, including blockchain. For example, ITU-T SG5 has developed Recommendation ITU-T L.1317 on guidelines for energy-efficient blockchain systems.

ITU-T SG21 Question 12/16 on multimedia aspects of DLT and e-services and ITU-T SG17 Question 14/17 on DLT security continue the work of the now closed ITU-T Focus Group on Distributed Ledger Technology. Several recommendations and technical papers have been produced, and more are being prepared.

Topics of interest for digital financial services (DFS) being studied by Q22/16 and Q7/17 include digital evidence services, digital invoices, and smart contracts. ITU-T SG20 Question 4/20 on data analytics, sharing, processing, and management, including big data aspects, IoT, and smart sustainable cities and communities (SSC&C), is developing a set of standards on emerging technologies such as blockchain to support data processing and management (DPM).

Cloud computing

ITU standards provide the requirements and functional architectures of the cloud ecosystem, covering inter- and intra-cloud computing and technologies supporting anything as a service (XaaS). 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 characterise 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 meet the requirements of an increasingly diverse range of ICT applications.

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

ITU-D SG1 Question 3/1 of the 2018–2021 period focused on the analysis of factors influencing effective access to support cloud computing, as well as strategies, policies, and infrastructure investments to foster the emergence of cloud-computing ecosystems in developing countries, among others. For 2022–2025, this topic will be studied under Question 2/2 ‘Enabling technologies for e-services and applications, including e-health and e-education’.

Emerging technologies

ITU’s range of work on emerging technologies in fields such as AI, metaverse, virtual worlds 5G, IoT, SSC&C, ITS, quantum information technologies, and others have been covered in various other sections.

ITU-T SG5 on Environment, Electromagnetic Fields (EMF), and the Circular Economy is responsible for ICTs related to the environment, energy efficiency, clean energy, and sustainable digitalisation for climate actions. It carries out work to study the environmental efficiency of emerging technologies.

ITU-T SG20 Question 5/20 on the study of terminology and definitions, study and research of emerging digital technologies , serves as a facilitator with the research and innovation community to identify emerging technologies requiring standardisation for the global market and industry.

U4SSC, through its various thematic groups, explores how leveraging emerging technologies such as IoT, AI, blockchain, and digital twin, can help create a sustainable ecosystem and improve the delivery of urban services to improve the quality of life for inhabitants. In this context, U4SSC has published the following reports:

In June 2024, ITU, together with UNICC and Digital Dubai, launched the Global Initiative on Virtual Worlds and AI – Discovering the Citiverse. The Initiative serves as a global platform that aims at fostering open, interoperable, and innovative AI-powered virtual worlds that can be used safely and with confidence by people, businesses, and public services.The UN Virtual Worlds Day is an annual event organised by ITU and other 17 UN entities exploring AI-powered virtual worlds, including the metaverse, to advance the SDGs and the Pact for the Future. The inaugural event held on 14 June 2024, in Geneva, showcased how immersive digital platforms can drive global progress. The second edition will be held on 11-12 June 2025, in Turin, Italy, featuring high-level dialogues, interactive showcases, and collaborative sessions to discuss how virtual technologies can foster sustainability, inclusivity, and digital public infrastructure.

Quantum information technology

Quantum information technology (QIT) improves information processing capability by harnessing the principles of quantum mechanics. Recent development in QIT has promoted the second quantum revolution and will profoundly impact ICT networks and digital security.

ITU’s standardisation work of QIT helps promote its global development. After the ITU-T Focus Group on Quantum Information Technology for Networks (FG-QIT4N), which provided a collaborative platform for pre-standardisation aspects of QIT for networks and produced nine technical reports, several ITU-T SGs, including SGs 11, 13, and 17 are developing ITU-T Recommendations and Supplements in the Q-, X-, and Y-series of ITU-T Recommendations.

The 2021 webinar series explores innovative QIT applications and their implications on security, classical computing, and ICT networks and the discussion of corresponding roadmaps for quantum networks.

Following the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24), ITU-T study groups (SGs) reviewed and updated their mandates, enhancing the scope of quantum-related standardisation work across multiple groups:

ITU-T Study Group 11: To continue studies on network signalling and control architectures for Quantum Key Distribution Networks (QKDN).
ITU-T Study Group 13: To continue studies on quantum networks, covering both networking aspects of QKDN and broader quantum network technologies.
ITU-T Study Group 15: Introduced studies addressing the management and use of QIT in transport networks, as well as network synchronisation, timing, and deployment requirements for QKDN.
ITU-T Study Group 17: To continue leading security-related standardisation for quantum technologies, including QKD and post-quantum cryptography (PQC). WTSA-24 adopted an action recognising the need to promote migration to and utilisation of PQC in telecommunications and ICT networks, reinforcing the role of SG17 in developing necessary recommendations, technical reports, and best practices.

The World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24) in New Delhi mandated further exploration of post-quantum cryptography and recognised that robust fiber infrastructure (including fibre-to-the-home networks) could be foundational for quantum communication rollouts.

ITU-T currently hosts a suite of 40 quantum technology standards, primarily focused on QKD, covering its network, security, and signalling aspects. An additional 30+ standards are under development.

The Joint Coordination Activity on Quantum Key Distribution Network (JCA-QKDN), which oversees ITU-T’s quantum standardisation efforts and facilitates collaboration with external standards bodies, held a collaborative meeting in Singapore in May 2024, aligning efforts with GSMA and ETSI events. It also advanced the development of a quantum standards database, providing a structured overview of global quantum information technology standards.

In recognition of the 100th anniversary of quantum mechanics, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ) by Resolution 78/287, adopted on 7 June 2024. ITU plays a key role in the IYQ Steering Committee, guiding its implementation, planning global events, and overseeing related expenditures.

One initiative supporting ITU’s contributions to the International Year of Quantum is Quantum for Good, which explores how quantum technologies can drive global impact. It launched with a high-level side event, ‘Quantum for Good: Frontier Technology for the SDGs’, on 20 September 2024 in New York during the Summit of the Future Action Days, co-organised with UNICC, WEF, and Quantum Delta NL. The follow-up event ‘Quantum for Good: Setting the Stage for the International Year of Quantum’ in The Hague on 20-21 November 2024, deepened discussions on the role of quantum technologies in addressing global challenges, forming thematic sub-working groups (ITU leads the cybersecurity track). The Quantum for Good initiative will continue as a dedicated track during the AI for Good Global Summit (8-11 July 2025), further integrating quantum technologies into discussions on emerging technologies and sustainable development.

A series of other activities will be launched throughout 2025 as part of ITU’s contribution to raising awareness and fostering international collaboration on quantum technologies.

As part of an expanding global push, ITU is coordinating knowledge transfer so that quantum’s early adopters and advanced research hubs can share breakthroughs widely, avoiding a deep ‘quantum divide’. Moreover, initiatives like ‘Quantum for Good’ aim to link quantum technology with AI for beneficial applications—ranging from drug discovery to machine-learning optimisation—while ensuring that quantum advancement remains inclusive.

Network security

In the work of ITU the issue of network security is addressed as ‘ICT security’.

ITU and the WSIS Action Line C5 – Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs, 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.

ITU develops international standards to build confidence and security in the use of ICTs, especially for digital transformation, in the context of an ever-growing attack surface and confronted with an unbalanced threat landscape caused by new and emerging technology development. Topics of growing significance to this work include digital identity infrastructure, cybersecurity management, security aspects of digital financial services, intelligent transport systems, blockchain and distributed ledger technology, and quantum information technologies.

ITU-T SG17 (Security) is the lead SG on developing international standards to enhance confidence, security, and trust in the use of ICTs; facilitating more secure devices, edge, cloud, network infrastructure, services, and applications; and coordinating security-related work across ITU-T SGs. Providing security by ICTs and ensuring security for ICTs are both major study areas for SG17. Other ITU-T SGs, such as ITU-T SG9 (Broadband Cable and TV) and ITU-T SG13 (Future Networks, with Focus on IMT-2020, Cloud Computing and Trusted Network Infrastructures) have contributed to fulfilling the ITU mandate on cybersecurity.

ITU-TSG5 (Environment, EMF, and the Circular Economy) studies the security of ICT systems concerning electromagnetic phenomena (High-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP), High power electromagnetic (HPEM), information leakage).

ITU-T SG11 (Protocols, testing and combating counterfeiting) continues its studies on the implementation of security measures, in particular on the use of digital public-key certificates in the signalling level in order to cope with different types of attacks on existing ICT infrastructure and services (e.g., OTP intercept, calls intercept, spoofing numbers, robocalls, etc.). ITU-T Recommendations (e.g. ITU-T Q.3057, Q.3062, Q.3063) define the signalling architecture and requirements for interconnection between trustable network entities in support of existing and emerging networks. More details are available at https://itu.int/go/SIG-SECURITY.

WR to combating counterfeiting and stolen ICT devices: The issue of counterfeit and stolen ICT devices affects all stakeholders and is becoming a big challenge for the entire ICT industry. ITU, as a specialised agency of the UN on ICTs, is facilitating industry to cope with such issues. Since 2013, SG11 has approved 13 standards and non-normative documents and organised 11 Workshops and related events, whose main aim has been to promote ITU-T SG11’s current activities and find a way forward. More details about ITU-T SG11 activities on combating counterfeiting are available on a dedicated webpage https://itu.int/go/CS-ICT.

ITU-T SG20 Question 6/20 on Security, privacy, trustworthiness, and identification of IoT and smart sustainable cities and communities (SSC&C), is working on developing recommendations, reports, and guidelines to enhance the security, privacy, trustworthiness, and identification of IoT and smart sustainable cities and communities (SSC&C).

In 2008, ITU launched a five-pillared framework called the Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA) to encourage cooperation with and among 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 2022 session of the ITU Council approved guidelines for better utilisation of the GCA framework by ITU.

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

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 to support security and ITU-R’s establishment of security principles for 3G and 4G networks, ITU also assists in building cybersecurity capacity.

This capacity building work helps countries 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.

Strategies

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 coordinated 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 strategy is necessary.

CIRTs

Effective mechanisms and institutional structures are necessary at the national level to deal with cyberthreats and incidents reliably. ITU assists member states in establishing and enhancing national CIRTs. In response to the fast-evolving technologies and manifestation of related threats, incident response must be updated and improved continuously.

Building human capacity

ITU conducts regional and national cyber drills, assisting member states in improving cybersecurity readiness, protection, and incident response capabilities at the regional and national levels, and strengthening international cooperation among ITU member states against cyberthreats and cyberattacks. To date, ITU has conducted cyber drills involving over 100 countries.
ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau organises regional cybersecurity forums across ITU regions, helping build capacity for the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) programmes and facilitating cooperation at the regional and international levels.
Through the ITU Academy, ITU offers a number of training courses for professionals in the field of cybersecurity.
BitSight provided access to ITU member states for its cybersecurity scoring platform – helping address cybersecurity challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and to support member states’ health infrastructure with timely information on cyber threats.
The Women in Cyber Mentorship Programme builds skills of junior women professionals entering the field of cybersecurity.

International cooperation

In its efforts on cybersecurity, ITU works closely with partners from international organisations, the private sector, and academia, strengthened by a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a range of organisations such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), World Bank, Interpol, World Economic Forum, and several others.

Child safety online

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

As part of its Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA), ITU launched the Child Online Protection (COP) Initiative in 2008, aimed at creating an international collaborative network and promoting 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 cooperation.

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

In collaboration with other organisations, 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 was produced in 2009. The ITU Council Working Group on Child Protection Online (WG- CP) guides the organisation’s activities in the area of child safety online.

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, the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children (GPEVAC), UNESCO, UNODC, WePROTECT GlobalAlliance, WHO, and World Childhood Foundation USA (Childhood USA).
ITU signed an agreement with the SCORT Foundationon COP to empower and protect children online and offline, both in and through sport. It contributed to discussions such as Safer Internet Day 2021 and the 15th European Football for Development Conference.
Creating a Safe and Empowering Cyber Environment for Children (a 2020 agreement between ITU and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) kicked-off in August 2021 to further strengthen global efforts to implement the ITU COP Guidelines. The programme implements child online safety policies among governments, industry, and civil society and focuses on fostering a culture of child online safety.
ITU has also contributed to the adoption of General Comment 25 on children’s rights in the digital environment by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

ITU is working to disseminate Sango’s messages (COP mascot launched in 2020) to develop relevant content and raise awareness of COP.

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 through projects targeted at developing countries and focused on aspects such as human and institutional capacity building, education, and digital literacy; the deployment of telecommunications networks and the establishment of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs); the creation of broadband public access points to the 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. ITU also monitors the 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 series of Measuring Digital Development reports, including its analysis of ICT prices. The ITU DataHub brings together a broad range of indicators and statistics for easy consultation and download. The Connect 2030 Agenda envisions specific targets related to internet access; for instance by 2023, 65% of households worldwide were supposed to have access to the internet; by 2023, 70% of individuals worldwide were supposed to be using the internet; and by 2023, internet access was supposed to be 25% more affordable. In 2024, ITU produced a new ‘Facts and Figures: Focus on Small Island Developing States’ report, showing that although 67% of SIDS populations are online—close to the global average—rural 4G coverage lags significantly. An estimated 43% of rural populations in SIDS still have no 4G signal. Under the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition, ITU has mobilised $25 billion of pledges targeting connectivity gaps in SIDS.

To close a $1.6 trillion digital infrastructure gap, ITU collaborates with major development finance institutions. The Digital Infrastructure Investment Initiative (DIII) explores innovative financing of broadband networks, data centres, satellite constellations, submarine cables, and 5G/6G expansions—particularly in developing countries. The initiative focuses on: quantifying the financing gap and identifying immediate priorities; addressing structural barriers that deter investors—like fragile regulatory frameworks or limited local markets; and coordinating public-private partnerships and new financing models so that underserved regions can leapfrog into robust connectivity. The DIII ties into the broader Partner2Connect Digital Coalition—an ITU-led movement now boasting billions in pledges to extend connectivity and digital services worldwide.

Access is treated in most meaningful connectivity-related Questions of ITU-D SG1, 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 to and adoption of digital technologies for broadcasting, including providing new services for various environments.
Question 4/1 on the economic aspects of national telecommunications/ICTs.
Question 5/1 on telecommunications/ICTs for rural and remote areas.
Question 6/1 on consumer information, protection, and rights.

ITU is the facilitator of WSIS Action Line С2 – Information and communication infrastructure.

Giga: UNICEF-ITU global initiative

Giga is a UNICEF-ITU global initiative to connect every school to the internet and every young person to information, opportunity, and choice. Access to broadband internet and digital learning is critical to global efforts to transform education to make it more inclusive, equitable, and effective. Yet right now, the ability to leverage digital resources is far from equitably distributed: 1.3 billion children have no access to the internet at home and only around half of the world’s schools are online.

This digital exclusion particularly affects the poorest children, girls, and those with disabilities. These learners miss out on online resources, the option to learn remotely, and the opportunity to develop digital skills. In 2019, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and ITU joined forces to address this new form of inequality by creating Giga, a unique global partnership with the bold ambition to connect every school in the world to the internet by 2030.

What Giga does

Giga maps schools and their internet access. No one knows how many schools there are in the world (approximately 6-7 million). Giga’s Project Connect map provides a real-time display of access and gaps to guide funders and governments and to enable accountability. Giga has mapped over 2.1 million schools across 140 countries.
It creates models for innovative financing. It could cost over $400 billion to connect every unconnected school. Giga is working with a diverse array of partners to develop solutions for affordable, sustainable connectivity and aims to mobilise $5 billion to catalyse investment in vital connectivity infrastructure.
Giga supports governments contracting for connectivity. It helps governments design the regulatory frameworks, technology solutions, and competitive procurement processes needed to get schools online. Giga and its partners have connected over 2.4 million students in over 5,800 schools.

Learn more at giga.global. Please refer to the chapter on Giga.

Capacity development

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 Academy provides a wide range of general and specialised courses on various aspects related to ICTs. Such courses are delivered online, face-to-face, or in a blended manner, and span a wide variety of topics, from technologies and services to policies and regulations. ITU also develops digital skills at a basic and intermediate level for citizens through its Digital Transformation Centres (DTC) Initiative.

The Digital Regulation Platform is the result of ongoing collaboration between ITU and the World Bank, which started in 2000. Structured by thematic areas, the Digital Regulation Platform aims to provide practical guidance and best practice for policymakers and regulators across the globe concerned with harnessing the benefits of the digital economy and society for their citizens and firms. The content provides an update on the basics of ICT regulation in light of the digital transformation sweeping across sectors, and also includes new regulatory aspects and tools for ICT regulators to consider when making regulatory decisions.

The inclusivity of the ITU standardisation platform is supported by ITU’s Bridging the Standardization (BSG) Programme, as well as regional groups within ITU-T SGs. The BSG hands-on SG effectiveness training builds awareness and understanding of standardisation activities and working methods in highly interactive workshops and webinars, and 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 addition, ongoing enhancements to ITU-T electronic working methods and language support, coupled with fellowship opportunities for experts from developing countries, foster inclusivity in major standards-making meetings. Specific projects, sponsored by voluntary contributions from members, focus on emerging technology issues such as ethics, risks, governance, regulatory and legal aspects of AI/standardisation issues.

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:

development of a 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 and AI – by collecting and sharing best practices.

Digital ecosystems

ITU works on helping member states create and mature their digital innovation ecosystems. The Digital Ecosystem Thematic Priority has created a framework to help countries develop appropriate ICT-centric innovation policies, strategies, and programmes; 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 the Connect 2030 Agenda.

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 a country’s ecosystem status, allowing them to identify and fill the gaps using ITU tools and expertise.egional 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 a country’s ecosystem status and allowing them to identify and fill the gaps using ITU tools and expertise.

Sustainable development

ITU, as the UN specialised agency for ICTs, continues to support its membership and contribute to the worldwide efforts to advance the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieve its SDGs.

The 17 SDGs and their 169 related targets offer a holistic vision for the UN system. The role and contribution of ICTs as essential catalysts to fast-forward achievement of the SDGs is clearly highlighted and has come into focus since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Infrastructure, connectivity, and ICTs have demonstrated their great contribution and potential to accelerate human progress, bridge the digital divides, and develop digital societies.

ITU has a key role to play in realising its main goals of universal connectivity and sustainable digital transformation, in contributing to achieving the SDGs. ITU contributes to the achievement of the SDGs with four levels of involvement:

ICTs as an enabler: ITU can be seen as a contributor to all SDGs through the benefits that ICTs bring to societies and economies.
Focus: SDGs with no specific reference to ICTs but where ITU has demonstrated a clear impact through the benefits ICTs bring to specific sectors and activities (e.g. e-health, digital inclusion, smart cities, e-waste, climate change). These are SDGs 1, 3, 10, 11, 12, and 13.
Key focus: SDGs where ITU has a particularly strong impact due to its initiatives, and is the custodian of some indicators. These are SDG 4 (Quality Education), with its Target 4b to ‘… expand globally the number of scholarships, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and ICTs, technical, engineering and scientific programmes…’; and SDG 5 (Gender Equality), Target 5.b on ‘…the use of enabling technology, in particular ICTs, to promote the empowerment of women’. Indicator 5b.1 on the ownership of mobile phones, by sex.
Main key focus: SDGs where ITU maximises its contribution, such as SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) and SDG 17 (Partnership for the Goals). Here, ITU is also the custodian of related Target 9.c on ‘…. ICTs to provide universal and affordable access to the internet…’; and its Indicator 9c.1 on coverage by a mobile network and by technology, as well as Target 17.8 to ‘….enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology’; and its Indicator 17.8.1 about individuals using the internet.

The ITU Connect 2030 Agenda is specifically dedicated to leveraging telecommunications/ICTs, including broadband, for sustainable development. The agenda is built around five goals: growth, inclusiveness, sustainability, innovation, and partnership. In addition, ITU-D works on fostering international cooperation on telecommunications 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 SGs.

Additionally, ITU-T SGs such as ITU-T SG5 on Environment, EMF, and the Circular Economy is the lead SG and develops standards on circular economy and e-waste management, ICTs related to the environment, energy efficiency, clean energy, and sustainable digitalisation for climate actions, which help achieve the SDGs.

A list of ITU-R publications in response to Resolution ITU-R 61-3 on ‘ITU-R’s contribution in implementing the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ is available online.

The ITU strategic plan is aligned with 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 finance

Within the work of ITU, the issues related to inclusive finance are addressed as ‘Digital Financial Services (DFS)’.

ITU has built a substantial programme of work in support of digital financial inclusion. ITU standards for digital finance address the security of telecommunications infrastructure (Signalling System No. 7 (SS7)) vulnerabilities, SIM vulnerabilities and SIM fraud and the security of mobile payments applications, process for managing risks, threats, and vulnerabilities for digital finance service providers, assessing the quality of service of mobile networks to improve reliability and user experience for digital financial services and methodology for auditing the security of mobile payment applications in order to assess their level of security assurance through the DFS Security Lab. They provide for a high quality service and user experience, and safeguard security to build trust in digital finance.

Pursuant to WTSA Resolution 89, ITU has implemented several activities aimed at enhancing the use of ICTs in bridging the financial inclusion gap through the following:

The Financial Inclusion Global Initiative (FIGI)
ITU-T study groups and focus groups work on standardisation activities related to digital financial services
The Digital Financial Services Security Lab
Insights on Digital Financial Services during COVID-19 Webinars

The ITU Focus Group on Digital Financial Services (2014–2016), the ITU Focus Group on Digital Currency including Digital Fiat Currency (2017–2019), and the Financial Inclusion Global Initiative (2017–2021), a four-year programme to advance research in digital finance and accelerate digital financial inclusion in developing countries co-led by ITU, the World Bank Group, and the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures, with financial support from the Gates Foundation, have been at the heart of the resulting standardisation activities for digital financial inclusion.

Standardisation activities in the ITU-T study groups related to digital financial services include the following:

ITU-T SG3 approved, Recommendation ITU-T D.263, ‘Costs, charges and competition for mobile financial services (MFSs)’ in May 2019. Additionally, the following reports of the Focus Group on Digital Financial Services (FG-DFS) were published as ITU-T SG3 technical reports:
1. DSTR-DFSECO: Digital financial services – The Digital Financial Services Ecosystem
2. DSTR-DFSREG: Digital financial services – Regulation in the Digital Financial Services Ecosystem
3. DSTR-DFSSNDL: Digital financial services – Impact of Social Networks on Digital Liquidity
4. DSTR-DFSCA: Digital financial services – Competition Aspects of DFS
5. DSTR-DFSRP: The Regulator’s Perspective on the Right Timing for Inducing Interoperability
6. DSTR-DFSPI: Digital financial services – Access to Payment Infrastructures
7. DSTR-DFSUAAFR: Digital financial services – Review of DFS User Agreements in Africa: A Consumer Protection Perspective
8. DSTR-DFSCP: Digital Financial Services – Commonly Identified Consumer Protection Themes for Digital Financial Services
9. DSTR-DFSMR: Digital Financial Services – Main Recommendations

ITU-T SG 12 has developed the following recommendations for quality of service and quality of experience for digital financial services:
1. Recommendation ITU-T G.1033 highlights important aspects related to quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE) that require consideration in the context of digital financial services.
2. Recommendation ITU-T P.1502 introduces a methodology for testing the quality of experience (QoE) of digital financial services.
3. Recommendation ITU-T P.1503 Extended methodology for cross-country and inter-operator digital financial services QoE testing

The recommendations are based on the results of the ITU-T Focus Group on Digital Financial Services and the FIGI Security, Infrastructure and Trust Working Group.

ITU-T SG 17 has developed the following ITU-T recommendations related to the security of digital financial services based on the reports from the FIGI Security, Infrastructure, and Trust Working Group.
1. Recommendation ITU-T X.1150 – Security assurance framework for digital financial services (March 2024)
2. New recommendations determined at the SG 17 meeting in September 2024:
  1. New Recommendation ITU-T X.1456 (X.sgdfs-us): Security guidelines for digital financial service (DFS) applications based on unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) and subscriber identification module tool kit (STK)
  2. New Recommendation ITU-T X.1284 (X.afotak): Authentication framework based on one-time authentication key using distributed ledger technology
ITU-T SG11 agreed on the technical reports:
1. ITU-T QSTR-SS7-DFS (2019): SS7 vulnerabilities and mitigation measures for digital financial services transactions based on the report approved by the FIGI Security, Infrastructure and Trust Working Group
2. ITU-T QSTR-USSD (2021): Low resource requirement, quantum resistant, encryption of USSD messages for use in financial services

ITU-T SG 11 published recommendations and new work items, which are ongoing on digital financial services, include:

ITU-T Q.3062 (2022): Signalling procedures and protocols for enabling interconnection between trustable network entities in support of existing and emerging networks
ITU-T Q.3063 (2022) : Signalling procedures of calling line identification authentication
Draft Q.TSCA (SG11): Requirements for issuing End-Entity and Certification Authority certificates for enabling trustable signalling interconnection between network entities
Draft E.RAA4Q.TSCA (SG2): Registration authority assignment criteria to issue digital public certificates for use by Q.TSCA

The ITU Digital Financial Services (DFS) Security Lab was set up in 2021 as an outcome of FIGI, with the main objective to collaborate with DFS regulators in emerging economies to adopt the DFS security recommendations (also developed under FIGI) and to provide technical support to DFS regulators in conducting security audits of mobile payment applications used in their country. The DFS Security Lab has organised some 35 DFS Security Clinics attended by over 1,500 participants from emerging economies. The security clinics are aimed at providing an overview of the ITU DFS security recommendations to the regulators from the telecom and financial services regulators, mobile network operators, and DFS providers.

In addition, the knowledge transfer programme of the DFS Security Lab provides technical assistance to regulators in emerging economies to set up the DFS Security Lab in their country, implement the DFS security recommendations including ITU-T X.1150 Recommendation and assist the staff of the regulators to be able to conduct the security audits of mobile payment apps based on the standard methodology of the DFS Security Lab.

The following telecom regulators have so far benefited from technical assistance for knowledge transfer for the DFS Security Lab: Peru, Zimbabwe, The Gambia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Antigua and Barbuda, and St Lucia. The knowledge transfer programme for these countries is ongoing in 2025. In addition, new requests were received from South Sudan, Lesotho, Eswatini, Gabon, and Burkina Faso in 2025. In 2023, the DFS Security Lab developed a cyber resilience self-assessment framework for critical infrastructure for DFS aimed at regulators to conduct evaluation of the level of cyber resilience of critical infrastructure for digital finance.

In 2020, ITU organised the Insights on Digital Financial Services Webinar Series with the objective of providing insights on the innovative applications of telecommunications services, digital payments, and fintech in addressing COVID-triggered social distancing and lockdown, and sharing lessons learned from governments and DFS stakeholders on the measures they are implementing. Twelve webinars were held between May and December 2020, attracting over 1,000 unique participants from 105 countries. The webinars focused on topics such as digital identity, strong authentication technologies, security of digital financial transactions, handling fraud and scams, tracking digital financial crimes and fraud, digital credit technologies, mitigating telecom infrastructure vulnerabilities for digital finance, and central bank digital currency.

In 2020, ITU and Stanford University launched the Digital Currency Global Initiative (DCGI) to continue the work of the ITU Focus Group on Digital Currency including Digital Fiat Currency. DCGI 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.

E-waste

ITU works to develop policies, standards, frameworks, and guidelines for the efficient disposal of e-waste in order to achieve a circular economy. ITU has the mandate to promote awareness of the environmental issues associated with telecommunications/ICT equipment design and encourage energy efficiency and the use of materials in the design and fabrication of telecommunications/ICT equipment that contributes to a clean and safe environment throughout its lifecycle (Res.182 (Rev. Busan, 2014)).

ITU plays a key role in the UN E-waste Coalition, is a founding partner of the Global E-waste Statistics Partnership (GESP), and collaborates with the Circular Electronics Partnership.

ITU-D has been mandated to assist developing countries in undertaking a proper assessment of the size of e-waste and in initiating pilot projects to achieve environmentally sound management of e-waste through e-waste 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 sectors to stimulate coordinated actions towards a circular economy model. ITU-D and ITU-T SGs also explore issues related to ICTs and the environment.

ITU-T has been mandated to pursue and strengthen the development of ITU activities in regard to handling and controlling e-waste from telecommunications and information technology equipment and methods of treating it; and to develop recommendations, methodologies, and other publications relating to sustainable management of e-waste resulting from telecommunications/ICT equipment and products, as well as appropriate guidelines on the implementation of these recommendations. As part of this effort, ITU-T promotes circular economy principles to extend the life cycle of ICT products, encourage resource efficiency, and minimise waste generation. ITU-T SG5 on Environment, EMF, and the Circular Economy is the lead ITU-T SG on the circular economy and e-waste management.

ITU-T SG5 has a dedicated Question (Q7/5) on ‘E-waste, circular economy, and sustainable supply chain management’. This Question seeks to address the e-waste challenge by identifying the environmental requirements of digital technologies including IoT, end-user equipment, and ICT infrastructures or installations, based on the circular economy principles and improving the supply chain management in line with SDG 12, target 12.5 to substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse by 2030.

As part of this work, Q7/5 is developing the Digital Product Passport (DPP), a tool designed to enhance transparency and traceability of ICT products by providing key environmental and material data throughout their life cycle, facilitating sustainable resource management and circularity. Additionally, ITU-T contributes to global efforts through its engagement in the Digitalization for Circular Economy (D4CE) initiative, led by the OnePlanet Network, which explores how digital technologies can optimise resource use, improve material flows, and support sustainable business models to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

Rights of persons with disabilities

ITU works both to promote globally ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities and to make ITU a more accessible organisation for persons with disabilities – Resolution 175 (Rev. Bucharest, 2022).

Globally, ITU has continued conducting technical work in ITU-R, ITU-T, and ITU-D SGs, advancing the use of telecommunications and ICTs for persons with disabilities; and developing resources to support member states in establishing environments that ensure accessible telecommunications/ICTs – work conducted with the participation of persons with disabilities and aligned with the Connect 2030 Agenda. ITU-D advanced regional initiatives linked to ICT accessibility, with projects, training, and events, and provided support to ITU administrations in almost every region, including organising Accessible Americas and Accessible events. More information is available here.

Within the second area of focus, ITU has made progress in implementing its ITU Accessibility Policy for persons with disabilities, with an updated version endorsed by the ITU Council 2021.

ITU-D Study Question 7/1 continues to focus on telecommunications/ICT accessibility to enable inclusive communication, especially for persons with disabilities for 2022–2025, as agreed at WTDC–22.

The year 2021 released SG Question 7/1 report (available free of charge in all UN official languages) with its accompanying video and the focused workshop and webinar confirm the careful attention given to this topic.

ITU-R continues its work in response to Resolution ITU-R 67-2 on ‘Telecommunications/ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities and persons with specific needs’. Further information on the work carried out by the Intersector Rapporteur Group Audiovisual Media Accessibility (IRG-AVA), can be found here.

ITU’s work on accessibility includes regional events, ICT accessibility assessment, and the publication of new resources and handbooks. ITU has developed capacity-building materials to promote the adoption of accessible solutions, including 15 video tutorials on the development and remediation of accessible digital content.

A range of activities is detailed below.

ITU Regional Knowledge Development Platforms/Forums
ITU has organised regional events that allow ITU members and stakeholders to share good practices and challenges, and to help develop digitally inclusive societies in these regions.

Further regional events are set out below.

Accessible Asia-Pacific (ASP): Regional Dialogue on Digital Transformation: Gearing Up for Inclusive and Sustainable Development, virtual event, 2021.
Accessible Arab Region: ICT for ALL, Egypt, 2021, in partnership with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA). Participants identified ways forward to implement and mainstream digital accessibility, showing how technology can ensure inclusiveness and empowerment of all.

Accessible Americas: ICT for ALL, Cuba 2021, featured discussions with policymakers and stakeholders on ICT/digital accessibility in the context of COVID-19.
Accessible Africa, virtual, 2021. Five online, interactive workshops sought to strengthen the capacity of 175 regional focal points from 42 African countries on ICT/digital accessibility.
Accessible Europe: ICT for ALL 2021, virtual, 2021. Over 240 participants from more than 40 countries discussed how to remove barriers to enable the social inclusion of persons with disabilities, through cooperation, programmes, and training.
Accessible Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS): In 2021, the CIS Region has shown increased interest in ICT accessibility implementation to ensure equal digital empowerment through ICT.

Assessing and monitoring the implementation of ICT accessibility

ITU Self-Assessment and Toolkit for ICT AccessibilityImplementation: Towards building Inclusive Digital Communities. This resource supports all ITU members, policymakers, and stakeholders in building inclusive digital communities. It also enables countries and organisations to assess themselves, obtaining an immediate overview of the level of their ICT accessibility implementation.
ICT Accessibility Assessment for the Europe Region provides ICT accessibility assessment for the Europe region. See also the ITU Assessment of Digital Accessibility Policies in Serbia.

WSIS Forum 2021: ICTs and Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities and Specific Needs

WSIS Forum 2021 featured ICTs and Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities and Specific Needs, with virtual workshops on innovative technologies, bringing together experts and stakeholders to discuss how to leverage ICTs to help people with blindness and vision impairment and how to provide inclusive education for all – showcasing emerging assistive technologies.

Self-paced online training courses

In 2021, two self-paced online training courses in ICT accessibility were developed, available in Arabic, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. Both ICT Accessibility: The Key to Inclusive Communication and Web Accessibility – The Cornerstone of an Inclusive Digital Society are delivered through ITU Academy in three modules.

Other accessibility resources

Additional ICT accessibility training and resources are available here. The update of the Handbook on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) Broadcasting networks and systems implementation, outlining Accessibility to Broadcasting Services for Persons with Disabilities, is also part of ITU’s accessibility work.

Events and opportunities to support the global implementation of ICT accessibility

ITU contributed to the development of the Disability Inclusion Practice Note on ICT & Digital Accessibility and its Additional Resources. ITU participated in the Digital Inclusion Summit – Leaving No One Behind, organised by the International Training Centre in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO) (July 2021). In 2019, the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy (UN DIS) was adopted, including significant inputs from ITU. In 2020, ITU prepared its report on the strategy implementation and reviewed its Accessibility Policy accordingly.
ITU contributed to the first-ever celebration of Universal Design Day in 2021.
ITU shared its expertise on ICT accessibility and disability inclusion with 131 UN Country Team representatives during two webinars on ICT and Digital Accessibility, held virtually in 2021.

Making ITU a more accessible organisation for persons with disabilities

ITU continues to ensure accessibility to persons with disabilities, including staff, delegates, and the general public.
To ensure the structure and content of ITU websites, videos, publications, digital documents, and digital information are all digitally accessible, training events were under preparation (held in February 2022).
To provide fully accessible ITU events, an invitation to bid for the provision of real-time captioning was completed in November 2021. Proposals for captioning in French, Spanish, and Chinese have been submitted.
In 2019, ITU provided captioning across ITU events and major conferences, sign language interpretation at selected ITU-T accessibility meetings and in making ITU websites accessible. ITU has also modified its internal production to generate accessible publications in the six official languages.

COVID-19: Ensuring digital information is accessible to all

In March 2020, ITU issued COVID Guidelines on How to Develop Inclusive Digital Information Products and Services through different digital platforms, in all six official UN languages. The guidelines contain messages and concrete actions to support policymakers and communicators in ensuring that COVID-related messages and vital digital information are accessible to all people, including persons with disabilities. These ITU guidelines were globally disseminated and translated into 22 other languages within the framework of the UN joint COVID-19 response and recovery emergency working group on the health workstream.
To ensure that deaf and hard of hearing persons were not excluded, ITU produced the Guideline on Web-based Remote Sign Language Interpretation or Video Remote Interpretation.

Gender rights online

Within the work of ITU, gender rights online is addressed as ‘Gender digital divide‘.

ITU is involved in activities aimed at promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls through ICTs.

ITU is the custodian of three gender-related SDG indicators: the proportion of individuals who (1) own a mobile phone; (2) use the internet; and (3) have ICT skills. ITU’s Measuring Digital Development: Facts and Figures 2021 shows that, in all regions, the gender internet divide has been narrowing in recent years, and calls for more action on cultural, financial, and skills-related barriers that impede internet uptake among women. ITU has launched several targeted efforts to bridge the gender digital divide and advance the Connect 2030 Agenda. Below are some highlights of ITU’s work on gender.

Together with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations University (UNU), the GSMA, and the International Trade Centre (ITC), ITU has 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, ITU contributes with the annual flagship event, the EQUALS in Tech Awards. The awards are presented 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.

The African Girls Can Code Initiative (AGCCI) was launched in Africa in collaboration with UN Women and the African Union Commission (AUC) with the aim to train and empower girls and young women aged 17 to 20 across Africa to become computer programmers, creators, and designers. The initiative has also been 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 ITU, are targeted at advancing women’s engagement with ICTs for social and economic development.

Through a new global initiative on Women in Digital Business, ITU partners with the ILO and Microsoft Philanthropies to equip women entrepreneurs across Africa, Asia, and Latin America with digital and entrepreneurial skills. The ‘train-the-trainer’ model has reached over 25,000 women, supporting inclusive online business growth.

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

The Radiocommunication Assembly 2023 (RA-23) adopted Resolution ITU-R 72 on ‘Promoting gender equality and equity and bridging the contribution and participation gap between women and men in ITU-R activities’.

ITU is also a facilitator of WSIS Action Line C4 – Capacity building.

Network of Women (NoW): Encouraging gender balance

Encouraging and tracking gender-balanced representation and nominations of women for key roles strengthens women’s participation in ITU meetings. The aim is to build a community where female delegates can network, share their experience, and promote the participation of women – increasing their visibility, empowering them, and encouraging experienced female delegates to mentor ICT professionals in the digital space.

ITU promotes the active participation of women in ITU events and through the Network of Women (NoW) initiatives in each of its three sectors: ITU-R (radiocommunications), ITU-T (standardisation), and ITU-D (development). These efforts aim to increase women’s participation in technical meetings and leadership roles, with activities such as dedicated global campaigns like NOW4WRC27, NOW4WTSA24 , and initiatives such as NOW4WRC27 Mentoring Programme, the Empowering Women Leaders Mentorship Programme for WTDC-25 in the run-up to key ITU governing conferences.
ITU monitors women’s participation in events and activities through the gender dashboard.

ITU Secretary General Doreen Bogdan-Martin is a member of the Global Board of the International Gender Champions (IGC), a high-level network driving systemic change through concrete actions.

Capacity-building that empowers indigenous communities through technology

Capacity-building training for indigenous communities has empowered indigenous people and communities through technology. The training is tailored to needs and interests and has taken into account self-sustainability aspects and cultural legacy.

The programme has reached 70 indigenous participants throughout the Americas, 21 of whom have completed the full programme – from Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, and Peru. Thirty per cent of participants are indigenous women.

The course Technical Promoters in Telecommunications and Broadcasting in Indigenous Communities requires one year of study and trains indigenous professionals in maintaining indigenous networks from infrastructure to communication delivery. The module boosts the professional development of professionals and their ability to contribute to their communities’ socio-economic development and self-sustainability.

A course in 2021, on Innovative Communication Tools on How to Develop, Manage and Operate an Indigenous Radio Network, was offered to 141 indigenous participants over two editions. Countries represented included Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. Thirty per cent of participants completed all five units of the course, 40.5% of whom were indigenous women.
ITU and UNESCO were developing activities for rollout at the WSIS Forum 2022 as contributions to the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032).

Working for digital inclusion for older people-raising awareness and building resources

For the first time, ITU has addressed digital inclusion for older people by raising awareness on the topic, leveraging the capacity of ITU members and stakeholders, providing policy and strategy guidelines, and developing resources to support global efforts to overcome this socio-economic challenge.

Resources supporting older persons in the digital world.

A video tutorial covering ageing in a digital world, with captions in all UN languages.
Ageing in a Digital World – From Vulnerable to Valuable.
Self-paced online training: ICTs for Better Ageing and Livelihood in the Digital Handscape. This ITU Academy training is available in English, French, and Spanish and addresses local digital inclusion policies, strategies and good practices.

The World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2022 (WTISD 2022) was dedicated to the theme: Digital technologies for older persons and healthy ageing.

ITU contributing to UN work

Social Isolation and Loneliness Among Older People: Advocacy Brief – highlights the growing public health and policy concern about these issues, made more salient by the COVID-19 pandemic. ITU contributed to the development of this WHO/UN Women brief.
ITU contributed to the celebration of the UN International Day of Older Persons (UNIDOP) in 2021 in the Digital Inclusion For All Ages event, jointly organised with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), the Office of the Secretary’s-General Envoy on Technology, and the NGO Committee on Ageing.

Working for increased youth engagement

The ITU Youth Strategy ensures the participation of youth in ITU in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The strategy is built on three pillars: creating a community of young leaders, bringing young people together to engage with ITU and members, and fostering participation in ITU activities. More than 40 Youth Task Force members across ITU are coordinating efforts to implement the ITU Youth Strategy.

The initiatives detailed below have been implemented as part of the ITU Youth Strategy and as part of its continued commitment to engaging and empowering young people in the digital development agenda.

The Robotics for Good Youth Challenge is a global educational robotics championship that invites students aged 10 to 18 to develop AI and robotics-based solutions for global challenges. In the 2024-2025 edition, participants simulate a disaster response scenario using robotics and compete in a global challenge organised by ITU, with the grand finale taking place at the AI for Good Global Summit 2025. This programme offers a unique entry point into STEM disciplines while fostering the problem-solving and teamwork skills that are critical for the next generation of digital leaders. Over 7,000 participants from twenty countries are taking part in the first edition of the global competition, 35% of whom are from least developed countries.

The AI for Good Youth Zone at the AI for Good Global Summit 2024 hosted practical workshops and hands-on sessions focused on AI and robotics. Bringing together educators, students, and professionals, nine workshops were facilitated by 11 partners over two days, attracting 300 participants, including children and professionals. The Youth Zone provided interactive and collaborative learning experiences, covering topics from AI EdTech robots to disaster robotics and autonomous vehicles. Workshops by EPFL provided hands-on experience with AI, computer vision, and machine learning, demonstrating how smart cars detect and analyse their environment. Overall, the AI for Good Youth Zone provided a dynamic and engaging platform for participants to learn, collaborate, and explore the exciting world of AI and robotics.

The ITU AI/ML Challenge is a flagship collaborative platform that enables students, researchers, and developers to design and test AI models in various real-world use cases, including communication networks, Geospatial AI, and other domains. Through real-world problem statements and open datasets, participants are guided to explore the frontier of machine learning in ICT infrastructure, strengthening their technical capacities while contributing to ITU’s standards development work. In 2024, there were a total of 13 challenge problem statements, and a total of 4,196 participants joined these problem statements, contributing more than 30,000 submissions.

The Young AI Leaders Community is a platform launched during WTSA-24 to foster youth participation and leadership in driving the AI revolution, bringing together young people aged 18-30 who leverage AI to drive positive change in their communities. It provides a platform for sharing knowledge, developing skills, and collaborating. With 89 hubs across 46 countries and over 300 members operating on a voluntary basis, this network fosters engagement in joint AI for Good activities and projects that extend beyond individual hubs. It also promotes regional and cross-regional collaborations, aligning local actions and initiatives with the broader goals of AI for Good.

The AI for Good Innovation Factory’s special edition Meet Young Innovators Revolutionizing Agrifood Systems in the Global South, was convened in partnership with the World Food Forum (WFF) to spotlight entrepreneurial youth using digital innovation to tackle challenges in agriculture and food systems. This pitch competition provided a stage for youth-led startups to pitch their AI-based solutions to a global audience of investors, policymakers, and partners, reinforcing the role of innovation in solving the world’s pressing issues and empowering young people to be active drivers of transformation.

The Metaverse Think-a-Thon 2024, organised by ITU in collaboration with UNICC, FAO, and IAEA, challenged students and recent graduates to design innovative, technology-driven solutions for smart, sustainable cities and communities. Participants developed virtual simulations addressing global challenges in education, disaster preparedness, conflict resolution, and urban sustainability, advancing the UN SDGs.

The 1st UN Citiverse Challenge, launched on 13 February 2025 and co-organised by ITU alongside 16 global partners, invites students and startups to reimagine the future through the citiverse and digital public infrastructure. Focusing on access to public services, sustainability and resilience, and tourism and digital culture, participants are challenged to design bold, innovative solutions that will shape the cities of tomorrow and drive inclusive, technology-driven urban transformation.

Generation Connect Initiative

Generation Connect, launched in 2020, prepared the way for the journey to World Telecommunication Development Conference 2022 and the Generation Connect Global Youth Summit in 2022.

Generation Connect Visionaries Board

The Generation Connect Visionaries Board offers guidance to ITU on its youth-related work. The Board, composed of ITU representatives, eight young leaders, and eight high-level appointees, advises on the Youth Summit and the Youth Strategy.

Road to Addis Series – Digital Inclusion and Youth Events

The ITU Road to Addis series of events has a strong youth component. The event on International Youth Day 2021 saw the participation of youth as equal partners alongside the leaders of today’s digital change, while the Partner2Connect Meeting 2021 launched the Partner2Connect Coalition.

Implementation of the I-CoDI Youth Challenge

In 2020, ITU organised the International Centre of Digital Innovation (I-CoDI) Youth Challenge on connecting the unconnected. Winning pitches focused on technology and network development, cybersecurity, digital inclusion, climate change and environment, and capacity building.

Generation Connect Virtual Communities

In 2021, ITU launched the new Generation Connect Virtual communities on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram, inviting youth from the regions to join.

ITU: Current co-chair of the United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development

In March 2021, ITU was the co-chair of the United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development (IANYD) with a one-year mandate. The Network increases the effectiveness of UN work in youth development by strengthening collaboration and exchange across UN entities.

Capacity Building on Meaningful Youth Engagement

Training on Meaningful Youth Engagement for UN staff was delivered to ITU staff in 2020; 174 ITU staff attended, including top management, members of the ITU Youth Task Force, and professional and administrative staff. This training was followed by two Pitch for Youth workshops in 2020, where teams proposed ideas to an ITU jury on youth engagement initiatives.

Collaboration with the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth

ITU works with the Office of the Envoy on Youth to align the ITU Youth Strategy with the United Nations Youth Strategy: Youth 2030. ITU has engaged with the UN Youth Envoy in various ways, including the co-creation of the Digital Technology session of the #YouthLead Innovation Festival and collaboration on how online efforts are helping improve children’s online safety.

Additional initiatives

ITU’s work on empowering youth through ICTs includes the Digital Skills for Jobs Campaign and the ITU Digital Skills Toolkit. In 2020, ITU mounted a Youth Engagement Survey to consult on how ITU can best engage. The results of this survey informed the ITU Youth Strategy.

Interdisciplinary approaches

WSIS Process

The WSIS process was initiated by ITU in 1998, and it led the organisation of the 2003 and 2005 summits in coordination with the UN system. In line with its mandate and the WSIS outcome documents, ITU continues to play a key lead coordination role in WSIS implementation and follow-up.

The WSIS Forum represents the world’s largest annual gathering of the ICT for development community. Co-organised by ITU, UNESCO, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in close collaboration with all WSIS Action Line Facilitators/Co-Facilitator, the forum has proven to be an efficient mechanism for coordinating multistakeholder implementation activities, exchanging information, creating knowledge, and sharing best practices. It continues to provide assistance in developing multistakeholder and public/private partnerships to advance development goals. The forum provides structured 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 ITU activities in the WSIS context from all three sectors of the organisation (radiocommunications, standardisation, and development sectors) and the General Secretariat on the activities implemented during the respective year. The report provides updates on the tasks carried out by ITU at the operational and policy levels, covering all assigned mandates with reference to the WSIS process.

ITU plays a leading facilitating role in the WSIS implementation process, in collaboration with more than 30 UN agencies in creating an environment for just and equal information and knowledge societies. As per Resolution 1332 (modified 2019), the ITU membership resolved to use the WSIS framework as the foundation through which it helps the world to leverage ICTs in achieving the 2030 Agenda, within its mandate and within the allocated resources in the financial plan and biennial budget, noting the WSIS- SDG Matrix developed by UN agencies. This close interlink between the WSIS Action Lines and the SDGs and targets can serve as an important basis for work on relevant areas outlined in relevant ongoing processes, for example, UN SGs Our Common Agenda, etc.

ITU’s role in the WSIS process, highlighting the varying role along the WSIS Action Lines:

ITU is the sole facilitator for three different WSIS Action Lines: C2 (Information and communication infrastructure), C5 (Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs), and C6 (Enabling environment).
ITU has also taken the lead role in facilitating WSIS Action Line C4 (Capacity building).
ITU contributes to all the remaining WSIS Action Lines facilitated by other WSIS stakeholders.

The WSIS-SDG Matrix developed by UN WSIS Action Line Facilitators serves as the mechanism to map, analyse, and coordinate the implementation of WSIS Action Lines, and more specifically, ICTs as enablers and accelerators of the SDGs. This mapping exercise draws direct links between the WSIS Action Lines and 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 for sustainable development.

The WSIS Stocktaking Process provides a register of activities – including projects, programmes, training initiatives, conferences, websites, guidelines, and toolkits – 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, 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 leverage 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 WSIS stakeholders to create an effective mechanism for evaluating 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 the 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.

UNGIS is the UN system’s inter-agency mechanism for advancing policy coherence and programme coordination on matters related to ICTs in support of internationally agreed development goals. Established in 2006 after WSIS, its mandate includes promoting collaboration and partnerships among 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 has contributed to the alignment of the WSIS Action Lines and the SDGs.

The Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development is an international, multistakeholder initiative to improve the availability and quality of ICT data and indicators.

ITU also works in close collaboration with the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology and in 2022 announced a first-ever set of targets for universal and meaningful digital connectivity to be achieved by 2030.

The universal meaningful connectivity targets were developed as part of the implementation of the UN Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation and aim to provide concrete benchmarks for sustainable, inclusive global progress in specified action areas, such as (1) Universality, (2) Technology, and (3) Affordability. These 15 aspirational targets are meant to help countries and stakeholders prioritise interventions, monitor progress, evaluate policy effectiveness, and galvanise efforts around achieving universal and meaningful connectivity by 2030. They are also meant as a contribution towards the Global Digital Compact, as proposed in the UN Secretary-General’s report on Our Common Agenda. A first assessment of how the world currently stands in relation to the targets is available on ITU’s website here.

Kaleidoscope academic conferences

Kaleidoscope is the ITU flagship event for academia, which brings together a wide range of views from universities, industry, and research institutions across different fields to identify emerging trends in technologies for a digital and sustainable transformation that can benefit humanity. Selected papers are presented at the conference and published in the Conference Proceedings and IEEE Xplore Digital Library. By viewing technologies through a kaleidoscope, these forward-looking events also seek to identify new topics for ITU’s work. Kaleidoscope 2024 on Innovation and digital transformation for a sustainable world was held in parallel with the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly 2024 (WTSA-24), on 21-23 October, in New Delhi, India. This 15th Kaleidoscope edition also highlighted the role of youth in global standards development and the urgency of connecting the last one-third of the world’s population that is not yet online.

The next edition will be held in Geneva in conjunction with the AI for Good Summit in 2026.

ITU Journal

The scholarly ITU Journal on Future and Evolving Technologies (ITU J-FET) provides complete coverage of all communications and networking paradigms. ITU J-FETl considers yet-to-be-published papers addressing fundamental and applied research. It shares new techniques and concepts, analyses, and tutorials, as well as learning from experiments and physical and simulated testbeds. It also discusses the implications of the latest research results for policy and regulation, legal frameworks, the economy, and society. This publication builds bridges between disciplines, connects theory with application, and stimulates international dialogue. Its interdisciplinary approach reflects ITU’s comprehensive field of interest and explores the convergence of ICT with other disciplines.

ITU J-FET is a quarterly publication, free of charge for both readers and authors, which offers a platform to share research on topics of strategic relevance to ITU, such as Internet of Everything, Terahertz Communications, Wireless Communication Systems in Beyond 5G Era, Internet of Bio-Nano Things for Health Applications, Towards Vehicular Networks in the 6G Era, Emerging Trends and Applications in Future Communication Networks, Integrated and Autonomous Network Management and Control for 6G Time-critical Applications, Digital Continuum and Next Generation Networks, Future of Networking Beyond 2030, Innovative Network Solutions for Future Services, Intelligent Surfaces and their Applications towards Wide-scale Deployment, AI-driven Security in 5G and beyond, Network Virtualization, Slicing, Orchestration, Fog and Edge Platforms for 5G and 6G Wireless Systems, AI for Accessibility, Metaverse: Communications, Networking and Computing, Intelligent Technologies for Future Networking and Distributed Systems, Next Generation Computer Communications and Networks, Satellite Constellations and Connectivity from Space, and AI and Machine Learning Solutions in 5G and Future Networks, and Geospatial AI to Advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Under the umbrella of the ITU Journal, a series of webinars has been launched to feature highly cited academics, CTOs, and industry leaders, sharing their pioneering studies and visions, as well as their impactful life lessons learned over the years that might be useful for students and young researchers starting their career in the ICT field. This special series is designed to expand synergies between academia and industry R&D, placing emphasis on 5G and 6G and increasing network intelligence. The recordings are available at the ITU Journal Webinars Series playlist on YouTube.

ITU-Tsinghua University Joint Journal

The Intelligent and Converged Networks (ICN) Journal focuses on the latest developments in communication technology. ICN is co-published by Tsinghua University Press (TUP) and ITU. The journal draws its name from the accelerating convergence of different fields of communication technology and the growing influence of AI and machine learning. An open-access quarterly publication, ICN was launched in 2020. All issues can be downloaded for free at the journal’s online library and on IEEE Xplore. The Journal is indexed in the following databases: Ei Compendex, Scopus, DOAJ, and Inspec.

Digital tools

Conferencing technologies

Various platforms used for online meetings: Zoom, Microsoft Teams, 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 ITU’s personalised MyWorkspace platform and associated services and tools (e.g. MyMeetings).

International Trade Centre

ITC supports developing countries to achieve trade-led growth, fosters inclusive and sustainable economic development, and contributes to achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs).

ITC offers small businesses, policymakers, and business support organisations in developing countries an array of trade-related practical training and advisory services, and a wealth of business intelligence data. It helps micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) become more competitive and helps create better regulatory environments for trade. ITC works to empower women, youth, and refugees through its programmes, projects, services, and data and helps drive digital connectivity and a global transition to green, sustainable trade.

Established in 1964, ITC is a multilateral agency with a joint mandate with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN) through the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Digital activities

ITC activities in e-commerce and digital trade:

Focus on the digitalisation of trade and solving the constraints faced by MSM Es regarding the e-commerce of goods and services, at the enterprise, business ecosystem, and policy levels.
Develop small business digital capabilities and improve e-commerce accessibility in developing countries for sustainable and inclusive growth through its ecomConnect programme.
Support the development of a conducive policy and regulatory environment for e-commerce at the national, regional, and multilateral levels, including facilitating domestic policy reforms, informing policymakers on the needs of MSMEs in relation to e-commerce and digitalisation, and building capacity for e-commerce-related trade negotiations.
Support digital connectivity by improving telecommunications regulations and working with partners who provide access to technologies and services.
Improve business ecosystems by collaborating with market partners and equipping business services organisations (BSOs) with the capacity to support MSMEs in the digital economy.

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

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 projects also support developing countries in reviewing and updating e-commerce-related regulations and building capacity for effective implementation of policy reforms.

ITC assists enterprises, in particular MSMEs, 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.

ITC’s e-commerce tools help MSMEs assess the readiness of their business to engage in international e-commerce, understand the options and costs of selling on e-commerce platforms, find available payment solutions, and track sales and site traffic across different e-commerce platforms in a single dashboard.
ITC’s digital entrepreneurship projects also support developing countries and MSMEs to build competitiveness in the rapidly growing global information technology and business process outsourcing markets.

Capacity development

The SME Trade Academy is ITC’s flagship e-learning platform, offering a wide range of online courses and educational resources on trade and related topics. Designed for SMEs, policymakers, business support organisations, and trade professionals, the Academy supports skills development for inclusive and sustainable trade.

With over 600,000 enrolments and 150,000+ certificates issued, the Academy hosts more than 100 courses tailored to entrepreneurs, government agencies, and support institutions.

The Academy is integrating AI-powered learning, including:

AI Tutors that provide instant, tailored feedback.
AI Graders that ensure an in-depth understanding before learners can advance.
A mastery-based structure that includes an AI Moderator, requiring learners to complete each module before moving forward.

For learners on the go, the Academy also offers a Microlearning platform with five-minute lessons—no registration required.

Additional ITC e-learning platforms include:

Global Textile Academy
How to trade within Africa
SheTrades Academy
Enterprise Competitiveness Benchmarking
Supply Chain Management Diploma

ITC also offers training for policymakers on building a conducive environment for e-commerce and engaging in negotiations on e-commerce and digital trade.

Resources

Digital tools

ITC addresses the challenge of the lack of reliable trade information on markets by offering market analysis tools and related market data sources. The Global Trade Helpdesk provides a one-stop shop for detailed information about imports, market dynamics, tariffs, regulatory requirements, potential buyers and more.

ITC’s suite of trade and market intelligence tools enables businesses to identify export and import opportunities, compare market access requirements, monitor national trade performance, and make well-informed trade decisions. They cover data from more than 220 countries and territories and consist of the following: Trade Map, Market Access Map, Investment Map, Procurement Map, Export Potential Map, and Sustainability Map.

Beyond these market analysis tools, ITC offers a wide range of online tools that make global trade more transparent and facilitate access to markets: ITC’s tools provide data to small businesses to remain competitive

The ecomConnect community platform, managed by ITC’s ecomConnect programme, links entrepreneurs, industry experts and members of business support organisations so they can make connections, acquire digital expertise through free online courses, e-commerce tools and live webinars, and discuss the latest e-commerce news. The community brings together more than 7,500 active users from sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
In addition, the ITC library serves as a specialised information resource on international trade, through its online catalogue, which is available to all users.

Internet Governance Forum

The IGF provides the most comprehensive coverage of digital policy issues at the global level. The IGF Secretariat in Geneva coordinates 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, businesses, civil society, the technical community, academia, and other actors who affect or are affected by digital policy. This diversity is reflected in the IGF processes, events, and consultations.
Multidisciplinary coverage: It relates to addressing policy issues from technological, legal, security, human rights, economic, development, and sociocultural 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 176 national, subregional, and regional IGFs (as of March 2025). 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 coordinates the participation of the overall network.

The IGF ecosystem converges around the annual IGF, which is attended by thousands of participants. Recent IGFs include Paris (2018), Berlin (2019), online edition due to the pandemic (2020), Katowice (2021), Addis Ababa (2022), Kyoto (2023), and Riyadh (2024), which have engaged over 11,000 participants, and more than 1,000 speakers in over 300 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 connectivity, network neutrality, accessibility and disability, and child safety online, etc.); policy networks (on AI, environment, meaningful access, and internet fragmentation); and other projects such as Policy Options for Connecting and Enabling the Next Billion(s) (which ran between 2015 and 2018) as well as a number of capacity development activities.

IGF mandate

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

The main functions of the IGF are specified in Article 72 of the Tunis Agenda. 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.
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 find solutions to the issues arising from the use and misuse of the internet, of particular concern to everyday users.
Publish its proceedings.

In fulfilling its mandate, the Forum is institutionally supported by the UN Secretariat for the Internet Governance Forum, placed with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). Its working modalities also include the MAG and, most recently, the Leadership Panel, both appointed by the UN Secretary-General.

Digital policy issues

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 Forum continues to structure its bottom-up-developed programme around distinct themes. The Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) Digital Watch hybrid reporting (IGF 2024) 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.

Leadership Panel

In line with the IGF mandate and as recommended in the Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, the UN Secretary-General established the IGF Leadership Panel as a strategic, empowered, multistakeholder body, to address urgent, strategic issues, and highlight the Forum discussions and possible follow-up actions to promote greater impact and dissemination of IGF discussions.

More specifically, the Panel provides strategic inputs and advice on the IGF; promotes the IGF and its outputs; supports both high-level and at-large stakeholder engagement in the IGF and IGF fundraising efforts; exchanges IGF outputs with other stakeholders and relevant forums; and feeds input from these decision makers and forums to the IGF agenda-setting process, leveraging relevant MAG expertise.

The 15-member Panel with ex-officio members meet at least two times a year in person, in addition to regular online meetings.

Digital technologies

Conferencing technologies

Since its first meeting in Athens (2006), the IGF has pioneered 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 a remote moderator, who ensures that there is smooth interplay between online and in situ discussions.

The 20th annual IGF meeting will be hosted by the Government of Norway in Lillestrøm on 23-27 June 2025. The 2026 host is yet to be announced.

Social media channels

Facebook @IGF – Internet Governance Forum

Flickr @IGF

Instagram @intgovforum

LinkedIn @intgovforum

X @intgovforum

YouTube @Internet Governance Forum (IGF)

ICT for Peace Foundation

ICT4Peace has operated as an independent think tank based in Geneva since 2003. It fosters political discussion and common action to support international and human security in cyberspace. All its activities are focused on the use of ICT to fulfil its key goals: saving lives, protecting human dignity, and promoting peace and security in cyberspace. ICT4Peace acts as an early mover in identifying important challenges, bringing visibility and high-level attention to critical new issues. It carries out policy research examining how to use technologies to support state and human security, and develops capacity building through the ICT4Peace Academy to support the full participation of all stakeholders in ICT discussions, negotiations, and solutions. A description of the concrete areas of its work can be found in this document.

The areas presently covered are deepening the understanding of the ICT-related activities and services provided by private (cyber) security companies and their impacts on human rights, international law, and international security law, norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace, including neutrality during cyberwarfare, mis- and disinformation and hate speech, gender and ICT, and AI, peace, and ethics.

Digital policy issues

Network security, cyberconflict, and warfare

An open, secure, stable, accessible, and peaceful ICT environment is essential for all and requires effective cooperation among states, civil society, and the private sector to reduce risks to international peace and security and ensure economic and social development. There are, however, very disturbing trends in the global ICT environment, including a dramatic increase in incidents involving the malicious use of ICTs by state and non-state actors, such as criminals and terrorists. These trends create enormous risks to peace and security in cyberspace for states, but equally to human security and dignity.

In 2011, ICT4Peace called for a code of conduct and norms of responsible state behaviour and confidence-building measures for open, secure, and peaceful cyberspace, and encouraged all stakeholders to work together to identify new cyber threats and develop solutions and agreements at national and global levels. In particular, it advocated against the increasing militarisation of cyberspace. ICT4Peace supported international negotiations at the UN Governmental Group of Experts (UN GGE) and the Open-Ended Working Groups (OEWG I and II) in New York, as well as at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Organization of American States (OAS), and the African Union (AU) with policy recommendations and multiple publications and workshops. In 2014, ICT4Peace launched its capacity-building programmes and in 2020 created the ICT4Peace Academy, in particular for policymakers and diplomats from developing and emerging economies to enable them to develop and implement their national cybersecurity strategies, build computer emergency response teams (CERTS) and meaningfully engage in the UN GGE and the OEWG I 2019–2021 and OEWG II 2021– 2025, but also in bilateral and regional negotiations.

In 2019, at OEWG I in New York, ICT4Peace issued a call to governments to publicly commit not to attack civilian critical infrastructure and proposed a state cyber peer review mechanism for state-conducted foreign cyber operations. See also all ICT4Peace inputs to and comments on OEWG I and the ICT4Peace Submission to OEWG II 2021–2025.

ICT4Peace has highlighted emerging concerns and suggested governance solutions in the fields of AI, lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS), and peacetime threats.

Since 2019, ICT4Peace has been advocating for a peer-review mechanism on accountability for more than five years, inspired by the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review process. The organisation is currently engaged in discussions about establishing a permanent mechanism for addressing global cybersecurity challenges.

In 2024, ICT4Peace launched a groundbreaking toolkit titled ‘From Boots on the Ground to Bytes in Cyberspace’, providing comprehensive guidance on the use of technologies by Private Security Companies (PSCs). The toolkit addresses human rights challenges posed by emerging technologies in the private security sector, covering topics including responsible data practices, surveillance ethics, algorithmic bias, and emerging technologies.

ICT4Peace has also expanded its work to address quantum computing as an emerging threat to cybersecurity. In 2024, it published ‘Navigating the Quantum Wave: A Policy Maker’s Guide for the Responsible Governance of Quantum Technologies’, advocating for quantum-resistant cryptography and global ICT infrastructure upgrades.

Capacity development

The ICT4Peace Academy offers custom-tailored courses to meet organisations’ needs in learning more about today’s ICT challenges, including cyber diplomacy, cyber peacebuilding, and cyber (human) security. Drawing from an extensive network of practitioners, including diplomats, technologists, and civil society experts, each customised course offers the latest up-to-date information tailored to an organisation’s particular context and presented in a live and interactive format. ICT4Peace offers advisory services to governments, multilateral initiatives, and the international community to support a peaceful cyberspace and provides a global hub and policy space bringing together actors from the technology community, governments, and civil society.

Regretfully, institution and capacity building in the ICT area for peaceful purposes and peace and security in cyberspace has not been sufficiently recognised as a development issue and/or treated as a development priority by the development community, development partners, or the MDGs or SDGs.

It is hoped that by bringing the discussion around the need for increased cybersecurity institution and capacity building (as expressed inter alia by the UN GGE and OSCE) also into the policy orbit of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), cybersecurity capacity building will be recognised as a development priority by policymakers and more official development assistance (ODA) will flow into this sector in a consistent and coherent fashion. In cooperation with the Estonian and Swiss governments, ICT4Peace has held discussions with the DAC about making cybersecurity capacity building ODA-eligible.

ICT4Peace has also published a thought piece on Digitisation: Curse or Blessing for the Bottom Billion, which makes the case for more cybersecurity capacity building in the context of development cooperation.

The ICT4Peace Academy has expanded its offerings to include specialised courses on understanding the threats of mis-, disinformation and hate speech (MDH) and emerging governance frameworks. The Academy provides workshops on national cyber security strategy building, developing and implementing national legislation, establishing CERTs and CERT-CERT cooperation, as well as specialised workshops for parliamentarians, judiciary, and regulatory authorities.

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. In today’s information society, the dissemination of false information can have devastating consequences, ranging from violent terrorist attacks to interference in elections to major health crises, as was the case with the COVID-19 pandemic. ICT4Peace’s research and publications on misinformation and hate speech look at the role of social media and other online platforms/apps in spreading mis/disinformation online.

Regarding the prevention of the use of ICTs for terrorist purposes, ICT4Peace co-launched the Tech against Terrorism Platform with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (UNCTED). ICT4Peace organised workshops and produced a number of publications in the aftermath of the Christchurch attack and the Sri Lanka bombing with the main aim of raising awareness and supporting the Christchurch Call Summit Process. At the emergence of COVID-19, ICT4Peace launched a review of the risks and opportunities of ICTs and social media during a pandemic.

In 2024, ICT4Peace launched a podcast series called ‘Digital Distortions’ that examines disinformation and truth decay in contemporary democracies. The podcast is available on SoundCloud, Spotify, and other major podcast platforms.

Human rights principles

ICT4Peace has been active in the area of ICTs and human rights, publishing papers, delivering workshops, and supporting other actors in addressing the human rights implications of digital technologies. It coined the term ‘digital human security’.

Many innovations are designed with the embedded gender and other biases of their creators, and even the most helpful technologies remain inaccessible to those who would benefit the most from them, including women, girls, and socioeconomically marginalised populations. ICT4Peace is working with gender-focused NGOs to address gender biases in ICTs.

AI promises to change the very nature of our society, transforming our conflict zones and ushering in a new socio-economic era. While the potential benefits are tremendous, so are the potential risks. This requires careful analysis to inform policy decisions at the international and national levels. Since 2017, ICT4Peace has carried out research, published policy papers, and contributed to international discussions on AI, ethical, and political perspectives on emerging digital technologies.

Social media channels

Facebook @ICT4Peace

LinkedIn @ICT4peace

X @ict4peace

YouTube @ICT4Peace Foundation

International Labour Organization

The ILO is the UN agency for the world of work. It was founded on the conviction that universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based on social justice.

The ILO brings together governments, employers, and workers from its 187 member states in a human-centred approach to the future of work based on decent employment creation, rights at work, social protection, and social dialogue.

The ILO’s tripartite membership drafts, adopts, and monitors the implementation of international labour standards on key world of work issues – ILO Conventions and Recommendations.

The ILO undertakes research and data collection across the range of world of work topics. It publishes flagship reports and a wide range of publications and working papers. Its globally renowned set of statistical databases is maintained and updated with nationally sourced labour market data.

The ILO manages a wide range of development cooperation projects in all regions of the world. Realised in partnership with donor countries and organisations, these projects aim to create the conditions for the delivery of the ILO’s decent work agenda.

Three initiatives are central to the ILO’s current work: the establishment of a global coalition to promote social justice, advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions, and its four priority action programmes. The latter focuses on the transition from the informal to the formal economy, just transitions towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies, decent work in supply chains, and decent work in crises and post-crisis situations.

Digital activities

As the ILO covers the full scope of the world of work, digital issues are present across the organisation’s work. The ILO addresses digitalisation through a wide range of topics including digital labour platforms, digital skills knowledge, employability, artificial intelligence (AI), automation, algorithmic management and data governance – and more broadly, the future of work. The ILO Observatory on AI and Work in the Digital Economy showcases the Office’s work in these areas.

The ILO also tracks the effects of digitalisation on specific work sectors, for instance, the postal and telecommunication services sector.

Digital policy issues

Access to data

The ILO has long been a leading resource for policymakers, researchers, and other users of data on the labour markets and all aspects of the world of work. ILOSTAT (a portal to its comprehensive labour statistics) and the ILO Knowledge Portal (offering access to country information and data on labour laws, standards, policies, and statistics) make real-time data available to users around the world. The World Employment and Social Outlook Data Finder provides customised datasets on request for measures such as the global labour force, unemployment, and employment by sector. The ILO also has the Development Cooperation Dashboard with data on labour-related policy areas and the organisation’s field projects, funding, and expenditures. All materials published by the ILO are collected and freely available in Labordoc, the organisation’s digital repository. The ILO’s new Research Repository allows users to easily access our knowledge products by topic and author.

The ILO maintains the World Social Protection Database, the leading global source of in-depth country-level statistics on social protection systems. This database includes key indicators used by policymakers, officials of international organisations, and researchers, and is used for the United Nations’ SDG monitoring. The ILO collects data through the Social Security Inquiry, an administrative survey submitted to governments that dates back to the 1940s. In 2020, the ILO launched the Social Security Inquiry online platform to improve the data compilation process globally.

The ILO also maintains the Employment Policy Gateway, which serves as a comprehensive repository of national employment policy documentation from around the world. As of mid-2024, the Gateway contained 75 national employment policy documents, with 24 undergoing revision at the time of data extraction. The Gateway includes pre-processed variables to facilitate cross-country comparisons of employment policies.

Future of work

The future of work has been a key unifying digital issue in the ILO’s activities for many years. In 2015, the ILO Director-General presented a report to the International Labour Conference proposing a special initiative on the future of work. Since that time, much of the research undertaken by the ILO and many of the published reports have fallen under this rubric. In 2019, the ILO established the ILO Global Commission on the Future of Work as part of our Future of Work Initiative. The Commission was composed of representatives from government, civil society, academia, and business and worker representatives.

The Commission published a landmark report, Work for a brighter future, that called for a human-centred agenda for the future of work and explored the impacts of technological progress in the fields of 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, which advocated ‘full and productive employment and decent work’ in the context of the digital transformation of work, including platform work. Examining the future of work in its myriad implications remains a primary focus for the organisation to this day.

The ILO has established the ’Global Coalition for Social Justice’ initiative that brings together international bodies and stakeholders to promote coordinated responses at national, regional and global levels. The Coalition aims to implement a human-centred approach to ensure social justice is recognised as key to sustainable global recovery.

In 2024, the ILO co-authored a report with the United Nations titled ‘Mind the AI Divide: Shaping a Global Perspective on the Future of Work’, which addresses the uneven adoption of AI globally and its implications for equity, fairness, and social justice. The report highlights how disparities in digital infrastructure, technology access, education, and training are deepening existing inequalities. The ILO is concerned about an emerging ‘AI ivide’ between high-income nations and low/medium-income countries, particularly in Africa, and advocates for concerted action to foster international cooperation to support developing countries in AI adoption.

The ILO has established the ‘Observatory on Artificial Intelligence and Work in the Digital Economy’, which serves as the leading international knowledge hub on world-of-work dimensions of AI and the digital economy. Launched on 25 September 2024, the Observatory aims to support governments and social partners in understanding and managing the digital transformation of work. The Observatory focuses on four key areas: artificial intelligence, algorithmic management, digital labour platforms, workers’ personal data and digital skills and AI.

The ILO-led AI for Good webinars on AI and work (with ITU) have involved some of the leading thinkers and experts in this area, including the most recent Nobel Prize winner, Prof. Daron Acemoglu.

Automation and AI

The ILO is paying close attention to how automation and AI are changing the labour markets and the ways we work. We have examined the impacts of automation in many publications, for instance, Robotics and Reshoring, Automation and its Employment Effects: A Literature Review of Automotive and Garment Sectors, and the research brief, Who Moves and Who Stays? A number of recent studies have focused on the labour impacts of generative AI and the growing use of AI in specific sectors. Examples include the working papers, Generative AI and Jobs: A Global Analysis of Potential Effects on Job Quantity and Quality and Artificial Intelligence in Human Resource Management: A Challenge for the Human-centred Agenda? AI has been the topic of recent editions of the ILO’s Future of Work Podcast series.

Digital labour platforms and algorhitmic management

A key focus of the ILO research is the effects of digitalisation on labour market evolution and new forms of work. The organisation has been closely tracking the implications of digital labour platforms and algorithmic management for decent work.

The ILO has published some essential references on these new subjects, including the World Employment and Social Outlook report on digital labour platforms. Most other ILO studies also reflect digital issues. For example, recent Global Employment Trends for Youth reports cover inequalities in youth labour markets arising from digital transformation, as well as investment in young people’s skills.

The ILO is working on instruments related to digital platform workers, including developing definitions for terms like ‘digital labour platform’, ‘digital platform worker’, and ‘remuneration’ in the context of digital platforms. The ILO is preparing for a discussion on ‘Realizing decent work in the platform economy’ as the fifth item on the agenda for the 113th Session of the International Labour Conference in 2025.

The ILO is conducting research on the ‘human-in-the-loop’ model in AI systems and AI supply chains, examining how invisible workers power automated systems that are often presented as fully automated. ILO researchers have studied how AI-enabled business models rely on workers with decent work deficits, particularly crowdworkers on digital labour platforms that support AI systems. A survey of these workers revealed that many are highly educated with bachelor’s or postgraduate degrees, often in STEM fields, yet primarily employed in routine data work that does not use their specialised knowledge, with median earnings in developing countries of about USD 2 per hour.

Sustainable development

The ILO is playing a pivotal role in advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, most specifically sustainable development goal (SDG) 8 (decent work and economic growth). The ILO is one of the main actors supporting the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions initiative, the UN system’s collective response for addressing the multiple challenges that threaten to erase development progress. The Global Accelerator aims to direct investments to help create at least 400 million decent jobs, primarily in the green, digital, and care economies, and to extend social protection coverage to the over 4 billion people currently excluded. The ILO has also created the Decent Work for Sustainable Development (DW4SD) Resource Platform, which maps 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. A recent ILO report, Transformative Change and SDG 8, outlines an integrated policy approach that countries can follow to achieve SDG 8.

Capacity development

Capacity development is another digital-related issue at the core of the ILO’s activities. As part of our skills, knowledge, and employability initiatives, the ILO helps governments develop education and training systems to take advantage of new educational technologies and give greater attention to digital skills. We support enterprises and employers in making investments to expand education and training programmes, and workers in proactively upgrading their skills or acquiring new ones.

Examples of the many resources the ILO has produced are Digital Employment Diagnostic Guidelines, Digitalization of National TVET and Skills Systems and Digitalise Your Business: Digital Strategies for Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. These and many more resources are available from the ILO’s Skills and Lifelong Learning knowledge-sharing platform.

The International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO) offers a range of training programmes, master classes and specialised courses that focus on AI implications and applications in the workplace, public policy, and development cooperation. Key training activities include a new master’s degree on technology and public policy with the Politecnico di Torino and an AI Forum. ITCILO also partners with the UN Innovation Network to share practices and approaches to capacity building in these areas.

Together with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ILO has developed the SKILL-UP Programme, which assists developing countries in building capacity and improving their digital skills systems, as well as the Skills Innovation Facility. The Facility focuses on identifying and testing innovative ideas and solutions to address current and future skills challenges. In addition, the ILO’s Skills Innovation Network provides a platform for innovators to collaborate and share experiences on developing innovations for skills development.

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

Privacy and data protection

In regard to privacy and data protection, the ILO has published a set of principles on the protection of workers’ personal data, which explores trends, principles, and good practices related to the protection of personal data.

The International Training Centre, established by the ILO, provides online courses on a variety of labour issues. The ILO also organises webinars and uses a number of social media accounts.

Digital tools

The following digital tools are available:

Geneva Centre for Security Policy

The Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) is an international foundation governed by a 55-member State Foundation Council serving a global community of individuals and organisations. Our mission is to advance peace, security, and international cooperation. We provide the knowledge, skills and network for 360° effective and inclusive decision-making.

The GCSP believes that effective and forward-thinking leaders and organisations need to build a broad picture of what is happening in an increasingly connected world. We unravel the intricacies of geopolitics and help leaders develop new skills and the agility to lead in times of tumultuous change. The GCSP creates an inclusive environment for their global community from 174 nations and across sectors that come together to exchange ideas and develop sustainable solutions for a more peaceful future. Building Peace Together through Education, Dialogue, Policy, Creativity, and Community since 1995.

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, GlobalRisk and Global Consequences.

Architecture, Building, Office Building, City, Urban, High Rise, Condo, Housing, Metropolis, Hospital, Apartment Building

Digital activities

Digital policy issues

Artificial intelligence

As part of its Transformative Technologies cluster, the GCSP looks at artificial intelligence (AI) and several ‘disruptive technologies’; the term 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, as well as 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 educational activities, such as the course on Transformative Technologies and the Future of Geopolitics.

As part of its Global risk and resilience cluster (GRRC), the GCSP has positioned itself as a thought leader on risks at the nexus of geopolitics and technology. To that purpose, it particularly monitors, analyses, and interprets the impact that emerging technologies such as AI, synthetic biology, neuroscience, quantum computing, and nanotechnologies will have on international politics, geopolitics, warfare, and conflicts. In addition to identifying emerging risks and future trends that will impact international security and warfare, the GRRC also promotes new responses that can be brought to deal with these emerging risks, notably through the concept of resilience.

The GCSP hosts ‘Geneva Security Debates’, which include discussions on AI topics, including a specific debate titled ‘How AI will transform the world: The need for a new strategic compass’. Through these debates, the GCSP engages with the global governance discourse around AI regulation, addressing concepts of ‘safe AI’ and ‘responsible AI’ while examining AI not just as a technological issue but as a strategic priority for nations and an element of potential power competition.

The GCSP is involved in the ‘Normandy P5 Initiative on nuclear risk reduction’, which they co-convene with the Strategic Foresight Group. This initiative, inspired by the Normandy Manifesto for World Peace issued in June 2019, engages with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council on nuclear risk reduction. Since 2021, the GCSP has held multiple experts’ roundtables in Caen, Normandy and Geneva, Switzerland. In December 2023, the GCSP held a roundtable in Geneva to discuss the nexus between AI and nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3). The GCSP has decided to focus its work in 2024 on the AI/NC3 nexus, with support from the Future of Life Institute and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

The GCSP is publishing detailed research on AI in the context of international humanitarian law (IHL) and the law of targeting. This research examines how AI technologies influence international law, particularly focusing on the evolution of IHL based on technological developments. The GCSP is analysing the intersection of AI and military applications, specifically in targeting processes, and producing content that examines the ‘mechanisation’ and ‘objectivisation’ of legal principles through AI technology.

Looking at the Edge: Understanding the Frontiers of Geopolitical Risk

Cybersecurity

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. The flagship course is Cyber Security in the Context of International Security; other bespoke courses cater 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 2022 competition took place entirely online.

The GCSP has a specific ‘Global Cyber and Security Policy’ topic area with the tagline ‘Think Cyber, Act Global’. They offer comprehensive expertise in advisory, training, crisis management, and security policy related to cyber issues. The GCSP Cyber specifically focuses on enhancing awareness of threats, facilitating risk management, and aiding in the development of a cyber strategy aligned with organisational goals. They recognise cybersecurity as vital for multiple sectors: governments, private and public sectors, academia, NGOs, and civil society.

The GCSP offers comprehensive cyber-related services, including cyber crisis management and strategic advisory. Their cyber crisis management training focuses on equipping boards, executives, and teams with practical knowledge for risk mitigation, including components on cyber situational awareness and business continuity management. The GCSP conducts cyber simulation exercises to give teams hands-on experience responding to cyber incidents and offers strategic advisory services that include vulnerability assessments and practical security solutions.

The GCSP Cyber is described as a ‘dialogue hub’ that convenes and participates in high-level discussions with international organisations and partners. The organisation conducts continuous monitoring of the global cyber landscape and contributes to the development of national and international cyber policies. The GCSP researches offensive operations in cyberspace for cybersecurity purposes, with the goal of informing deterrence and defence strategies.

The GCSP is involved in a joint Sino-European Expert Working Group on the Application of International Law in Cyberspace (WG IL) alongside the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), the EU Cyber Direct, and Xiamen University. This working group provides a platform for exchange between European and Chinese legal experts on international law in cyberspace. The GCSP has published reports titled ‘Countermeasures in Cyberspace’ and ‘Jurisdiction in Cyberspace’ as part of this collaborative research and dialogue project. The European side of these reports was sponsored by the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs.

Capacity development

Many of the GCSP’s activities fall into 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 leverages its considerable intellectual and networking resources (i.e. its fellows and alumni) to engage with 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.

In partnership with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), the GCSP convenes the Track 1.5 dialogue process to ensure there is as much communication as possible between parties that are often in conflict with one another. This process provides a platform and a mechanism for the exchange of ideas 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 is the annual Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge, a student competition in international cybersecurity strategy and policy. The challenge was held entirely online in 2022 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.

The GCSP offers online courses, webinars, and an online dialogue series.ries.

Social media channels

Facebook @thegcsp

Instagram @thegcsp

LinkedIn @thegcsp

Podcasts

X @TheGCSP

YouTube @Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP)

Geneva Science-Policy Interface

The Geneva Science-Policy Interface (GSPI) is an independent platform based at the University of Geneva, dedicated to fostering engagement between the research community and policy professionals from Geneva-based international organisations. Its mission is to promote science-informed solutions to complex global challenges addressed in multilateral spaces.

The GSPI seeks to increase the capacity of Geneva-based international institutions to tackle complex, multidimensional policy issues through increased access to scientific expertise. It also works to advance the professionalisation and recognition of the science-policy field of practice in Geneva and beyond.

Its activities focus on brokering collaborations, creating learning opportunities and generating new insights into science-policy practices.

Key programmes include the Impact Collaboration Programme (ICP), an annual call providing new opportunities for science-policy initiatives through small grants, network mobilisation, and expert guidance.

The GSPI also develops resources and training programmes for scientists, Geneva-based policy professionals, and knowledge brokers seeking to engage more effectively in science-informed policymaking.

Hosted at the University of Geneva, the GSPI is also supported by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and backed by a network of leading research institutions in Switzerland and Europe.

Digital activities

As a bridge between science, policy, and implementation actors, the GSPI addresses a wide range of digital challenges. With data at the core of evidence-based policymaking, many of its activities explore digitalisation and the use of digital tools across key domains such as health, migration, development, and the environment.

Digital policy issues

Artificial intelligence

The MapMaker project, a collaboration between the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH Zurich), has enabled the development of an online visualisation tool to inform data-driven decision-making on marine biodiversity conservation at the international level.

Digital standards

Together with the Geneva Health Forum (GHF), the GSPI has established a working group including key humanitarian actors to harness knowledge and best practices around the digitisation of clinical guidelines for the management of childhood illness in primary care in low and middle-income countries. In line with the efforts of WHO, and the principles of donor alignment for digital health, the working group has developed recommendations on how digitalisation can improve the management of childhood illness. In September 2021, the results of this work were shared with experts and the public, providing a platform for discussions on the lessons learned and future trends in the field.

Emerging technologies

In 2018, the GSPI organised policy discussions on the use of drones as part of humanitarian action. The conversation centred on 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.

At the 2019 Digital Day, together with the University of Geneva, the GSPI organised a discussion exploring what experience and know-how Geneva-based organisations could share to empower and protect users in the context of the digital revolution.

With a number of other partners, the GSPI co-organised 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.

Data governance

The REDEHOPE project of the University of Geneva and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has led to the development of an online diagnostic tool to help countries identify and visualise issues in their housing data ecology, and access appropriate datasets to formulate more robust, evidence-based housing policies at the country level.

Sustainable development

In 2020–2021, the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention (BRS) secretariat benefited from the support of ETH Zurich to develop an online platform to identify and signal the need for evidence and information to the scientific community in the field of chemical and waste management.

Another project addressed the hurdles facing policy actors in accessing and making sense of data in migration research. The project partners (the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Graduate Institute) developed an interactive digital toolkit for policy officials to support them in leveraging migration research for evidence-based policymaking. The toolkit, based on IOM’s flagship publication, the World Migration Report, was launched in June 2022.

ICP 2021 brought support to the development of interactive analytical tools providing information about all UN sanctions to inform both humanitarian practitioners and sanction policy actors on practical ways to safeguard principled humanitarian action in areas under a sanction regime. This project is a collaboration between the Graduate Institute and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

In 2022, the collaboration between ETH Zurich and IOM sought to bring more effective policy expertise in migration management to address migrants’ needs and increase social cohesion between migrant and local communities. The collaboration developed a toolbox to be used by IOM and its partners to facilitate the use of the Immigration Policy Lab (IPL) Integration Index, a survey tool for governments, nonprofits, and researchers to measure the integration of immigrants around the world.

In 2024-2025, the GSPI is supporting a new project titled ‘Shaping environmental policy in the pan-European region applying foresight methodologies’, which aims to increase the anticipatory capacity of UNECE and its member states to build coherence among future policies and help set priorities for the environmental policies in the pan-European region.

Human rights principles

The GSPI has supported the collaboration between the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and OHCHR’s B-Tech project. Some of the new fast-evolving technologies, such as cloud computing, AI, facial recognition technologies, and the internet of things (IoT), can have profoundly disruptive effects on sociopolitical systems and pose significant human rights challenges. This initiative provided authoritative guidance and resources for implementing the UNGPs in the technology space and placing international human rights law (IHRL) at the centre of regulatory and policy frameworks. Aimed at policymakers, the technology sector, and all those working on AI regulation, the policy research carried out in this project (see the resulting Working Paper, 2021) brought fresh insights into how current initiatives on the regulation of AI technologies could incorporate the protection and respect for human rights. The paper also called on states to adopt a ‘smart mix’ of mandatory and voluntary measures to support their implementation, and how this applies to the AI sector.

Social media channels

LinkedIn @genevaspi

Twitter @GenevaSPI

Sustainable development

Digital activities

Digital policy issues

Intellectual property rights

E-commerce and trade

Taxation

Sustainable development

Digital tools

Social media channels

Digital activities

Digital policy issues

Capacity development

Fostering youth leadership

Ethical and democratic leadership

Digital tools and AI

Human rights issues

Digital rights and youth participation

Ensuring the protection of human rights in the digital era

Violent extremism

Interdisciplinary approaches

Supporting elections with integrity

Advancing multilateralism

Digital tools

Conferencing technologies

Social media channels

Digital activities

Digital policy issues

Artificial intelligence

Child safety online

Data governance

Capacity development

Extreme poverty

Content policy

Interdisciplinary approaches

Collaboration within the UN system

Technical standard settings and human rights

United Nations Convention against Cybercrime

Neurotechnology

Smart cities

Migration

Privacy and data protection

Freedom of expression

Gender rights online

Rights of persons with disabilities

Freedom of peaceful assembly and association

Economic, social, and cultural rights

Social media channels

Digital activities

Digital policy issues

Telecommunication infrastructure

IMT-2020

Satellite

Emergency telecommunications

Artificial intelligence

Critical internet resources

Digital standards

WR to TL recognition procedure

Human rights and human-centric technologies

Internet of things

United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) Initiative

Blockchain

Cloud computing

Emerging technologies

Quantum information technology

Network security

Strategies

CIRTs

Building human capacity

International cooperation

Child safety online

Access

Giga: UNICEF-ITU global initiative

Capacity development

Digital services and applications

Digital ecosystems

Sustainable development

Inclusive finance

E-waste

Rights of persons with disabilities

Assessing and monitoring the implementation of ICT accessibility