The renewal of the OEWG for a period of five years – 2021 to 2025, with the same mandate
The organisational session of the new OEWG be held in 2021 and includes the establishment of thematic subgroups, allowing interaction with other stakeholders.
The group is to provide an annual progress report and a final report to the 80th UNGA, starting in autumn 2025.
The renewal of the OEWG for a period of five years – 2021 to 2025, with the same mandate
The organisational session of the new OEWG be held in 2021 and includes the establishment of thematic subgroups, allowing interaction with other stakeholders.
The group is to provide an annual progress report and a final report to the 80th UNGA, starting in autumn 2025.
The UN Secretary-General presents the Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, building upon the recommendations outlined in the report of the High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation. The Roadmap indicates the main signposts ahead of us and proposes practical policy actions around the following key areas: connectivity, digital public goods, digital inclusion, digital capacity building, digital human rights, digital trust and security, critical infrastructure, and global digital cooperation.
Following a December 2018 UN General Assembly resolution, the first UN Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security starts is convened in 2019 and concludes its work in March 2021. A second group – renamed OEWG on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies – is established in 2021, following a December 2020 General Assembly resolution. The group is tasked, among other issues, with further developing the rules, norms, and principles of responsible behaviour of states in cyberspace.
The first international e-waste day was introduced in 2018 by the Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Forum to raise awareness of the need for e-waste recycling worldwide. The first e-waste day was commemorated on 13 October 2018. Since then, international e-waste day takes place on 14 October every year.
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres establishes a High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation to enhance cooperation between relevant stakeholders working in the digital field, including governments, the private sector, the technical community, academia, and civil society. The panel’s objectives also include addressing the opportunities and challenges of digital technologies, and engaging in discussions on how to secure an inclusive and humanistic digital future for all. The final outcome of the panel’s work, the report The Age of Digital Interdependence, was launched in June 2019. The report outlines five key recommendations related to advancing an inclusive digital economy and society; developing human and institutional capacity; promoting human rights and human agency; advancing trust, security, and stability; and strengthening global digital cooperation. On the matter of digital cooperation, the Panel recommends that the UN Secretary-General facilitates an agile and open consultation process to develop updated mechanisms for global digital cooperation, using as a starting point three architecture models outlined in the report: an IGF Plus, a Distributed Co-Governance Architecture, and a Digital Commons framework.
In 2018, a number of organisations, including ITU, ILO, UNEP and others, signed a ‘Letter of Intent’ aimed at creating a mechanism for coordination and collaboration among stakeholders in tackling e-waste.
On 21 March 2018, at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and six other UN entities signed a Letter of Intent, which served as a basis for the creation of a UN E-waste Coalition and better coordination of global e-waste management efforts.