In September 2024, the ink dried on the final version of the Global Digital Compact,
an agreement between all nation states, brokered at the UN.
For Women Leading in AI this signified the culmination of two years of work with our
partner Equality Now to influence the Global Digital Compact (GDC) so that it
reflected a set of ‘Feminist Principles’, designed to make sure that human rights
considerations were central to that agreement.
In 2022 we set up the Alliance for Universal Digital Rights (AUDRi) with Equality
Now, and our powerful Alliance was credited by the authors of the GDC for the
inclusion of much of the language around equality in the final document.
Notably the inclusion of Principles (d) and (e)
(d) Gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls and their full, equal
and meaningful participation in the digital space are essential to close the gender
digital divide and advance sustainable development. Our cooperation will empower
all women and girls, encourage leadership of women, mainstream a gender
perspective and counter and eliminate all forms of violence, including sexual and
gender-based violence that occurs through or is amplified by the use of technology;
(e) Digital technologies unlock new capabilities and opportunities for advancing
environmental sustainability. Our cooperation will leverage digital technologies for
sustainability while minimizing their negative environmental impacts;
Examples in the GDC about how to do this include language from our feminist
principles, including commitments from member states to:
● Mainstream a gender perspective in digital connectivity strategies to address
structural and systematic barriers to meaningful, safe and affordable digital
connectivity for all women and girls
● Develop and undertake national digital inclusion surveys with data
disaggregated by income, sex, age, race, ethnicity, migration status, disability
and geographical location and other characteristics relevant in national
contexts, to identify learning gaps and inform priorities in specific contexts
● Develop vocational, upskilling and reskilling training for workers in
occupations impacted by digitalization and automation to mitigate potential
negative consequences for workforces and promote decent work
● Support efforts to provide opportunities for quality and inclusive science,
technology, engineering and mathematics education and research and
promote women’s and girls’ participation in all roles and at all levels
● Develop and decide on a set of safeguards for inclusive, responsible, safe,
secure and user-centred digital public infrastructure that can be implemented
in different contexts
● Commit to respect, protect and promote human rights in the digital space.
Uphold international human rights law throughout the life cycle of digital and
emerging technologies so that users can safely benefit from digital
technologies and are protected from violations, abuses and all forms of
discrimination. Recognize the responsibilities of all stakeholders in this
endeavour and also call on the private sector to apply the United Nations
Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
● Establish appropriate safeguards to prevent and address any adverse impact
on human rights arising from the use of digital and emerging technologies and
protect individuals against violations and abuses of their human rights in the
digital space, including through human rights due diligence and establishing
effective oversight and remedy mechanisms
● Digital technology companies and developers to respect international human
rights and principles, including through the application of human rights due
diligence and impact assessments throughout the technology life cycle
● Urgently counter and address all forms of violence, including sexual and
gender-based violence, which occurs through or is amplified by the use of
technology, all forms of hate speech and discrimination, misinformation and
disinformation, cyberbullying and child sexual exploitation and abuse. We will
establish and maintain robust risk mitigation and redress measures that also
protect privacy and freedom of expression.
● Ensure that laws and regulations on the use of technology in areas such as
surveillance and encryption are in compliance with international law
● Call on digital technology companies and developers to engage with users of
all backgrounds and abilities to incorporate their perspectives and needs into
the life cycle of digital technologies
● Call on digital technology companies and developers to co-develop industry
accountability frameworks, in consultation with Governments and other
stakeholders, that increase transparency around their systems and
processes, define responsibilities and commit to standards as well as
auditable public reports
● Commit to advance equitable and inclusive approaches to harnessing artificial
intelligence benefits and mitigating risks in full respect of international law,
including international human rights law, and taking into account other
relevant frameworks such as the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial
Intelligence of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization.
● Govern artificial intelligence in the public interest and ensure that the
application of artificial intelligence fosters diverse cultures and languages and
supports locally generated data for the benefit of countries and communities’
development. This includes, in particular, international cooperation to support
developing countries in building artificial intelligence capacities as well as
efforts to address potential negative impacts of emerging digital technologies
on labour and employment and on the environment.
● Support interoperability and compatibility of artificial intelligence governance
approaches through sharing best practices and promoting common
understanding
● Promote transparency, accountability and robust human oversight of artificial
intelligence systems in compliance with international law
● Call on standards development organizations to collaborate to promote the
development and adoption of interoperable artificial intelligence standards that
uphold safety, reliability, sustainability and human rights
As a result of the adoption of the GDC, a new Independent International
Scientific Panel on AI will be established (something which Women Leading in
AI supported); and a Global Dialogue on AI Governance involving
Governments and all relevant stakeholders will take place in the margins of
existing relevant United Nations conferences and meetings. This will
culminate in a ‘High Level Review’ of the GDC in September 2027 at the UN
General Assembly.
During the negotiations on the GDC, a number of governments who AUDRi
were talking to, supported taking an approach to digital technology based on
international human rights law. But there were also numerous governments
who didn’t support all aspects of a human rights based approach. And of
course the final document, although universally adopted, is not a treaty, so is
not legally binding.
So the challenge leading up to the 2027 review, is to hold governments
around the world accountable for what they have collectively signed up to.
Civil Society will continue to play a critical role in making that happen.
