Today, the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) has issued a Joint Statement on the Future of the Multistakeholder Approach at the United Nations. The drafting of the statement was spearheaded by Canada, with support from FOC Advisory Network (FOC-AN) member Access Now, and in consultation with the Coalition Member States and the FOC-AN’s membership of civil society, academia, technical community, and private sector stakeholders. The statement has been issued as the 19th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and online from 15-19 December, 2024.
The statement, endorsed by all 42 FOC Member States, reaffirms the necessity of multistakeholder collaboration, including between governments, civil society, the private sector, international organizations, media, the technical and academic communities. It further advocates for the development and use of digital technologies in ways that respect human rights and the rule of law, support democracy, promote inclusive governance, and accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.
The FOC is concerned by efforts to leverage UN processes to centralize the governance of the Internet, data, digital and other emerging technologies, through multilateral bodies and to exclude the meaningful participation of all stakeholders and their vital contributions. The Coalition reaffirms the primary role of the Internet Governance Forum in facilitating multistakeholder discussion on Internet governance issues and welcomes the São Paulo Multistakeholder Guidelines that complement and operationalize the NETmundial principles, and underlines the need to protect and promote meaningful multistakeholder participation in Internet and digital governance.
Through the publication of the statement, the Coalition further renews its commitment to inclusive, bottom-up and open multistakeholder approaches to the governance of digital technologies and to sustained, meaningful dialogue and engagement with all stakeholders to share knowledge and expertise, at all levels. It underscores that strengthened multistakeholder processes help to ensure that the digital governance needs and concerns of all stakeholders are addressed and their rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled.
To view the full statement, view the document below or visit the following page.
