Ambassadorial-level GDC meeting on rev2

Check Against Delivery

Good morning co-facilitators, colleagues,

Denmark aligns with the statement delivered/to be delivered by the European Union.

I wish to thank Ambassador Eneström and Ambassador Milambo for your tireless efforts in reaching an ambitious GDC agreement that aims to set us on a path for enhanced global digital cooperation.

I also wish to thank fellow delegations for their constructive engagement. Denmark remains fully committed to participate and engage constructively in this last phase to ensure a concise, action-oriented, and forward-looking Compact that delivers solutions to global challenges.

The 2030 Agenda and the SDGs seek to realize the human rights of all. In a digital world, the value and purpose of human rights are as important as in the physical world. Digital technologies can only be a catalyst for global good if they are designed, developed and deployed with humans at the centre and respect for human rights.

As such, the GDC must be firmly rooted in the international human rights framework.

To that end we welcome the GDC’s strong connection to the global development agenda, emphasizing that technology can be intentionally developed and deployed to achieve the SDGs. We have to actively work towards a global technology development which is incentivized to help solve global challenges.

During the GDC consultations, inclusivity has been a key theme. This means both that everyone should benefit from technological progress, and that everyone should be able to shape and participate in the creation of our digital future.

We will not get an inclusive digital future without a multistakeholder approach, that allows us to harness diverse expertise, promote transparency and global cooperation to address the dynamic and cross border nature of digital technologies.

We welcome that this is more clearly reflected in the rev2.

Denmark, together with fellow EU Member States, is currently assessing the revised proposals for new entities and mechanisms.

Any meaningful and efficient follow-up on the GDC must acknowledge work already done by existing processes and entities. We remain open to further discussions on responsible data governance, and once again stress the need for a multistakeholder approach. We therefore appreciate the explicit link made with the work of the CSTD to discuss principles of data governance.

Europe has been at the forefront of advancing AI regulation and governance. This is important to ensure that AI systems are trustworthy, safe and secure, so as to benefit all human beings, including future generations. We believe we ought to focus on the core principles of the GDC: to advance responsible, human rights respecting and inclusive digital development globally that delivers solutions to global challenges. As such, AI governance must be based on international law and carried out in respect for human rights.

We are thus pleased to see these core principles reflected in the chapeau. We also look forward to discussing in more detail the proposal for an International Scientific Panel on AI and emerging technologies.

Finally, we welcome the reference to the IGF’s role in implementation and follow-up of the Compact. We reaffirm the important role of the IGF as the key platform for Internet governance and the promotion of an inclusive, accessible, open, safe, secure and equitable digital space based on a multistakeholder approach.

Denmark remains fully committed to reaching an ambitious GDC that can become a powerful and efficient instrument for future global digital cooperation. A new North Star for global digital cooperation. Shared principles and common objectives are the foundation for the universality of the GDC. This will be key for the coming years, where we will be working closely with all stakeholders to achieve the vision set out in the GDC. You can count on our support.