The Digital Health and Rights Project (DHRP) draws on a rich history of experience and expertise in human rights and global health governance, particularly the HIV and AIDS response. A key priority for our digital health and rights advocacy this year is the Global Digital Compact (GDC). The GDC was proposed by the UN Secretary-General in his report ‘Our Common AgendaLink opens in a new window’ published in September 2021. The Compact will be agreed at the UN Summit of the FutureLink opens in a new window in September 2024, with negotiations continuing throughout 2023-4.

The aim of the Compact is to establish a ‘shared vision on digital cooperation’. It is set to cover numerous topics, including digital connectivity, avoiding Internet fragmentation, providing people with options as to how their data is used, application of human rights online, and promoting a trustworthy Internet by introducing accountability criteria for discrimination and misleading content.

The negotiation and agreement of the Compact is a key moment to observe the shaping of norms for global digital governance. Thus far, the Co-Chairs of the Compact process have made efforts to ensure a multi-stakeholder approach, with governments, the UN system, private sector, civil society and academia invited to make contributions. Other important groups contributing to negotiation processes include the recently established UN High Level Advisory Body on AI Link opens in a new window.

The Co-Chairs shared a Zero Draft of the Compact in early April (available hereLink opens in a new window). As the DHRP, our priorities have been shaped by our previous research and engagement with communities with lived experience of health and digital inequalities. We therefore propose that the Global Digital Compact:

1. Recognise health as a key sector experiencing digital transformation. 

At present there is no explicit mention of health in the Zero Draft nor a comprehensive outline regarding the complementary role that the World Health Organization (WHO) can play in implementing the Compact. However, our research in Ghana, Kenya, Bangladesh, Colombia and Vietnam Link opens in a new windowhas demonstrated that health is a critical sector that is impacted by, and will continue to be significantly transformed, by digital technologies and AI. We therefore urge member states to include a reference to health in the text, as a human right and sector that is significantly impacted by digital technologies.  

2. Commit to maintaining human rights as a core principle throughout. 

While we are pleased to see consistent reference to human rights throughout the Zero Draft document, we are concerned that there is rollback of human rights language in other international fora. We want to see human rights retained as a core principle in digital governance. To this end, we support the Secretary-General’s recommended Digital Human Rights Advisory Service as a mechanism to be established by the UN Human Rights Office to advise states on how to apply human rights to digital governance in practice.

3. Affirm the right to participation in the governance of digital technologies, and establishes mechanisms to operationalise this commitment. 

Meaningful participation of the public in governance is a key principle to ensuring a human rights-based approach, something the UN has committed to in its development workLink opens in a new window. Democratic participation is also a key component of the realisation of several other rights including the right to health; right to freedom of expression; right to freedom of assembly and association, and the rights of the child, among others. Within the Zero Draft, references to participation should be strengthened, with suggested mechanisms for civil society and community engagement at both national and international level so that there are clear expectations as to how diverse communities have a voice in setting priorities for digital development, and promoting accountability. 

4. Recognise that ‘numerous barriers exacerbate the digital divide’ and commit to identifying and addressing the intersecting inequalities that shape digital divides for communities.

Gender, race, social class, geography, language and disability are among the critical factors that shape access to digital tools and technologies, and the experience of users. Our research has found that young women lacked the economic means to afford smartphones and airtime in some places, and that they often lacked the skills to navigate online, due to less access to education. For sex workers and trans people, in some places the challenges were even greater, with heightened risks of online and offline violence. An intersectional approach must be adopted to address such inequalities, including ending direct and indirect discrimination and marginalisation. These create barriers to accessing both health information, and accessing increasingly digitised public services.

5. Commit to increasing digital literacy through funding initiatives that empower communities, especially young people, with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to understand and know their rights in the digital world.

This was a key demand of young people who participated in our research, with many demanding more information and training on their rights under national laws, and on skills to protect themselves and their data. Strengthening the knowledge, skills and competencies needed by young people and marginalised populations to understand and exercise their rights, critically analysing the uses of mobile apps and digital tools, are critical to reducing unequal access to digital technologies as well as enhancing participation in their governance.

6. Commit stakeholders, including UN member States, UN and multilateral institutions and the private sector, to implementing rights-based guidance on the regulation and governance of digital technologies.  

We are pleased to see that the Zero Draft attends to the need for improved digital governance and that this is steered by a collaborative, inclusive, multi-stakeholder approach. We urge member states to retain this approach and remain attentive to the implementation of policy and accountability for all stakeholders. Additionally, we call on Member States to collaborate through the UN to address systemic issues within the digital governance ecosystem including the emergence of ‘data extractivism’. 

The next few months are a critical time for the Global Digital Compact, with a first draft being negotiated throughout April and May. We will continue to advocate for digital health and rights in this space. The Compact is a key opportunity to ensure an equitable and inclusive digital future, grounded in human rights. 

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More information, including our publications and webinars, are available at: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/cim/research/digital-health-rights/.Link opens in a new window