United Nations and Information Integrity

The United Nations and Information Integrity 

The Department of Global Communications of the UN Secretariat as well as specialized Agencies, mainly UNESCO, UNDP and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) have been working on Information Integrity for several years now. However, in the past two years several important milestones have been achieved and the international community now have key global documents.

The United Nations Global Principles for Information Integrity stem from a proposal in Our Common Agenda, the Secretary General report on information integrity that outlines a vision for future global cooperation and multilateral action.

UNESCO guidelines cover page

2024

A year later the UN Secretary General presented the United Nations Global Principles for Information Integrity. The United Nations had wide-ranging consultations on information integrity across all regions with its Member States, civil society, including youth-led organizations, media, academia and private sector representatives through country-level discussions, virtual sessions, and via a global public online research.

These consultations highlighted a demand for unifying recommendations and, in response, the United Nations Global Principles for Information Integrity offer a holistic framework to guide multi-stakeholder action for a healthier information ecosystem.

UN global principles logo

Summit of the Future

Two days before the Summit and, for the first time, leaders, tech companies, activists, and UN agencies gathered for one goal: securing a better digital future for all. Co-convened by ITU, the Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Tech Envoy (OSET), and UNDP, the Summit of the Future Action Day brought together over 500 policymakers, tech executives, academics and civil society leaders to address digital cooperation challenges.

our-common-agenda-cover

2023

After several years of consultations with all relevant stakeholders, two key Policy Briefs were launched as part of the “Our Common Agenda” vision of the Secretary-General:
 
Policy Brief 5: A Global Digital Compact – an Open, Free and Secure Digital Future for all. 
 
Policy Brief 8: Information Integrity on Digital Platforms

The same year 2023, UNESCO launched those important and global guidelines. The guidelines outline a set of duties, responsibilities and roles for states, digital platforms, intergovernmental organizations, civil society, media, academia, the technical community and other stakeholders to enable the environment where freedom of expression and information are in the core of digital platforms governance processes.

UN Global Principles for Information Integrity Framework

This framework consists of five principles for strengthening information integrity, each of which include recommendations:

  • societal trust and resilience;
  • independent, free and pluralistic media;
  • transparency and research;
  • public empowerment;
  • and healthy incentives.

    The five principles share at their core an unwavering commitment to human rights.

Global Digital Compact

On 22 September 2024, world leaders convened in New York for the Summit of the Future, where they adopted a Pact for the Future that includes a Global Digital Compact.

The Global Digital Compact is a comprehensive framework for global governance of digital technology and artificial intelligence. Twenty years after the World Summit on the Information Society, it charts a roadmap for global digital cooperation to harness the immense potential of digital technology and close digital divides.

Global Digital Compact graphic

Governing AI for Humanity

And, lastly, the much-anticipated Governing AI for Humanity report from the Secretary-General’s High-level Advisory Board on Artificial Intelligence was released on 19 September 2024. It provides 7 key recommendations for the international community to act on.

Other UN Resources