CIVICUS discusses the Global Digital Compact (GDC) recently adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly with Peter Micek, General Counsel and UN Advocacy Manager of Access Now, an international civil society organisation working to defend and extend the digital rights of people and communities at risk.
As part of the broader UN agenda to strengthen cooperation, UN member states gathered in New York on 22 and 23 September for the Summit of the Future. Following negotiations that included consultations with civil society, they adopted the Pact for the Future and its two annexes: the Declaration on Future Generations and the GDC, aimed at creating a comprehensive blueprint to promote an open, free, secure and human-centred digital future. Despite its engagement with the process, civil society remains sceptical about whether these commitments will lead to real change.