Building Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies In the Digital Realm

In a context of fast digital transformation, the Global Digital Compact (GDC), endorsed by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly last Sunday, holds significant relevance for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in particular, SDG16+, which is at the core of our Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies initiative.

According to the latest data, internet users worldwide now spend an average of six and a half hours online daily. In certain countries, such as South Africa, Brazil, and the Philippines, this figure exceeds an astonishing nine hours daily. With more than a quarter of our lives spent online, the role and impact of digital technologies in advancing our shared goal of building peaceful, just, and inclusive societies is, therefore, undeniable.

Many of the principles, commitments, and actions outlined in the GDC closely align with our current efforts at the local, national, regional, and international levels while also providing an opportunity to expand our initiatives into the digital realm.

Mitigating Risks and Harms in Digital Spaces

By committing to addressing all forms of violence, including sexual and gender-based violence as well as violence against children, which is facilitated or worsened by technology, the GDC sheds light on the importance of reducing violence and harmful practices online and offline.

Our recent report, “Beyond the Battlefields: Practical Strategies to Halving Global Violence in Our Homes, Streets, and Communities,” outlines the tremendous costs of violence, which includes the violence that takes place outside conflict zones in our homes and streets. This violence directly impacts development, both through the lives it devastates and the trillions of dollars in economic impact that could otherwise support development goals.

Given how much of this real-world violence can originate and be exacerbated in online forums, we welcome the Compact’s focus on creating safer online spaces. This specifically includes critical areas like combating hate speech, discrimination, misinformation and disinformation, cyberbullying, and child sexual exploitation and abuse in the digital world.

Governments also commit to developing, in consultation with stakeholders, effective methodologies to measure, monitor, and counter all forms of violence and abuse in the digital space. These actions are crucial for promoting peaceful societies, as they work to minimize the potential for online harms to translate into physical violence or societal instability.

The Compact’s commitments to protecting individuals from online abuses, hate speech, violations of privacy, and internet shutdowns are critical to ensuring that digital spaces do not become tools for oppression or harm.

The Halving Global Violence Task Force’s Flagship Report also outlines the tremendous potential role of private sector actors in violence reduction. The GDC reinforces this by calling on digital technology companies to engage in responsible practices and be accountable for online safety, which helps reduce the spread of harmful content. This focus on safety and mitigating violence in digital spaces is essential for peaceful societies.

Promoting Digital Governance for a People-Centered Justice

The GDC also places significant emphasis on human rights in the digital space, recognizing the need to protect these rights as society becomes increasingly digitalized. This is directly relevant for promoting the rule of law at the national and international levels, ensuring equal access to justice for all, securing public access to information, and protecting fundamental freedoms.

In this way, the Compact strengthens access to justice and protection of rights online, ensuring everyone can navigate the digital world without fear of their rights or data being violated.

As has been acknowledged by the recent Justice Action Coalition (JAC) statement on the importance of equal access to justice for all issued during the Summit of the Future, we welcome the GDC’s recognition of the pace and power of emerging technologies in creating new possibilities but also new risks for humanity. This builds on the JAC Joint Statement in 2023, where it was agreed that technology “can be a gamechanger in ensuring the scalable, transparent, responsive, innovative and data-driven transformation of justice systems as long as principles of openness, inclusiveness, and accountability are built into the design.”

In his New Vision for the Rule of Law, the UN secretary-general rightly recognizes that technology “has the potential to transform justice systems by increasing accessibility and accountability.” Undoubtedly, we must leverage technology and invest in innovation to deliver fair outcomes at scale and ensure equal access to justice for all. However, as the New Vision cautions, the use of technology must be consistent with international human rights standards, cognizant of the digital divide and seeking to address it. The recently adopted UN General Assembly resolution on access to justice for all also seeks to “promote the use of technology that fosters inclusive and equitable access to justice” while “addressing the challenges that the use of such technologies may pose for people in vulnerable situations.”

We welcome the Compact’s focus on artificial intelligence (AI) governance, which seeks to ensure that AI technologies are developed and deployed in ways that are fair, just, and accountable. AI, if left unchecked, can potentially exacerbate or perpetuate biases in critical areas such as law enforcement, employment, and access to services.

The GDC rightly seeks to ensure that AI systems are subject to robust human oversight, contributing to effective governance and minimizing the risk of injustice caused by unchecked inherent or learned bias within technological systems.

Digital Inclusivity and Equality

The GDC commits to closing all digital divides and ensuring connectivity and inclusive access to digital technologies, which is essential for fostering more inclusive societies. Universal access to the internet and digital literacy empowers all segments of society to participate in decision-making processes, governance, and public life, contributing to building institutions that are reflective of our societies’ diversity.

By focusing on digital inclusion, particularly for women, children, persons with disabilities, and marginalized populations, the Compact reinforces efforts to reduce inequality in the digital sphere. Digital exclusion often perpetuates societal inequalities, and the GDC’s commitments work to dismantle these barriers, contributing to more just and inclusive societies.

The Compact also acknowledges the digital public infrastructure’s potential to increase social and economic opportunities for all, with governments recognizing the need to increase investment in their successful development with the participation of all stakeholders.

Our Inequality Solutions Portal, launched in July 2023 as an accessible, public resource showcasing global policies aimed at addressing inequality and exclusion, provides a clear example of how academia, civil society, and governments can work together to provide a practical tool for policymakers, researchers, and advocates interested in successful, effective applied policies aimed at fostering equitable societies.

Fostering Digital Governance, Integrity, and Accountability

Good governance and transparency are essential components of peaceful, just, and inclusive societies, and the GDC reinforces these principles in the digital realm. The Compact calls for transparent, accountable, and human-centric approaches to digital governance, particularly in emerging areas like AI and data management.

The GDC’s emphasis on digital public goods and the responsible use of data ensures that information is available, accessible, and used ethically, fostering public access to information. By promoting data governance frameworks that protect privacy and security, the Compact also encourages the responsible and transparent use of data, which is increasingly critical for maintaining public trust in both digital platforms and institutions.

Information integrity is the foundation of trust in digital platforms, critical for countering the risks of disinformation and the manipulation of information. In this regard, the Compact prioritizes information integrity to protect democratic processes, which in turn can reduce polarization in our societies.

By promoting international cooperation to address the spread of misinformation and hate speech online, the GDC aims to safeguard the digital space. The Compact also commits to developing digital media literacy programs by 2030, ensuring users can critically engage with content and build resilience against harmful disinformation, a critical step towards fostering a more inclusive and cohesive digital future.

As shown in our recent report “From Rhetoric to Reality: Uncovering Strategic Division and the Linkages Between Polarization and Inequality,” the deficiency in critical media skills across different age groups makes societies more vulnerable to strategic division in the digital sphere with certain actors exploiting these weaknesses to spread disinformation.

A Powerful Tool for Achieving SDG16+

The full implementation of the GDC could, therefore, become a game-changer in the advancement and implementation of SDG16+ as it provides a comprehensive framework to build peaceful, just, and inclusive societies in the digital realm.

By addressing critical issues like inclusion, justice, human rights, inequalities, and safety in digital spaces, the Compact could ensure that digital technologies contribute to and not undermine our shared goal of living in peaceful, just, and inclusive societies.

The full implementation of the Compact could contribute to consolidating a vision where digital advancements are harnessed to empower individuals, strengthen institutions, and ensure that no one is left behind in the digital age.