In a recent publication on the DiploFoundation portal, Mr. Juan Alfonso Fernández González — Advisor to the Ministry of Communications of Cuba and Member of the Multistakeholder Consultation Group of the UN Group on the Information Society (UNGIS‑MCG) — sets out his vision for the architecture of global digital governance.
He notes that global digital governance should be built not by creating new mechanisms, but by integrating the Global Digital Compact (GDC) into the existing World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) framework.
The author identifies as a starting point the task, enshrined in the WSIS+20 Outcome Document, of ensuring process coherence and eliminating duplication of mandates and reporting across the following:
• The Internet Governance Forum (IGF)
• The UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD)
• The UN Group on the Information Society (UNGIS)
The author proposes a continuous annual cycle of global digital governance:
1. Identification of problems — IGF →
2. Planning of solutions — UNGIS →
3. Review of implementation — WSIS Forum →
4. Synthesis of factual data — UN Secretary-General's report →
5. Intergovernmental assessment (CSTD/ECOSOC/UN GA) →
6. Transmission of policy guidance to the next IGF cycle.
Financing issues are considered through the lens of creating:
• A working group under UNGIS, led by the International Telecommunication Union, to assess deficits in financial mechanisms
• A Global Fund for AI Capacity Building (for further details, see UN Secretary-General's report A/80/817)
The full text of the article is available on the DiploFoundation website: https://www.diplomacy.edu/blog/building-the-architecture-for-global-digital-governance-a-unified-inclusive-and-un-centered-approach/
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