Q3/2020 - World Wide Web Foundation

Brief an den Präsidenten der 75. UN-Vollversammlung, Volkan Bozkir, 22. September 2020

In einem vom Tim Berners-Lee, Erfinder des World Wide Web und Präsident der Web Stiftung initiierten Brief haben sich rund 100 Persönlichkeiten und Institutionen an den Präsidenten der 75. UN-Vollversammlung, den türkischen Diplomaten Volkan Bozkir, gewandt und gefordert Maßnahmen zu ergreifen die sichern sollen, dass neue digitale Technologien zum Wohle der Menschheit entwickelt und eingesetzt werden[1].

In dem Brief heißt es, dass die UN-Vollversammlung, die das kollektive Gewissen der Weltgemeinschaft repräsentiere, Schritte einleiten müsse, die notwendig sind, dass die „digitale Domain universell, sicher, sinnvoll und vertrauenswürdig ist, damit der soziale und wirtschaftliche Fortschritt für alle gefördert werden kann.“ Die Unterzeichner würdigen die zum 75. Jahrestag der Vereinten Nationen verabschiedeten UN-Deklaration vom 22. September 2020, in der sich zum ersten Mal alle 193 UN-Mitgliedstaaten „zu digitaler Kooperation und zur Gewährleistung eines sicheren und erschwinglichen Zugangs für jedermann zum Internet“ verpflichtet hätten. Sie fordern Bozkir auf, „digitales Vertrauen und Sicherheit“ zu einem Leitmotiv seiner Präsidentschaft zu machen und sich für die Verabschiedung eines „Global Statement on Digital Trust and Security“ einzusetzen, das UN-Generalsekretär António Guterres in seiner „Roadmap on Digital Cooperation“ im Juni 2020 vorgeschlagen hatte. Man erwarte von den Verhandlungen in den beiden UN-Cybersicherheitsgruppe OEWG und UN-GGE konkrete Beiträge, die das Internet als eine “Rules-Based Digital Order“ stärken würde. Sie fordern Bokir auf, dem Versprechen der UN-Deklaration, die UNO zu einer „Plattform für einen Multistakeholder-Dialog“ zu entwickeln, Taten folgen zu lassen und nicht-staatliche Akteure aus der Wirtschaft, der Wissenschaft, der Zivilgesellschaft und der technischen Community in die Diskussion über die Zukunft eines offenen und sicheren Cyberspace adäquat einzubeziehen.

Unterzeichner des Briefes sind u.a. die früheren Präsidenten von Brasilien, Fernando Henrique Cardoso und von Chile, Ricardo Lagos, die ehemaligen Außenminister der USA, Madeleine Albright, Schwedens, Carl Bildt, Estlands, Marina Kaljurand, Bulgariens, Daniel Mitov und Argentiniens, Susana Malcorra, die ehemaligen EU-Kommissare Julian King und Andrus Ansip sowie der Chef der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz, Wolfgang Ischinger. Unterzeichnet haben den Brief 75 weitere Institutionen, Unternehmen und zivilgesellschaftliche Organisationen, darunter Microsoft, Siemens, APC, Global Partner Digital, das East-West Institute, die Global Cyber Alliance, der Tech Accord, die Swiss Digital Initiative, das Global Forum on Cyber Expertise, das Kosciuszko Institute und das neu gegründete Genfer Digital Peace Institut.

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Q3/2020
  1. [1] Calling on the UN to prioritise digital trust and security, Web Foundation, Open letter to His Excellency Volkan Bozkir, President of the 75th United Nations General Assembly, 22. September 2020: „We – the undersigned – call on the United Nations to promote and safeguard the digital technologies that now underpin society. As the world faces a historic challenge it is now more critical than ever that technology is both available to all as a matter of social and economic justice but also used in the right way and in pursuit of common good. The UN General Assembly—representing the collective conscience and will of the international community—has a responsibility to take the steps necessary to ensure the digital domain is universal, safe, meaningful and trustworthy so it can promote social and economic progress for all. As you usher in the historic 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, we urge you to make digital trust and security a central pillar of your presidency. We commend the historic achievement of the Declaration on the Commemoration of the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the United Nations. For the first time, all member states committed to improve digital cooperation and ensure safe and affordable digital access for all citizens. Progress must not stop there. At a time of crisis it is essential that the world steps up efforts in this space, not least to support the development and delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals, an endeavour on which the role of digital technology is fundamental. We call on your leadership therefore to advance the digital agenda, and we call on all member states to reinforce and expand upon these commitments in a global statement on digital trust and security as called for by the Secretary-General in his Roadmap for Digital Cooperation. Our daily lives, economic prosperity, security, and social progress hinge on a safe and secure digital environment that is affordable, accessible, and reliable. ICTs increasingly underpin access to nearly all essential services, including food, water, energy, and healthcare, as well as critical government functions, such as issuing identification and conducting elections. This statement would send a clear signal that world leaders in government, industry, and civil society are committed to closing the trust deficit in the digital age, bridging the digital divides, promoting digital rights and equality and securing progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Prioritizing digital trust and security will provide more visibility and energy to the UN processes already underway aimed at advancing a rules-based digital order, including the Group of Governmental Experts in the Field of Information and Telecommunications and the Open-Ended Working Group. We eagerly await the results of their work and hope to support their efforts to advance global cyber norms. As those and other processes advance, we encourage leadership at the United Nations to abide by the language in the 75th anniversary declaration to “provide a platform for all stakeholders to participate in such deliberations.” We must learn from the lessons of history not to let one crisis breed another. Progress towards a safe, open, and secure cyberspace is needed now more than ever to meet and surmount the challenges we face. Civil society, technical communities, Think tanks, industry and eminent digital personalities have found common ground on the need for global action on digital trust and security. Surely governments can join our call, endorse a global statement, and ensure a safe and secure digital future for everybody. In his Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, the Secretary General makes clear that, “future generations will judge whether the present generation seized the opportunities presented by the age of digital interdependence.” The undersigned organizations stand willing to join governments and other stakeholders to advance this global imperative. Together, we can deliver a digital future that is safe, secure, and inclusive.“ In: https://webfoundation.org/2020/09/un-trust-and-security-letter/