Comments by Croatian IGF

Comments by Croatian IGF on the Report of the UN Secretary General’s High level Panel on Digital Cooperation

We welcome the UN Secretary General effort in developing a comprehensive report on the digital cooperation through the High level Panel. The report considers the crucial questions on digital cooperation while having in mind diverse perspectives on – the social, ethical, legal and economic impact of the always changing digital eco-system.

We find it particularly important and useful that panel was asked to consider how digital cooperation can contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We support its recommendations. We also recognise the need to enhance and clarify the multilateral aspect of the Internet governance and at the same time we support the multistakeholder model that has functioned well so far and that has contributed to the state of the Internet today. It is important that Internet remains open to multistakeholder model and it is also important that governments have clear and equal possibilities to influence the public policy related issues through a set of globally agreed processes. We support the idea of a Technology Envoy at the UN level.

On the evolution of the IGF, we strongly support the IGF as forum for open discussion of all the interested parties and we would recommend not to rush in giving the IGF more demanding scope that would be difficult to agree and implement. We also support the efforts to move IGF out of Europe from time to time, to demonstrate its global character. A model for financing has to be agreed where the cost for organising a global IGF would be covered in a more acceptable way for countries that cannot afford to cover all the costs as hosts.

So we find very important that one of the tasks put in front of the High-level panel was to consider models of digital cooperation to advance the debate surrounding governance in the broader digital sphere on the new challenges like the AI and other emerging issues.

We remain open and hope to be able to contribute to the global efforts for enhanced cooperation.

CRO-IGF Executive Committee, in Zagreb, 15 October 2019