Purpose and Scope of the UN Global Digital Compact
The UN Global Digital Compact establishes a comprehensive framework for global digital cooperation, with a specific emphasis on governing artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure an open, safe, and secure digital future for all. Adopted in 2024, the Compact is the result of negotiations involving 193 Member States and informed by extensive global consultations, including contributions from thousands of individuals and organizations across governments, the private sector, technical communities, researchers, and civil society. Its primary goal is to uphold international law and human rights in the digital space while fostering concrete actions to address digital security challenges.
The Compact explicitly recognizes AI as a critical area requiring structured governance. These initiatives began operationalizing in 2025–26, providing a structured approach to AI governance at a global scale.
Key Commitments and Objectives
- Digital Inclusion and Accessibility: The Compact commits to closing digital divides by making digital technologies more accessible and affordable worldwide. This includes ensuring multilingual and format-inclusive access, particularly for marginalized groups, to foster an inclusive digital economy. It also highlights the need to support women and youth innovators, as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs), in leveraging digital tools for growth and innovation.
- A specific focus is placed on protecting children online, ensuring their safety in digital environments.
- It also underscores the importance of maintaining an open, global, stable, and secure internet infrastructure. These measures are designed to mitigate risks associated with digital manipulation and ensure the resilience of digital ecosystems.
- AI Governance and Capacity Building: Governance of AI for humanity is a central theme, with commitments to develop AI capacity-building partnerships. The establishment of an international scientific panel on AI and a global AI policy dialogue serves as the institutional backbone for these efforts, ensuring evidence-based policymaking and collaborative governance.
Institutional Mechanisms and Stakeholder Engagement
The Compact’s implementation relies on the active participation of all stakeholders, including governments, private sector entities, technical experts, researchers, and civil society organizations.
Two key institutional mechanisms were introduced to operationalize AI governance: the International Scientific Panel on AI and the Global AI Policy Dialogue. The Scientific Panel is tasked with providing expert guidance on AI-related scientific and technical issues, while the Policy Dialogue facilitates multistakeholder discussions to align policies with global best practices. These mechanisms began their work in 2025–26, marking a significant step toward structured global AI governance.
The Compact also encourages the formation of AI capacity-building partnerships to enhance technical expertise and resource allocation in developing countries. By fostering collaboration between nations, organizations, and experts, these partnerships aim to bridge gaps in AI literacy, infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks.
Implementation and Accountability
Turning the Global Digital Compact into action requires a coordinated global effort. Stakeholders are encouraged to engage through various channels, including townhall meetings and digital cooperation portals, to ensure inclusive and transparent implementation.
Questions or inquiries regarding the Compact’s implementation can be directed to the UN via the email address digitalcompact@un.org, ensuring direct communication channels for stakeholders.
The Compact’s voluntary guidance nature means that while it sets ambitious goals, its success depends on the willingness of Member States and stakeholders to adopt and enforce its principles. By aligning national policies with the Compact’s objectives, countries can contribute to a cohesive global approach to digital governance, particularly in the realm of AI.
Required actions
- States commit to establish an international scientific panel on AI, a global dialogue on AI governance and a fund for AI capacity building - Promote interoperable governance and human-rights-based approaches