Article by Ellie McDonald and Lea Kaspar: “As the dust settles on the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 20-year Review, attention is turning to what the final outcome document (adopted by consensus on 17 December) ultimately delivers. For much of the review, discussions were pragmatic and forward-looking, reflecting a shared interest in maintaining the relevance of the WSIS framework amid a rapidly evolving digital policy landscape. As negotiations moved into their final phase, focus narrowed to a smaller set of long-standing questions, shaping the contours of the text that was agreed.
The outcome document does not seek to resolve all of the issues raised during the review. Rather, it reaffirms core principles, clarifies institutional roles, and sets out expectations for implementation that will now need to be tested in practice.
As negotiations concluded, GPD intervened during the WSIS+20 high-level event this week, emphasising that legitimacy in digital governance is not secured by consensus alone, but depends on sustained participation, human rights anchoring, and accountability as frameworks move into implementation. Read the full intervention here…(More)“.
