Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Thank you, Chair.
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of Australia, New Zealand, and my own country, Canada.
CANZ recognizes the transformative potential of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, to accelerate progress across the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet significant digital and AI divides persist, both between and within countries, including gaps in connectivity, skills, data and compute, and institutional capacity. CANZ welcomes the continued recognition of these challenges. At the same time, we must ensure that digital transformation is inclusive, grounded in human rights, and responsive to both the opportunities and the risks these technologies present.
Bridging these divides also requires careful consideration of how we pursue this objective. International cooperation on digital and AI issues must be effective, efficient, and coordinated. CANZ supports efforts to strengthen coherence across the UN system, including through the implementation of the WSIS outcomes and the Global Digital Compact. We also call for the preservation of open, inclusive, and multistakeholder approaches that have been central to progress in global digital cooperation.
On the aspect of efficiencies, CANZ reiterates the importance of implementing the commitments of resolution 80/251 and advancing Second Committee revitalization. This means streamlining texts, exercising greater discipline in mandate creation, promoting clarity and brevity, and avoiding duplication. These efforts are not merely procedural. They are necessary to ensure that the Committee can focus its attention and resources where they are most effective.
Turning to the proposed resolution concerning the Global Dialogue and the Independent Scientific Panel on AI, CANZ believes that consideration of these bodies extends beyond the mandate of the Second Committee for three reasons.
First, both bodies were established to address issues relating not only to development, but also to human rights, governance, and stakeholder engagement. Any reassessment of their role or function belongs within the Global Digital Compact High-Level Review, scheduled for next year.
Second, pursuing specific outcomes outside that agreed process risks prejudging discussions that Member States adopted by consensus. All countries have invested in the success of the Global Dialogue and the Independent Scientific Panel and have a shared interest in preserving the integrity of the process established under the Global Digital Compact.
Third, this resolution risks reopening foundational questions that were already addressed during the Global Digital Compact negotiations. Attempts to direct the work of these bodies from outside the agreed framework also undermine the modalities that Member States themselves adopted by consensus.
For these reasons, CANZ calls on all Member States to support the Global Dialogue and the Independent Scientific Panel by allowing them to carry out their mandates without interference.
In conclusion, CANZ reiterates its recognition of the transformative potential of AI for sustainable development. At the same time, the mandates of the Independent Scientific Panel and the Global Dialogue extend beyond development alone, as recognized by Member States during the negotiation of the Global Digital Compact. It is therefore our view that this resolution should be removed from the Second Committee's agenda.
Thank you.