Esteemed excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, a warm welcome to the 21st meeting of the ITU Council Working Group on Child Online Protection.
It is fitting that this meeting is happening one week after the Summit of the Future in New York, because our children are the future, and must never be far from our thoughts when we consider the world they will inherit.
As you may know, the summit was an opportunity for the international community to share ideas on how to deliver a better present and safeguard the future, and to exchange best practices on how to strengthen the inclusivity of our society and to promote innovation for the benefit of the whole global community, including children and young people.
As the UN Secretary General said at the Summit: “Today is a momentous day for digital. Congratulations to Member States for delivering the Pact for the Future, the Declaration on Future Generations and the Global Digital Compact.”
Ladies and gentlemen, strengthening digital cooperation is especially crucial as a means of harnessing the potential of science and technology for the benefit of humanity. And yet, significant challenges remain, not least the widening global digital gap, which threatens to reinforce inequalities and exclusion unless we make a concerted effort to close it.
When some communities are left behind and lack access to the internet, it is inevitable that children suffer disproportionately, missing out on the opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge required in our increasingly digital world. At the same time, those children who do have access to everything the internet has to offer find themselves vulnerable, as they are exposed to online abuse and exploitation.
This is why platforms such as the Council Working Group on Child Online Protection are so crucial. You ensure collaboration and coordination for a common framework of action to keep children safe online. Concerted efforts, coherent policies and strategic partnership are required to keep pace with the fast-changing environment and to keep children and young people connected to a safe environment.
I recently spoke at the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, where I shared the great work that this Working Group is doing on Child Online Protection, highlighting the importance of digital literacy as well as the risks and benefits of AI and its impact on children’s rights. The Committee congratulated ITU for its ongoing work on this matter.
Having said this, I urge us to continue to work hard to ensure human oversight of how technology is used, so it benefits children rather than presenting a threat to them. You do amazing work to that end.
For us in the Telecommunication Development Bureau, child online safety is a priority. You may recall that we launched our COP Global Programme, ‘Creating a Safe and Empowering Cyber Environment for Children,’ in collaboration with the National Cybersecurity Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Let me share that it is continuing to yield results.
For example, child taskforces were established in Lebanon, Indonesia, Malawi, and Ecuador, while Training of Trainers programmes have been implemented in the Americas region. So, the Global Programme has already had far-reaching impact.
We must continue to discuss this issue at every opportunity. Later this week, ITU will join other stakeholders at the High-Level Roundtable ‘Advancing Collective Action for Child Protection in Cyberspace,’ hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as part of the Global Cybersecurity Forum Annual Meeting 2024.
I thank Saudi Arabia and other Member States that make efforts to bring together key stakeholders to foster pathways for collaboration and collective action towards ensuring online safety for children.
We all have a responsibility and a role to play when it comes to the safety of our children. We must collaborate to achieve international harmonization on this issue and to create a safe-by-design digital environment for children.
Thank you for your indispensable role in this critical endeavour. I look forward to our collaboration in the coming months. Thank you!
