National Statement by H.E. Mr. Per Olsson Fridh, Minister for International Development Cooperation and Humanitarian affairs at the High-level Thematic Debate on Digital Cooperation and Connectivity, 27 April 2021.
Excellencies, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen
The pandemic has, whether we like it or not, forced us to take a leap frog into the digital world. But it has at the same time taught us important lessons about the possibilities it possesses.
The focus is to get out of the pandemic, recover and rebuild, and to transition into a more sustainable world. I see three points on how digitalisation can help us get there:
The first is connectivity. This pandemic has revealed the deep digital divides that exist in this world. The fact that 3,7 billion people still have no access to the internet is not good enough. But the digital divide is also within countries where too often women do not have access to the internet to the same extent as men. We must ensure inclusion for all. And we should raise the bar and do it well before 2030. Sweden is ready to do its share.
The second is to embrace technology and utilise its potential. Whether we talk about economic development, climate change, fighting corruption, or strengthening human rights, digital technologies can help us advance our agendas in a more effective way than before. Therefore, we need to encourage innovative thinking.
I have made it a priority for Sweden to step up our efforts in this regard. Just to give you one example, we are joining forces with Global actors to make sure that the covid vaccine can be traced and verified, thereby reducing the risks of falsified medicines and corruption.
While having a positive view on what the technology can do, we must also be vigilant that technology can be misused to strengthen authoritarian regimes, suppress human rights, not least freedom of expression, and to spread disinformation.
This leads me to the third point. We want an internet that is open, free and secure. In today’s world, this is far from guaranteed. We need to protect human rights, uphold the rule of law and promote the internet’s positive role for democratic development. My government has made this a priority in our Drive for Democracy.
I want to echo and fully support the UN Secretary General for promoting digital cooperation and making it a priority for 2021. We need more of this. And for it to be successful, the internet must be inclusive, transparent, and build on multi-stakeholder models such as the Internet Governance Forum.
Our offer to host UNICEF’s new Office of Innovation is an example on how Sweden wishes to deepen our political and financial engagement with the UN.
It is time to bring the many strands of work together and take cooperation to the next level. The UN is clearly the platform where such a coherent and coordinated approach can take shape. But it will require efforts from all of us.
I can assure you that Sweden will continue to step up its support and commitment to the UN Roadmap to make technology a force for the good.
Thank you.