un track

UN and multilateral track

While each UN agency has its own focus—and its own unique battles with misinformation—there’s a common interest in having access to the best available data to counter misinformation, so that each agency may fulfill its mandate. In this track, participants will engage in dialogues to identify areas where there needs to be greater data transparency with online information, and how internet companies and social media platforms can improve transparency around the data they collect, hold and process.

The World Health Assembly passed a WHA Resolution 73.1 in May 2020, which calls upon Member States to provide the population with reliable and comprehensive information on COVID-19, and international organizations and other stakeholders to address the proliferation of disinformation and misinformation among other spheres.

The UN has called for a provision of effective public access to information related to COVID-19, however the scale at which information is being changed, manipulated and shared is unprecedented. There is a rising infodemic hampering an effective public health response.

The events proposed for this track of the 3^rd Infodemiology Conference seek to unearth concrete actions that can be taken by the UN family to counter mis- and disinformation and to promote access to accurate information.

Track Participants

International Organization for Migration (IOM)
International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)
United Nations Department of Global Communications (UN DGC)
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
United Nations Economic Development Administration (UN EDA)
United Nations Executive Office of the Secretary-Genera (UN EOSG)
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
United Nations Global Pulse
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect (UN OSAPG)
United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) Digital Roadmap Office
Office of UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression
United Nations Women (UN WOMEN)
World Health Organization (WHO)
OECD
EU

Track Objectives

In the two, two-hour sessions of facilitated dialogues, a series of three UN interagency and subsequently one panel facilitated multilaterals from the European regions (OECD, EU) will discuss policy options and actions to combat health disinformation and data transparency as well as the opportunities to strengthen UN action against disinformation.

Outputs

Following suit with the previous 75^th General Assembly side event which launched a 9-agency Joint Statement and, building on the two infodemic conferences, which established a framework and 50 key actions required to manage infodemics, the output of these sessions will establish a UN’s common perspective on disinformation and data transparency as part of its commitment to integrating infodemic management into their policies.