15 – 19 December 2024, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) and it Ceentre for Global Studies (CGS) attended and contributed to the 19th Annual Meeting of the UN IGF, hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in Riyadh, under the theme: “Building our Multistakeholder Digital Future”.
PAM was represented by a high-level delegation led by Hon. Pedro Roque, PAM Vice-President, which included H.E. Dr. Jehad Alfadhel (Bahrain), Second Deputy Chairman of the Consultative Assembly; Hon. Joana Lima (Portugal), President of the PAM Women Parliamentary Forum (WPF); Hon. Abdelouahab Yagoubi (Algeria), PAM Rapporteur on Artificial Intelligence, as well as senior staff of parliament and the PAM Secretariat.
The delegates took part in several meetings in the framework of the IGF to present PAM-CGS’s engagement in promoting digital inclusion, addressing cyber threats, and fostering international cooperation on technological advancements.
Two meeting were particlularly relevant for PAM-CGS, notably the Open Forum organized by the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on “Countering the Use of Information and Communication Technologies for Terrorist Purposes” held on 16 December; and the session on Parliamentary approaches to the use of information and communication technologies in Counter-Terrorism in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1373, organized by the UNOCT Programme Office in Doha, OSCE PA, and the Shura Council of Qatar, held on 18 December.
The events were attended by Hon. Roque and Hon. Yagoubi, who, in their respective remarks, presented the recent report on “he Malicious Use of AI and Emerging Technologies by Terrorist and Criminal Groups: Impact on Security, Legislation, and Governance”, produced by the PAM Centre for Global Studies (CGS), and in partnership with the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) and UNOCT.
They further drew attention to the established Permanent Global Parliamentary Observatory on AI and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), serviced by PAM-CGS; as well as the regular publication of a daily and weekly Digest to disseminate news and analyses about trends related to technological advancements.
PAM-CGS will continue to advance its research efforts on the responsible and ethical application of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, in line with the commitments of the UN Pact for the Future and its dedication to fostering global security, democratic resilience, and sustainable development. //