The United Nations University - Operating Unit on Policy-driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV) is actively contributing to global efforts to shape guidance on data protection in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). Recently co-drafted a collaborative Call to Action to be presented at the DPI Summit in Cape Town, South Africa, in November 2025.
The Call to Action was developed as part of a breakout session co-organized by UNU-EGOV and the World Bank Group during the Digital Public Infrastructure Day, held on 19 June 2025 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, under the umbrella of the UN Open Source Week.
Entitled “Operationalising Data Protection in Digital Public Infrastructure”, the session brought together over 80 participants from international organizations, national governments, civil society, the private sector, and academia. UNU-EGOV was represented by Zoran Jordanoski, who co-led the session alongside World Bank colleagues.
As DPI becomes a foundational layer in digital governance and public service delivery, this session addressed one of the most pressing questions in the digital age: how can data protection be effectively enforced in the absence of strong Data Protection Authorities (DPAs)?
Participants discussed how legal frameworks, though necessary, are often insufficient to build trust in digital systems. Instead, practical approaches must be developed to ensure accountability, oversight, and privacy-by-design across DPI ecosystems. This includes mechanisms for enforcement even in contexts where DPAs are missing, under-resourced or newly established.
The session highlighted the critical role of non-traditional actors, such as ICT regulators, audit institutions, civil society, open-source communities, and funders, in safeguarding data rights and promoting responsible DPI governance.
The key output of the session was the co-development of a Call to Action, summarizing the collective understanding that strong enforcement measures are essential for DPI to be trusted and rights-based:
To ensure DPI systems are trusted, inclusive, and rights-respecting, data protection enforcement must be embedded from the start. Stakeholders, including governments, funders, and technical actors should be in dialogue and coordinate to ensure institutional accountability mechanisms exist.
The Call to Action will be formally presented and further discussed during the DPI Summit in Cape Town in November 2025, where it will serve as a springboard for broader engagement and action by national and international stakeholders.
This initiative is part of UNU-EGOV’s broader commitment to strengthening digital governance around the world. In parallel, UNU-EGOV continues to support the work of the International Organizations Consultative Group (IOCG) under the DPI Safeguards Initiative, coordinated by the United Nations Tech Envoy, contributing to the development of policy frameworks and implementation strategies that promote inclusive, secure, and rights-based digital public infrastructure.
