ICRC in the G20

On April 30, the ICRC will be represented by Digital Risk Advisor Joelle Rizk at closed meetings and high-level workshops with members of the G20, international organizations, think tanks and civil society representatives. The following day, Rizk will be one of the participants in the panel “Building Resilience: Protecting Public Institutions from the Political Instability of Online Extremism“. The other panelists will be Attorney General of Brazil, Jorge Messias, Executive Director of the Global Network Initiative, Jason Pielemeier, Special Envoy and Coordinator for Digital Freedom at the US State Department, Eileen Donahoe  and Technology Ambassador of Denmark, Anne Marie Engtoft Meldgaard.The event will emphasize global discussions on promoting information integrity, taking place in parallel to NetMundial +10, a global meeting on the future of internet governance. There will be closed high-level meetings and an event open to the public. This is an initiative of the G20 Digital Economy Working Group.

Joelle Rizk will present the ICRC’s work around a set of digital risks for the civilian populations during armed conflicts, especially around what can be gathered under the acronym MDH: misinformation, disinformation and hate speech. Between 2021 and 2023, the ICRC convened a Global Advisory Board of high-level experts from the legal, military, policy, technological, and security fields to advise the organization on digital threats and to develop concrete recommendations to protect civilians against such threats. This Board released a comprehensive report available online.  

The Group of Twenty (G20)

The Group of Twenty (G20) is one of the main forums for international economic cooperation. It plays an important role in defining and strengthening global architecture and governance on major international economic and development issues.

The G20 is made up of 19 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Russia, Türkiye, UK, and USA) and two regional bodies: the African Union and the European Union. The members of the G20 represent around 85% of the world’s GDP, more than 75% of world trade and around two-thirds of the world’s population.

The G20 has annually rotating presidencies. In 2024, Brazil holds the G20 presidency for the first time. Initially, the G20 focused mainly on general macroeconomic issues, but expanded its agenda to include topics such as trade, sustainable development, health, agriculture, energy, the environment, climate change, the fight against corruption and digital threats.

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