20 countries and EU propose global AI oversight body at UN General Assembly

September 22, 2026 at 08:42 AM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Twenty countries and the European Union issued a joint declaration on Monday calling for international cooperation to keep artificial intelligence under human control, including the potential creation of a global oversight body to set and enforce standards. The statement, released by Finnish President Alexander Stubb's office, urges governments and industry to act immediately to ensure AI is developed in line with international law and remains under human direction, oversight and control. The United States and China, the world's two leading AI powers, did not join the declaration.

Key Facts

The declaration was released by the office of Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
Signatories include German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
The United States and China did not join the statement, which remains open for endorsement by other countries.
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to discuss AI at the White House on Thursday.
The declaration calls on AI companies to develop transparent mechanisms, including safety protocols, mandatory testing, and independent evaluation.

The Declaration

The joint statement was issued on Monday as global leaders prepared to discuss AI risks at the annual UN General Assembly gathering. It calls on governments and industry to act immediately to ensure AI is developed in line with international law and remains under human direction, oversight and control. The declaration urges countries to develop and coordinate common standards, share reports of serious safety incidents, and explore the establishment of an international institution to set standards, enable verification, and convene states when capability thresholds are crossed. The document also calls on AI companies to develop transparent mechanisms to guarantee that AI development does not threaten the future of humanity, including safety protocols, mandatory testing, and independent evaluation.

Signatories and Absentees

Signatories include Germany, South Africa, Canada, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and the European Union. The list also includes Denmark, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, Moldova, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Finland, and Norway. The United States and China, the world's two leading AI powers, did not join the statement. Other AI players not among the signatories include India, South Korea, Japan, the UK, and France.

AI Safety Debate

The declaration comes amid a heated debate in the AI sector about safety following calls for a slowdown in development by top industry leaders. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called on firms to slow the pace of development to mitigate risks in an essay earlier this month. The proposal was swiftly endorsed by rivals including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Washington and Beijing have both rebuffed calls to slow down AI development to ensure greater safety.