Finland and Norway Launch Call for International Oversight of Frontier AI Models

2026-09-21 · International

A joint statement launched during the UN General Assembly asks member states to explore an institution able to set standards, enable verification, and convene states when capability thresholds are crossed.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre launched A Call for Control of Frontier AI Models at UN headquarters on September 21, backed at launch by 22 leaders from 20 countries and the European Commission. Further leaders, including France's, have since endorsed it, and it remains open for endorsement. The Call asks companies to adopt transparent safety protocols, including mandatory pre-deployment testing and independent evaluation with sufficient access. It asks governments to coordinate common standards and share reporting of serious safety incidents. And it asks UN member states to build on existing international mechanisms and explore creating an international institution able to set standards, enable verification, and convene states when capability thresholds are crossed. UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed it the same day, alongside the first thematic brief of the UN's Scientific Panel on AI.

The United States, China, and the United Kingdom are not among its endorsers. President Stubb has said he would prefer a body resembling the International Atomic Energy Agency within the UN framework, while keeping the proposal open-ended.

For SIRDA, the Call brings a current state-led proposal into the inquiry's comparison set. Its text names possible functions and leaves the institution's legal form, decision rules, implementation powers, and appeal procedures open. It also launches without the two leading AI powers, which bears directly on whether such an institution can reach the actors it most needs.

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