Co-facilitation, New Tech.& A.I. and the Digital Divide

Dernière modification le

Decision of the President of the Human Rights Council to appoint three co-facilitators

By letter of February 14th, 2024 the President of the Human Rights Council informed members and observers of the Council that he appointed:

  •       H.E. Mr. Marc Bichler (Luxembourg),
  •       H.E. Mr. Seong doek YUN (Republic of Korea),
  •       H.E. Muhammadou M.O. KAH (The Gambia)

as co-facilitators on New Technology, Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) and the Digital Divide. As per the request of the President of the Human Rights Council, co-facilitators submitted their first analysis in the document “Human Rights- Universal Standards for a World with Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) (Pdf, 199 Ko)”

Mandate of the co-facilitators

Co-facilitators will facilitate discussions and dialogue on new technologies, artificial intelligence and the digital divide, with a view to defining challenges and opportunities from a human rights perspective.

Objectives and expected outcome of the mandate

The co-facilitators will brainstorm on the impacts of AI as an emerging technology on the enjoyment of human rights.

  1. They will hold brainstormings with delegations, civil society and experts (Special Rapporteurs, the HRC Advisory Committee and the OHCHR) to discuss and exchange views on ways to increase access by all to emerging technologies, including AI, so that all states can equally benefit from its enormous potential and to bridge the digital divide, instead of deepening it;
  2. They will consider the opportunities and challenges presented by emerging technologies, including AI, for the enjoyment of human rights and paths forward to ensure that such technologies are placed at the service of human rights;
  3. They will consider what role the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms might play to seize the opportunities and mitigate the risks presented by such technologies regarding the enjoyment of human rights – what is the Council and its mechanisms already doing and what more does it need to do?

In order to identify the main privacy-related risks and to ensure an ethical transparency and accountability, the co-facilitators are also invited to provide legal analysis of risks related to the use of emerging technology and explore ways and means to come up with a practical and user-friendly tool intending to reduce the risks of breaching privacy rights obligations.

To this end, the co-facilitators will adopt a multi-stakeholder approach, including civil society, the private sector, academia, the technology community and government representatives to address the above listed issues in an inclusive manner.