New and Emerging Digital Technologies and Human Rights

Calls upon States and, where applicable, other stakeholders to prevent harm to individuals caused by new and emerging digital technologies, including artificial intelligence systems, and to refrain from or cease the use of artificial intelligence applications that are impossible to operate in compliance with international human rights law or that pose undue risks to the enjoyment of human rights, unless and until the adequate safeguards to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms are in place;

Encourages increased capacity-building cooperation between and among States, including policy exchanges, knowledge-sharing activities and the transfer of technology on mutually agreed terms, technical assistance, lifelong learning, personnel training, skilling of workforce, international research cooperation, voluntary joint international research laboratories and artificial intelligence capacity-building centres, with full consideration of countries’ national needs, policies and priorities, and to hold training courses, seminars and workshops, among others for sharing experiences and best practices;

Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to expand its work on United Nations system-wide promotion, coordination and coherence on matters related to human rights in new and emerging digital technologies and, as part of this, to convene regular meetings, in a virtual format, of United Nations human rights mechanisms and relevant United Nations entities working on digital technology issues, to exchange information, improve coordination and reduce duplication;

Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare an analytical study, building on its previous report mapping the existing work of the Human Rights Council and the treaty bodies, outlining and clarifying States’ obligations under international human rights law, as well as relevant norms and commitments, and the human rights responsibilities of business enterprises in line with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, across the life cycle of new and emerging digital technologies, identifying developments, gaps and recommendations on application and implementation, and to present the report to the Council at its sixty-second session;

Further requests the Office of the High Commissioner to convene a multi-stakeholder intersessional meeting, ahead of the sixty-fourth session of the Human Rights Council, utilizing the margins of other scheduled meetings, and inviting the participation of States, as well as United Nations mechanisms, bodies and specialized agencies, funds and programmes, intergovernmental organizations, mechanisms working in the field of human rights and new and emerging technologies, national human rights institutions and other relevant bodies, digital technology business enterprises, the technical community, academics and experts, as well as non-governmental organizations in the field of new and emerging digital technologies, in order: