Implications of Artificial Intelligence for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights

Calls upon States to consider the implications of artificial intelligence for the enjoyment of all human rights when developing and implementing relevant legislative, regulatory, administrative and policy frameworks, and to take appropriate measures to prevent, mitigate and address actual or potential discrimination and other adverse human rights impacts that may arise throughout the life cycle of artificial intelligence systems;

Also calls upon States to take into account different national contexts, capacities and levels of development when discussing artificial intelligence governance and to expand the participation of all countries, in particular developing countries, in order to harness the benefits and effectively participate in the design, development, deployment and use of safe, secure, trustworthy and human-centred artificial intelligence systems that contribute to the full enjoyment of human rights and sustainable development;

Encourages States to ensure access to information throughout the life cycle of artificial intelligence, particularly concerning artificial intelligence in public functions, and recognizes that effective partnerships and cooperation between Governments and other stakeholders is necessary in developing governance approaches and frameworks;

Also encourages States to adopt and promote approaches to artificial intelligence that respect human dignity and human agency and to uphold the principles of equality and non-discrimination, privacy, accessibility, transparency and explainability, accountability, sustainability, safety, human oversight and access to effective remedies in accordance with their obligations under international human rights law and, where applicable, under international humanitarian law;

Encourages States, as appropriate and commensurate with the nature, context and level of risk, to carry out human rights due diligence and appropriate impact assessments in relation to artificial intelligence systems that may affect the enjoyment of human rights;

Calls upon States, where artificial intelligence plays a material role in decisions having implications for the enjoyment of human rights, and as appropriate to the nature and level of risk, to put in place mechanisms that ensure meaningful human oversight and accountability and allow affected persons to receive information concerning such decisions, obtain human review and have access to effective remedies;

Also calls upon States to respect, protect and promote the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right of freedom to seek, receive and impart information, and the right to privacy in the context of artificial intelligence and to ensure that measures aimed at addressing harmful effects of artificial intelligence are consistent with international human rights law, including articles 19 and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

Encourages States to pay particular attention to possible differentiated or disproportionate impacts of artificial intelligence systems on women and girls, children, youth, older persons, persons with disabilities, persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, persons living in poverty or in vulnerable or marginalized situations and people living under foreign occupation and to facilitate their meaningful participation in relevant policymaking processes;

Reminds business enterprises involved in the pre-design, design, development, provision, procurement, deployment, use and decommissioning of artificial intelligence systems to respect human rights in accordance with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, including through appropriate human rights due diligence, and to identify, prevent and mitigate actual and potential adverse human rights impacts associated with their artificial intelligence-related activities and to provide for or cooperate in remediation where they have caused or contributed to such impacts;

Encourages States, relevant United Nations entities and other stakeholders, as appropriate, to promote digital public goods, digital public infrastructure and open artificial intelligence models, data sets and tools, accompanied by adequate human rights safeguards, as a means of enabling countries with limited resources, to benefit from these technologies;

Encourages greater coherence and complementarity among relevant international, regional, national and local initiatives on artificial intelligence, while recognizing the important role of the United Nations in promoting inclusive international dialogue and cooperation in this field;

Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to contribute, within its mandate, human rights expertise to relevant United Nations discussions and processes concerning artificial intelligence, while promoting coherence, coordination and complementarity and avoiding unnecessary duplication with a view to promoting artificial intelligence governance consistent with international human rights law;

Encourages the Office of the High Commissioner and relevant United Nations entities, within their respective mandates and upon the request of States, to support capacity-building and technical assistance, particularly for developing countries, aimed at strengthening their capacity to assess and address the human rights implications of artificial intelligence systems, including through the sharing of knowledge, experiences and good practices and by building on existing assessment methodologies and tools within the United Nations system;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to organize the panel discussion in consultation with States and other relevant stakeholders and to make the discussion fully accessible to persons with disabilities;

Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a report on the theme of the panel discussion, informed by the outcome of the panel discussion and by meaningful consultations with States, relevant United Nations entities and mechanisms, national human rights institutions, civil society, academia, the technical community, business enterprises, including at the margins of the Second Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance, to be held in May 2027, and to submit the report to the Human Rights Council at its sixty-sixth session;