Promotion and protection of digital rights: a pathway to the digital future

Radka Sibille

The European Union (EU) and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights have launched a new collaboration to address human rights in the digital sphere. This collaboration aims to focus on areas such as human rights online, digital space, and digital technologies. It is viewed as a positive development and aligns with SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, and SDG 17: Partnership for the Goals.

Leading this collaboration are Peggy Higgs, representing the thematic engagement special procedures and development division, as well as the right to development division in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OECHR), and Peter Merian, who serves as the team leader on digital governance in the European Commission’s Directorate General International Partnerships. Their involvement demonstrates the expertise and commitment of both the EU and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in addressing human rights issues in the digital realm.

The EU also emphasizes the importance of protecting human rights in its digital policy, as evidenced by various EU documents, such as the European Commission’s digital compass 2030 and the EU’s declaration on digital rights and principles. This commitment to human rights aligns with SDG 16, emphasizing the significance of human rights in the digital sphere.

Additionally, the European Commission’s Directorate General for International Partnerships plays a significant role in the EU’s policies on development and partnerships with third countries and international organizations. The Directorate General INTPA, responsible for these policies, seeks to reduce poverty, ensure sustainable development, and uphold human rights and the rule of law on a global scale.

In summary, the collaboration between the EU and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights highlights their shared focus on human rights and partnerships for global development. This collaboration seeks to address human rights issues in the digital realm, promote peace and justice, and strengthen institutions. It contributes positively to the advancement of the SDGs and the promotion of human rights worldwide.

Audience

The analysis provided highlights the concerning issue of human rights violations in Russia. It explains that the government in Russia is utilizing technology, specifically big tech platforms, both local and global, to suppress civil society and silence dissenting voices. This is seen as a clear violation of human rights and restricts freedom of expression.

The argument put forward in the analysis is that the United Nations (UN) should play a more proactive role in engaging with countries, such as Russia, where human rights are being violated. By increasing their involvement, the presence of the UN could potentially create a more conducive environment for civil society to operate effectively in Russia. The analysis suggests that this engagement and collaboration are vital for addressing and rectifying the human rights situation in the country.

Supporting this argument, the analysis highlights the interpretation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by Russian officials, which is seen as narrow. This suggests a lack of adherence to international human rights standards within the country. The presence of the UN could help influence a more inclusive and comprehensive interpretation of human rights laws in Russia.

Furthermore, the analysis expresses hope that any program aimed at addressing human rights violations includes companies from Russia and China, rather than being focused solely on the European Union (EU). This emphasis on inclusivity is important as it recognizes the need for a global effort and collaboration to promote and protect human rights. It also underscores the importance of diverse perspectives and contributions in addressing such complex and sensitive issues.

In conclusion, the analysis highlights the urgency of addressing human rights violations in Russia, particularly the government’s use of technology to suppress civil society voices. It argues for the UN to take a more proactive approach in engaging with Russia and other countries experiencing similar violations. By doing so, the UN’s presence can foster a more conducive environment for civil society to function effectively. Additionally, the analysis stresses the importance of inclusivity and the need for international collaboration to protect and promote human rights.

Peter Mariën

The European Union (EU) has announced a collaboration with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the field of human and digital rights. The EU considers the OHCHR to be the appropriate organisation for this collaborative effort and has committed to providing 4 million euros in funding. This partnership was publicly announced at the Internet Governance Forum 2023 in Kyoto.

In addition to this collaboration, the EU supports a multi-stakeholder approach in addressing various matters, especially in standard setting. They firmly believe that involving relevant stakeholders is essential in achieving a successful and comprehensive outcome. The EU takes pride in being pioneers in policy and law setting, showcasing their commitment to actively shaping regulations and standards in these areas.

Furthermore, the EU places great importance on engaging and discussing principles with big tech companies. Recognising their significant influence over billions of people worldwide on a daily basis, the EU views it as crucial to ensure that big tech leaders are involved in shaping society and advancing common goals.

The EU also advocates for the mainstreaming of policies within the UN system. They firmly believe that incorporating these policies into the UN framework will enhance their effectiveness and impact. In this regard, the OHCHR plays a pivotal role in spearheading policy processes within the UN, further emphasising the importance of incorporating these policies on a global scale.

Peter Marien, a prominent figure in the field, has underscored the significance of multilateral cooperation in addressing global issues. He asserts that dealing with challenges that exceed the capabilities of individual countries or regional blocs requires the concerted efforts of multiple nations. Marien’s statements highlight the need for collaboration and partnership in international relations and foreign policy.

Moreover, securing the right to access information is a crucial human right that needs to be protected. Marien has observed a worrying increase in incidents where access to information is either blocked or manipulated worldwide. He highlights the disruptive nature and risks associated with such limitations on access to information.

Additionally, Marien expresses concern regarding the rise of disinformation and misinformation online. The acceleration of this phenomenon has led to increased levels of societal distrust and hatred, which, in turn, poses significant challenges to peace, justice, and strong institutions.

Overall, the EU’s collaboration with the OHCHR on human and digital rights, as well as their support for a multi-stakeholder approach, engagement with big tech, mainstreaming of policies within the UN system, and recognition of the importance of multilateral cooperation and access to information, highlights their commitment to upholding and advancing global standards and values. These efforts contribute to the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Peggy Hicks

The discussion surrounding the application of human rights to the use and impact of digital technologies has gained significant traction and interest globally. There is a growing recognition of the need to understand how these rights can be upheld in the digital age. This recognition is supported by the fact that collaboration between different stakeholders enables more effective engagement in this area. The positive sentiment towards this need emphasises the importance of integrating and applying digital rights by both states and companies.

States are being urged to develop legislation that integrates digital rights and to ensure the proper implementation of digital public infrastructure. By doing so, they can create an environment that respects human rights in the digital space. Companies, on the other hand, require practical guidance on their responsibilities under the UN guiding principles on business and human rights. This guidance will help them navigate the complexities of the digital landscape and ensure that human rights are protected.

Civil society is identified as a crucial actor in reporting on, monitoring, and responding to threats in the digital sphere. However, civil society itself is under threat, making it more important than ever to empower them with digital tools to better protect themselves and their work. By leveraging these tools, civil society can actively respond to the challenges they face.

The United Nations (UN) is taking steps to develop a human rights due diligence guidance system, which will ensure that the UN itself upholds the highest standards in terms of human rights impacts of digital technologies. This demonstrates the UN’s commitment to maintaining and promoting human rights in the digital world.

Despite these positive developments, there is a notable difficulty for human rights expertise to be included in standard-setting conversations. Organizations involved in shaping technical standards related to digital technology often lack representation from human rights experts. Efforts are being made to identify barriers and best practices to include human rights experts in these conversations. Collaboration with civil society and academics is also sought to enable better participation in these processes.

The UN can play a vital role in creating a space that allows civil society to voice their expertise and knowledge of the impacts of legislation and digital developments. This highlights the importance of creating an inclusive environment where civil society’s perspectives are valued and considered in decision-making processes.

Moreover, the importance of involving not only large tech companies but also small and medium-sized tech companies in discussions about human rights cannot be overstated. The BTEC project has recognized the significance of this and is implementing initiatives in Africa, Asia, and other regions. The openness and engagement of companies globally, beyond just Western ones, in prioritizing the protection of human rights is a positive development.

In conclusion, there is a clear understanding of the need to comprehend and uphold human rights in the digital era. The integration of digital rights by states and companies, the active involvement of civil society, the UN’s commitment to human rights due diligence, and the recognition of the importance of involving diverse tech companies all contribute to the collective effort of protecting human rights in the digital realm. However, challenges remain, particularly in incorporating human rights expertise in standard-setting conversations, and addressing these challenges is crucial for progress moving forward.

Radka Sibille:
Thank you very much for coming. My name is Radka Sibile. I work on digital affairs in the European Union delegation to the UN in Geneva and I will guide you through this very short but important event. We are here to announce a collaboration between the European Union and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in the area of human rights online, the digital space and digital technologies. For this, I have the two representatives here. Mrs. Peggy Higgs, who is the director of the thematic engagement special procedures and development division and the right to development division in the OECHR. And Mr. Peter Merian, who is the lead team leader on digital governance in Directorate General International Partnerships or how we say INTPA in the European Commission. Protection of human rights is an underpinning principle of the European Union’s digital policy. It is enshrined in many documents, for instance the European Commission’s digital compass 2030, but also very recently in the EU’s declaration on digital rights and principles. And the Directorate General INTPA is responsible for the EU’s policies on development and partnerships with third countries, but also international organizations with the goal to reduce poverty, ensure sustainable development and respect for human rights and the rule of law across the world. So we only have 30 minutes for this event, so we will first hear short presentations about this new collaboration from our two representatives and then I will open the floor for any questions or comments from our audience here in the room or online. So first, without further ado, I would like to give the floor to Peggy.

Peggy Hicks:
Thanks so much. It’s such a pleasure to be here today to speak about this collaboration with the European Union. We’re here at IGF in Kyoto where in conversation after conversation the message that comes through to us is the consequential nature of this moment for human rights and digital policy. There is so much work that is being done and needs to be done globally to look at how the human rights framework and human rights concerns can be brought into both how we use digital technology to advance human rights and how digital technologies are affecting human rights globally. So we’re so fortunate to be able to be here today to talk about our collaboration with the European Union and the support that we will have to do greater work in this area going forward. The conversation I think for us starts from an amazing point of huge demand and interest in the human rights engagement and the potential for doing work in this area and underlies the collaboration, the idea that it allows us to engage more effectively. We’re here in a multi stakeholder environment and it’s really a multi stakeholder approach within this project because we’re very much looking at how the UN’s Human Rights Office can engage more effectively within the UN system, with states, with companies, with standard-setting and development organizations, and with civil society. So it’s got elements of all of that in it. We partner with the EU on this recognizing the alignment of human rights approaches and values, the EU declaration on digital rights being a key step in that direction, but there’s many other developments I could point to including the real legislative advances that have been made within the European Union context as well. And to just say a few words about what the collaboration will involve from our standpoint, and happy to get into more details as we go forward. There are really sort of three big planks to what we’re going to be doing. The first is the biggest in a way, and it looks at how we integrate and apply digital rights by states and companies. And so that means that we’re looking at issues like how states are developing legislation, how they’re rolling out digital public infrastructure, and all the concerns that we hear in this forum around artificial intelligence and its development and impact on human rights. And the idea is how can we better work with states to be able to build on good models, to raise concerns about practices that may not fully engage and leave no one behind, looking at how we can do that better in a variety of contexts, and then learn from those experiences and bring them to other countries as well. We already have established a program called BTEC that works with technology companies about how they can live up to their responsibilities under the UN guiding principles on business and human rights. What we’ve heard from companies is that they’re looking for practical guidance on what the responsibilities they know they have, how to implement them in the technology space. And so we’re working to develop practical guidance. We sit with companies and a group of companies we call our community of practice to identify some of the major areas of concern, to look at with them at best practices, and to really encourage a race to the top, that we want all of them to do more in terms of how they address human rights impacts and mitigate for them in their work. We’re also working within that stream, for example, with investors and trying to get investors to push for some of these human rights approaches to be taken more effectively as well. And then finally, within this piece, I want to emphasize the role of civil society. Civil society is an incredibly important actor in the space, but it’s under threat. And it’s under threat in a variety of ways, quite directly by legislation in the space that’s being used to silence the voices and actions of civil society, but also under threat more indirectly in ways where they are not able to engage fully and have their views and their perspectives and their representation of communities brought into crucial discussions that are happening around digital technology. At the same time, we also realize that digital technology can be part of the solution for civil society as well. So one of the things we really want to do within the project is use some of the digital tools that we have at our disposal at the UN Human Rights Office to better report on, monitor, and respond to the threats to civil society within this space as well. So that’s the big first plank of the project. The next two are a bit more specific, and they’re things that we’ve been talking about a lot here at IGF. The first is that we are looking specifically at a project that’s already underway, but we will now have support to move forward in the rollout and implementation phase around development of UN human rights due diligence guidance that will be system-wide. This is something that the Secretary General mandated several years ago and has asked us to really look at how the UN is using digital technology and making sure that we’re living up to the highest standards in terms of our own engagement in terms of the human rights impacts of our own use of digital technologies. And we’re hoping, of course, that that will have a big impact across the UN system, but can also set a pathway for other actors as well to follow in terms of best practices on human rights due diligence. And then the final plank is around technical standard setting. And I often realize that that title alone is somewhat off-putting to people, that it’s not always understood what technical standard setting is and why it’s important. But one of the things we really recognize is that there is a whole body of organizations, standards bodies like ICANN and the IEEE and ITU that are engaged in very important conversations about digital technology and the standards that need to underlie it. And those are conversations that are happening across the globe in various standard-setting bodies, but there are conversations that are very difficult for human rights expertise to be brought into. And we did a report on that issue a year ago based on a mandate from the Human Rights Council. And that report set a pathway of the work that needs to be done in this area. And now we’re going to have some of the resources to be able to move forward on it. And what it means from our perspective is that we’re able to work with those standard bodies to identify what are the barriers that currently exist to engagement and integration of human rights into their practices, and help them to look at some of the best practices to break down those barriers. But at the same time, work with civil society and academics and others about how they can better access these processes. And their voices are not, it’s not just a participation issue, it’s an effectiveness issue. When they’re in the room, we will see much better results within these standard-setting processes as well. So those are the three big areas of work we’re really looking forward to. And again, great thanks to the European Union for their engagement with us on this issue and the partnership. Thank you.

Radka Sibille:
Thank you so much, Peggy, for this comprehensive overview. I think it showed well how the work on human rights and technologies is diverse, and it really has to touch upon all the whole cycle of the technologies. You said that you work with the companies, but also with investors, with civil society, with international organizations that do technical standards. We just had another whole session on these technical standards just this very morning, so it’s a very pertinent issue. Peter, now over to you. Please let us know about the EU’s views on this cooperation, why we decided to do that.

Peter Mariën:
Thank you, Radka. Thank you, Peggy. I think actually a lot has already been said right now, so this is perfect. It makes life much easier for me, and I will probably be a bit shorter. But of course, we are very happy to work with OHCHR on this important topic of rights, you could say human rights, digital rights, in the context of digital sphere. And this is not by, let’s say, random that we, of course, have chosen to work with OHCHR. This is because we do believe that this is the right organization to do this. We are a strong promoter of the multilateral approach on the rules-based approach, and of course on defending all the principles and spirits which are in the fundamental charters of human rights, and also indeed, as mentioned, the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles, which is itself based on EU law, but of course it reflects completely these fundamental global principles. So it’s a pleasure to be here today in the Internet Governance Forum 2023 in Kyoto, and to actually announce that we will be cooperating on this with OHCHR, and we are entering into an agreement together, and the European Union will fund this with 4 million euro, and this will allow, hopefully, to support this work for the near future. So maybe a few elements which have already been somehow reflected, but so, leaving nobody behind, reaching sustainable development goals, we believe that the topic of rights, digital rights, is fundamental to that, and again, the multilateral approach is important. At the same time, and this is of course key to the IGF, and this is why we are mentioning this also in this IGF, is the multi-stakeholder approach. These things which have been mentioned by Peggy before, we believe that, of course, we can only achieve this in a proper way by involving the relevant stakeholders, especially if you discuss elements such as standard setting, for example. For many people, it’s a bit of a black box. Of course, when you open it, you will see there’s only so many actors in there, but they are important actors, such as private sector. Maybe CSOs are indeed lacking there. also elements of gender and other equalities. So looking forward to work on that. We’re also strong proponents of indeed mainstreaming these policies within the UN system. I think this is fundamental work. It could be taken as granted, but in reality it’s not. And one of the reasons is of course that this domain is moving so fast. It’s hard for anybody to follow what’s happening, not in the least the regulators. European Union, European Commission is part of that, I would say, environment, right? Policy setting, law setting. I think the EU does have a good track record at the moment of pioneering, which comes with all the failures and all the advantages. We will surely be learning together from all of this, but we’re also very happy that OHCHR is spearheading such, I would say, policy processes within the UN system. And let’s see where this due diligence, how this rights due diligence processes, where they can lead us. Big tech, I think, I hope everybody is aware of the role of big tech. It’s not only big tech, of course, it’s also small tech, it’s also media, it’s, I mean, the whole landscape out there plays its role. But we do also need to work, of course, with these big tech companies which reach so many of our daily lives. Millions of people around the globe are influenced by those services, by those products on a daily basis. So if we want to shape the society that we would like to live in, then of course it makes sense to engage with them and discuss these principles with them. Okay, I think a lot of things otherwise have been said. We look forward to this cooperation and we’re also convinced from these discussions the last days here that we’re on the right track, that these are the right topics. So thank you very much and looking forward to any questions.

Radka Sibille:
Thank you, thank you very much, Peter. And as you importantly said, you know, all the EU documents on the digital policies are also enshrined on the International Human Rights Law and, you know, that’s why this partnership seems really natural and timely as many of these topics have been heard here over the past four days. So with this I would like to open the floor for any questions or comments from our audience here or online, of course. Yes, please, I see the gentleman over there. If you can please present yourself briefly.

Audience:
Yes, thank you very much. Thank you very much, Peggy. I’m from one of the locations where civil society is being silenced. It’s being silenced using local big tech or inadequate activities by global big tech. I’m from the Russian Federation and actually this is one of the rare occasions where I can speak and speak to the audience and speak about human rights. As an example of what’s going on with human rights in Russian Federation, I will go to big tech a bit later, it’s like current officials of Russian Federation speaking about Article 19 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights only in context of a short paragraph like government have right to limit flow of information. So we are really waiting for kind of help of United Nations in promoting or returning back agenda in Russian Federation of true meanings of human rights. You mentioned that, okay, presence of big tech or standardization bodies in the room actually helps you to work with this. Presence of United Nations somewhere in Russian Federation talking about human rights will also allow civil society to work a bit better. I also hope that this program is not EU-centric because Russia, China have its own big tech companies which actually works not only in Russia and they would like to work in European Union also and actually they should be involved in realization of human rights. Even we see Facebook, Google and other companies here. Yandex for example from Russian Federation never joins any discussion related to human rights issues, even it’s being cached on presenting information about users to the government and something like. So we really in Russia hope that you will help us. Maybe not European Union, European Council, but Russia in this venue always tells that’s okay, Internet must be governed by the United Nations. Please be more active in well involvement in Russia. Also let it be my last point and then I stop. Maybe it’s not exactly your task at United Nations, but promotion of human rights in general is very difficult in Russia. Even you may have a lot of information about of programs on your website, people should know that they exist. Because again Russian official media says only about rarely occasions about wins or wins voting on General Assembly, but going on United Nations and actually inhibits all other activities. So please be more proactive and as far as, no really last point, and as far as Russia left Council of Europe, such mechanism at European Court of Human Rights stopped working for Russian citizens whose human rights are violated. So we know that exists mechanism inside United Nations related human rights commissions. We also ask you maybe push your colleagues to be more active for starting effective protection of civil society and human rights. Okay, please engage more with Russia and countries like this who really need development of human rights and human rights abused by the government. Thank you very much.

Radka Sibille:
Thank you, thank you very much and full appreciation to all your efforts, what you and your civil society colleagues are doing in this very difficult situation. There was many issues raised, need for proactivism, the issue of silencing of civil society. So perhaps I will give the floor to, yeah, would you like to Peggy?

Peggy Hicks:
Sure, no there is a lot there and I take the point very much. There is a lot of, yeah, no, no, a lot of work to be done in a lot of context but a couple of things that you said that are important. I was just in a room with a broad group of civil society organizations and they talked as you did about the importance of the UN opening up space for civil society’s voice to be heard and that’s, you know, it’s not, I want to be clear that when we engage on some of these issues, you know, we will still, despite this generous support, be a small player and much of this work has to happen within local context in different countries but part of what we can do is help open up that space that allows the civil society who has the expertise and knowledge about impacts of this legislation and digital developments on the ground so we can help convene and bring those those conversations together in a helpful way and we hope to do more of that. I wanted to emphasize, you mentioned very rightly that the issue around tech companies is not exclusively the big tech companies and certainly not exclusively the Western big tech companies and that’s something we’re very aware of. The project that we currently have, which we call BTEC and big tech, does involve right now a group of Western largest companies both in the US and European context but we’ve recognized both that we need to expand the geographic scope of that and the ability to bring in small and medium enterprises and startups as well and that’s something that we’ve done now with moving the BTEC project and having a BTEC Africa initiative and we’re looking at very much bringing that and doing as much work as we can in the Asian context and elsewhere as well so that’s something that we hope to be able to do more of through the partnership that we’re describing now. I think there’s a lot that needs to be done in that space. I think there are open doors in some of it as well. There’s engagement by companies globally, not just the Western companies, and what they need to be doing to better protect human rights and we’re willing to work with all of them to the extent that we can.

Radka Sibille:
Yes, Peter, would you like to compliment?

Peter Mariën:
Thank you very much for the questions and just a short element of complementarity. So I think first of all this kind of situation underlines the need and the value of working at multilateral level. So these are not just things that neighbors of Russia or other regional blocs can deal with on their own, whether it’s Russia or other countries, by the way, and so I think that just confirms the value of these kind of programs where we do think that you, I mean, we hope to be a, you know, trusted neutral party but of course it helps to have also a UN level. That’s first thing. Second, just a small element of what you mentioned to me makes me think of this very important topic of access to information, which is also a human right and which a part of all the issues on standard settings and so on and so on is really, I think in the last years, being more and more of an issue around the world is access to information. As soon as you block, you know, access to whether it’s companies or even sources of information, like I don’t want to name them but, you know, there are these online let’s say encyclopedias which are then blocked or manipulated or replaced by homemade ones with all the risks that that entails. So I think this is important and that is also, I think, lately linked very much to the extreme acceleration of disinformation and misinformation on the Internet. It’s always been around but now, again, with everything coming on our screen in front of us six hours per day, the impact of that is really massive and we are trying at EU level but I’m sure also globally to find the right way to tackle this because the difficulty there is that very soon you have to balance principles of, you know, free speech and open access to information versus securing your society against distrust and hatred and those kind of things. Thank you very much.

Radka Sibille:
Thank you, thank you very much. Anyone else would like to ask for the floor? I’m looking also behind me. There’s also no one online. So, well, thank you, thank you very much for participating and being here with us today. We will be looking forward to concrete results of this collaboration, this four million euro project. I just will summarize it very quickly. So there will be a new human rights due diligence guidance for the UN organizations coming up soon. There will be more work on mainstreaming of human rights into standard-setting organizations, more diversity and more participation from civil society, hopefully also soon, thanks to this project. And finally, we hope that there could also be a more reinforced dialogue with the private sector, which drives much of the innovation and where some kind of human rights mainstreaming is needed. And so, thank you very much and we will be also in touch bilaterally. We’re still here until the end of today so you can catch us also in the corridors. Thank you very much. Thank you. Bye and have a nice day.