Digital Transformation for all: An Information Society that respects and protects human rights

Event desciption

The international community is increasingly grappling with digital technologies and their impacts on people and planet. The Geneva Declaration of Principles declared the common desire and commitment to building a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society, grounded in respecting and fully upholding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . WSIS+10 review recognized the role of human rights in the information society Human rights present a pathway that can be used to enable the responsible and inclusive development and deployment of digital technologies whilst also identifying and addressing risks. The UN General Assembly called upon governments, the private sector, and other stakeholders to use human rights due diligence (HRDD) as a concrete way forward to reduce risks while enabling the benefits of digital technologies while Global Digital Compact (GDC) has integrated human rights due diligence as a critical approach to preventing and addressing any adverse impact on human rights . In May 2024, the United Nations Executive Committee adopted Guidance for Human Rights Due Diligence for Digital Technology Use for the UN System. In the private sector, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) are driving the integration of human rights due diligence across the tech life cycle, advancing the implementation of the outcomes of the WSIS. This high-level side event will highlight the benefits of embedding human rights due diligence for the development and deployment of digital technologies, including addressing risks, and ways in which it can strengthen WSIS framework building on GDC and protect human rights.