Safety of the Child in the Digital Environment

A/HRC/RES/56/6View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2024.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 topics

Child Safety Consultations Corporate Social Responsibility Digital Technology Internet Law Enforcement Rights of the Child

What does this mandate say?

9 operative paragraphs

Urges States to adopt and implement legislation, strategies and policies to ensure the protection, promotion and enjoyment of the rights and safety of the child in the digital environment;

Stresses that it is the responsibility of all business enterprises, including those developing, deploying and using digital technologies, to identify and address the adverse human rights impacts with which they are involved in the digital environment, and acknowledges that child rights impact assessments could be a tool in meeting this responsibility;

Urges States to provide children whose rights have been violated or abused with access to effective and appropriate judicial and non-judicial remedies, including reparation and guarantees of non-repetition, as appropriate;

Calls upon States to enact and enforce the necessary legislative, including criminal, or other measures, where necessary, in compliance with States’ obligations under international human rights law, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including the private sector and the media, including digital platforms, to prevent, punish and suppress all forms of violation and abuse of the rights of the child, both offline and online, including the distribution over the Internet of child pornography and other child sexual exploitation and abuse material, ensuring that adequate mechanisms are in place to enable the reporting and removal of such material and that, notably, its creators, distributors and collectors are prosecuted, as appropriate;

Also calls upon States to urge businesses that have an impact on the enjoyment of children’s rights in relation to the digital environment to prevent or mitigate adverse impacts on the rights of the child that are directly linked to their design, operations, products or services and to establish and implement regulatory frameworks and promote industry codes and terms of service that adhere to the highest standards of ethics, privacy and safety in relation to the design, engineering, development, operation, distribution and marketing of their technological products and services and that respect the rights of the child;

Further calls upon States to work with relevant stakeholders, including the private sector and civil society, to take steps to bridge the digital divide, within and among countries, including the gender digital divide, as part of the efforts to ensure the empowerment and safety of all children, including those living in rural and remote areas and those with disabilities, including by providing distance learning opportunities, especially in developing countries;

Calls upon States to engage in multi-stakeholder efforts, including with the private sector and civil society, to help to mitigate the potential risks posed by the digital environment for children, such as through media, digital and civic literacy education, as well as the use of games for such purposes, as complementary measures to enhance children’s understanding;

Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to convene five regional workshops, including through hybrid modalities, to assess the risks to the safety of the child in the digital environment and best practices to address these risks in different geographical areas, bearing in mind current and emerging business models, with the participation of civil society, including the private sector, child rights and youth-led non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, family organizations and faith-based organizations, as well as the contribution of children, and also with the participation of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, the Special Rapporteur on the sale, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and representatives of the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations Children's Fund and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in addition to inviting the Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and representatives of WeProtect Global Alliance;

Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a report containing a summary of those consultations, in an accessible and child-friendly format, which includes recommendations from the different stakeholders for options for a framework on the safety of children, including possible options for the global level, with a coordinated and cooperative multi-stakeholder approach, which involves private entities in particular, and with effective and targeted measures and activities, and to present it to the Human Rights Council, at its sixty-second session, to be followed by an interactive dialogue.

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