New and Emerging Digital Technologies and Human Rights

A/HRC/RES/59/11View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A document 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 2025.

What other versions does this mandate have?

4 versions · 2019–2025

2025A/HRC/RES/59/11New and emerging digital technologies and human rightsLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/HRC/RES/53/29New and emerging digital technologies and human rightsCompare with previous version
2021A/HRC/RES/47/23New and emerging digital technologies and human rightsCompare with previous version
2019A/HRC/RES/41/11New and emerging digital technologies and human rights

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

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

Artificial Intelligence Capacity Building Corporate Social Responsibility Digital Technology Human Rights International Obligations New Technologies

What does this mandate say?

13 operative paragraphs

Reaffirms the importance of a holistic, inclusive and comprehensive approach and the need for all stakeholders to collaborate in a more concerted way in addressing the possible impacts, opportunities and challenges of new and emerging digital technologies with regard to the promotion and protection of human rights;

Notes the Secretary-General’s call for States Members of the United Nations to place human rights at the centre of regulatory frameworks and legislation on the development and use of digital technologies, and takes note of the Secretary-General’s Guidance on Human Rights Due Diligence for Digital Technology Use;

Reaffirms the commitment of States to ensure that the development and implementation of national legislation relevant to digital technologies is compliant with obligations under international law, including international human rights law, and the need for digital technology companies and developers to respect international human rights and principles, including through the application of human rights due diligence and impact assessments throughout the life cycle of new and emerging digital technologies, and recognizes the importance of contributions to the fulfilment of commitments by elaboration and provision of clear, concise, accessible, and practical human rights guidance to States and digital technology companies and developers;

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:

To provide a space for sharing experiences, challenges, good practices and lessons learned in realizing a holistic, inclusive and comprehensive approach to the development and implementation of national legislation and policies relevant to digital technologies, and in respecting and promoting human rights and principles of international human rights law throughout the technology life cycle;

To consider the above-mentioned analytical study and discuss further steps to improve the implementation of the obligations and commitments of States under international human rights law, and the responsibilities of business enterprises throughout the life cycle of new and emerging digital technologies, including through, upon request and within existing resources, the Human Rights Advisory Service on Digital Technologies;

To promote United Nations human rights system outputs relating to new and emerging digital technologies in order to improve the implementation of relevant recommendations at the national level;

To submit a summary report thereon to the Human Rights Council at its sixty-fourth session;

Decides to remain seized of the matter.

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