Human Rights Council

The Human Rights Council (HRC) is the main UN body responsible for protecting and promoting human rights worldwide. In today’s world, one of the biggest challenges it faces is how to deal with new and emerging digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), facial recognition, surveillance tools, and social media platforms. These technologies are changing how societies work, but they also raise serious questions about privacy, freedom, fairness, and equality. 

Over the past decade, the UN has made clear that human rights must be protected online just as much as offline. Technology is not neutral—it can empower people by giving them access to information, education, and healthcare, or it can increase inequality by enabling discrimination, censorship, or surveillance. This makes the balance between innovation and regulation one of the toughest debates for governments today. 

Private companies also play a huge role. Tech companies control platforms, personal data, and algorithms that affect billions of people every day. This gives them enormous influence over fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, assembly, and privacy. But international rules to hold them accountable are still weak and inconsistent, and most regulation is left to individual countries, which apply different standards. 

To respond, the Human Rights Council has called for international cooperation and multi-stakeholder governance—meaning that governments, tech companies, experts, and civil society must all work together. Some of the key areas under discussion include:
Artificial Intelligence (AI): How do we prevent biased algorithms from discriminating against people?
Surveillance: When does security cross the line into violating privacy rights?
Data Flows: Who controls personal data that moves across borders, and how can it be kept safe?
Digital Inclusion: How do we make sure developing countries and marginalized groups aren’t left out of the digital revolution? 

The Council has also emphasized the need for human rights impact assessments—a way of testing how new technologies affect people’s rights before they are rolled out. The ultimate goal is to build a digital future that is innovative, inclusive, and democratic—a future where technology protects human dignity instead of threatening it.