“New technologies can contribute significantly to the expansion or promotion of human rights and freedoms. However, they should not be used to suppress or restrict them,” said Minister Lipavský confirming that Czech diplomacy focuses on the protection of human rights and fundamental rights and freedoms, both offline and online.

This is the first initiative in the UN General Assembly to focus comprehensively on the issue of human rights and digital technologies. The dynamic development of the digital sphere raises the need to pay increased attention to the promotion and respect of human rights in the digital sphere.

Czechia has therefore initiated a resolution on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of digital technologies in this year’s session of the UN General Assembly, or its 3rd Committee. Czechia submitted the resolution together with South Africa, the Maldives, Mexico and the Netherlands.

The resolution aims to capture the underlying political consensus on the issue, addressing both the opportunities and challenges that digital technologies bring to human rights. The resolution focuses on topics such as the development of new technologies, the digital divide, freedom of expression, shutting down the internet, the right to privacy, governance and peaceful assembly, racism, algorithms, artificial intelligence, surveillance systems, etc. The text also calls for private sector accountability.

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