Name: Ahona Ghosh
Country: France
Committee: United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)
Agenda:Addressing human right violation in the context of digital surveillance and
privacy
“Modern communications technology provides a powerful tool for democracy but it has
also contributed to a blurring of lines between the public and private sphere.”- UN
Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay
We are in an era where every click, conversation, and connection are recorded, the right to
privacy stands as one of the most crucial and yet most endangered human rights, in an
increasingly digital world, the right to privacy stands as a cornerstone of individual freedom
and dignity. To strike the balance between leveraging technological advancements and
safeguarding fundamental human rights has become increasingly delicate. Concerns have
been raised over the broad scope of security surveillance regimes and the potential for
intrusions which have been facilitated by modern technologies. Privacy and freedom of
expression are interlinked and mutually dependent; an infringement upon one can be both the
cause and consequence of an infringement upon the other. The need for a human rights-based
approach to new technologies in general, and artificial intelligence in particular, has been
recognized by a growing number of experts, stakeholders and the international community
Digital surveillance and privacy possess several significant problems, Surveillance data can
be used to unfairly target specific groups based on race, ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs.
This can exacerbate existing biases and lead to discriminatory practices, reinforcing systemic
inequalities and injustices, despite advances in encryption technology, cryptographic
algorithms and protocols can have vulnerabilities that may be exploited by attackers, these
problems and several other problems have raised an alarming situation of concern. France is
committed to upholding the principles of freedom, privacy, and security in the digital space.
This position paper outlines France stance on addressing human rights violations related to
digital surveillance and privacy, emphasizing the need for international cooperation.
The French Republic proposes the following solutions:
1. Fully recognize the need to protect and reinforce all human rights in the development,
use and governance of AI as a central objective, and ensure equal respect for and
enforcement of all human rights online and offline.
2. Adoption of clear international standards that protect individuals from arbitrary or
unlawful interference with their privacy, as outlined in Article 12 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Article 17 of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
3. Dramatically increase the transparency of the use of AI, including by adequately
informing the public and affected individuals and enabling independent and external
auditing of automated systems. The more likely and serious the potential or actual
human rights impacts linked to the use of AI are, the more transparency is needed.
4. Prioritize the protection of Human Rights Defenders, Journalists and individuals
against the use of digital surveillance and to take a firm stance against the use of digital
surveillance as a tool for repression.
5. Surveillance activities should be subject to independent judicial review to prevent
abuses of power and the establishment of international standards on digital surveillance
that respect human rights.
References
1. https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2013/10/right-privacy-digital-age
2. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights#:~:text=Article
%2012,against%20such%20interference%20or%20attacks.
3. https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/g21/249/21/pdf/g2124921.pdf
4. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/03/human-rights-council-discusses-right-
privacy-and-human-rights-and
