Ensuring human rights compliant use of technology

Through the initiative Tech for Democracy, the Danish Government and civil society bring together states, multilateral organisations, tech sector representatives, and civil society to power up a multi-stakeholder push for protecting and promoting democracy and human rights in an era of rapid technological development.

As part of this initiative the Institute is establishing two action coalitions committed to take practical steps to protect, respect and promote human rights in the digital ecosystem. One of the coalitions mainly unites national human rights institutions, whereas the other unites both private and public actors, who work to ensure responsible use of technology mainly in the private sector. 

Action Coalition of National human rights institutions

The Action Coalition of national human rights institutions gathers and unites national human rights institutions, international and regional human rights networks and leading civil society organisations involved in the digital rights agenda.  National human rights institutions are mandated to function as watch dogs in protecting human rights in the digital age. However, their capacity is limited, and the institutions are often not equipped to fulfil their mandate in this area, as it demands a new set of competences and approaches.

Being a part of the alliance will secure that its members have access to expertise within technology and human rights and that they can tap into the resources from their peers, leading international NGOs and other colleagues working in this area. will focus on awareness-raising, capacity-building, peer-learning and alliance-building around a joint pledge and common goals. The final pledge and a list of proposed focus areas will be drafted by the Alliance. 

Action Coalition on Responsible technology

Virtually all major companies are active in the digital ecosystem. Private companies are increasingly benefitting from facial recognition technologies, algorithmic decision-making and many other digital products and services. However, technological breakthroughs have their downsides. When, for example, companies sell digital products in countries that have no data protection laws to protect their citizens, it can lead to severe human rights abuses. 

The Action Coalition on Responsible Technology gathers companies, investors, national human rights institutions, civil society and other actors who support the improvement of human rights due diligence efforts and activities related to development and use of digital technologies. The coalition works to identifying guidance and knowledge resources and gaps. It aims at bridging the identified gaps, and producing public outputs to the benefit of the larger ‘responsible technology’ community.