Public procurement as a tool to address human rights risks in the use of digital technology to deliver essential public services

The public sector procures technology in many forms, from hardware such as computers, to software such as accounting systems and office software suites. Within the last two decades, digital technology has been increasingly procured and used by States to deliver essential public services in areas such as education, health and social care, and public transportation.

The delivery of essential public services is a way for the State to meet its human rights obligations. The use of digital technology to deliver essential public services can improve efficiency and help a State more effectively realise associated human rights obligations in these areas. However, there are a range of examples of when citizens have suffered harm due to the use of digital technologies in the delivery of public services, through violations of the right to privacy, the right to freedom of expression, equality, and the right not to be discriminated against, among others.

The challenges emphasise the need for a human rights-based approach to the delivery of essential public services through digital technologies ensure the availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality (AAAQ) of services to all citizens. This means that human rights challenges should be considered at all stages of digitalisation, from planning, to procurement, through to the application of the technology.

This paper highlights that public procurement is a key junction to identify risks of negative human rights impacts and put mitigating measures in place to address such risks before harm occurs.

This paper concludes with a set of recommendations on how policy makers and public procurement professionals can implement effectively realise this in practice.