HRC44 - NB8 statement - Impacts, opportunities and challenges of new and emerging digital technologies

Panel discussion on the impacts, opportunities and challenges of new and emerging digital technologies with regard to the promotion and protection of human rights

8 July 2020

Statement by Denmark on behalf of the Nordic & Baltic countries

Mme President,

I have the honour to deliver this intervention on behalf of the Nordic and Baltic countries Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, and my own country Denmark.

We thank the panelists for their presentations.

To seize the opportunities and address the challenges of new and emerging digital technologies, an inclusive multi-stakeholder approach is necessary. As developers and providers, tech companies are especially important partners in this process.

Existing problems of discrimination, surveillance and suppression are often worsened by digital technologies, and they must be met by a strong human-rights-based-approach to technologies by all parties, although states remain primary duty bearers. Furthermore, we must promote the digital resilience of all individuals, incl. women and girls and indigenous peoples, to mitigate these effects.  

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these human rights challenges. Internet shutdowns have breached individuals’ access to essential information; surveillance and tracing devices have posed a risk to the right to privacy; and mis- and disinformation, especially on social media, has put marginalized groups in serious risks of stigmatization and violence due to ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation and gender identity etc.  

Prof. Soh,

In your view, how has COVID-19 affected the challenges related to human rights and digital technologies?