We use various third-party cookies to provide social media features and to analyze our traffic. Please use the options below to manage your cookie settings. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Please be aware, if you deny cookies, certain features of our website may not work.
This will apply to all services
Google Analytics
YouTube
Geneva Academy>
20 November 2023
During a two-day workshop on the application and potential misuse of new and emerging digital technologies, including in law enforcement and the management of peaceful assemblies, academics, law enforcement professionals, human rights lawyers and representatives from international organizations and civil society focused on how best human rights can be protected.
The workshop – jointly organized with the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, the Queen Mary University of London and the University of Essex, with the support of the UN Office of Drugs and Crime and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – is part of our work on human rights and new technologies, and a broader consultative process led by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.
‘I’ve been mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to develop practical tools to help law enforcement officials protect and promote human rights during peaceful protests. This latest global workshop focused on identifying and gathering law enforcement practices on the use and misuse of technologies in the context of policing peaceful assemblies, and how to ensure their use complies with international human rights law and standards in such contexts’ explains the UN Special Rapporteur Clément Voule.
‘There is currently no clear global framework and a clear gap on national level for regulating the use of digital technologies in the context of peaceful assemblies. The tools I am developing are intended to address this regulatory shortcoming by providing clear guidelines for Law Enforcement to use these technologies for the facilitation of protests, rather than their suppression’ he adds.
‘When new and emerging digital technologies – especially those developed in the military space – spill over into law enforcement, serious human rights challenges emerge. Examples include the misuse of video and online surveillance and the collection and retention of personal data. This can have a chilling effect on public discourse and further marginalize groups like LGBTQI+, underlines our Head of Research and Policy Studies Dr Erica Harper.
‘For our purpose, the outcomes of this workshop will also be documented in a forthcoming paper that will address the implications of the latest advancements in surveillance monitoring technology, especially the transfer of military technologies to civilian policing’ she adds.
Geneva Academy
Geneva Academy
Workshop participants delved into issues related to the collection, processing and retention of personal data by law enforcement. Key concerns included the growing role of third parties in the handling of personal data and the need for clear distinction between covert and overt surveillance and for ensuring human rights safeguards. The blurred lines between 'online' and 'offline' events were also highlighted, with a call for effective legislative regulations and independent oversight bodies to ensure the transparent and accountable use of technology by law enforcement.
Geneva Academy
Geneva Academy
The workshop underscored the significance of considering the engagement of young persons in peaceful assemblies, emphasizing the use of social media platforms by children and youth to mobilize and report on social movements. As such, policing strategies concerning young participants should be sensitive to age-specific protection needs.
Geneva Academy
Geneva Academy
Discussions highlighted how emerging technologies, such as the livestreaming of events on social media platforms, can also empower participants in peaceful assemblies to document the conduct of law enforcement thereby contributing to advancing accountability for human rights violations by law enforcement, and noted the tendency of certain public authorities to attempt to stifle freedom of expression in this context. Participants recognized the importance of addressing these challenges to ensure that citizens can report on, and create a record of, the conduct of officials in public settings.
Geneva Academy
Geneva Academy
News
Geneva Academy
Participants from six countries across the Middle East and North Africa region joined our customized training on the Geneva-based United Nations human rights mechanisms
News
Geneva Academy
Mô Bleeker, UNSG Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, shares how her work as Senior Fellow at the Geneva Academy contributes to our shared goals.
Event
LATSIS Symposium
This Human Rights Conversation will explore how AI is being used by human rights institutions to enhance the efficiency, scope, and impact of monitoring and implementation frameworks.
Training
UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré
This training course will explore the origin and evolution of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and its functioning in Geneva and will focus on the nature of implementation of the UPR recommendations at the national level.
Project
Project
CCPR Centre
The Geneva Human Rights Platform collaborates with a series of actors to reflect on the implementation of international human rights norms at the local level and propose solutions to improve uptake of recommendations and decisions taken by Geneva-based human rights bodies at the local level.
Publication
Publication
Geneva Academy
