On 24 September, the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, the Office of the UN High Commission for Human Rights’ Innovation and Analytics Hub and the Permanent Mission of Luxembourg to the UN co-hosted a UN General Assembly Side-Event on atrocity prevention and human rights-based approaches to AI. The Permanent Missions of Estonia, the Republic of Korea, Spain and Switzerland also co-sponsored the event.

As AI and other digital technologies rapidly evolve, they can create new risks to human rights while also offering opportunities to help identify and mitigate atrocity risks. Bringing together government and UN representatives, the discussion explored how policymakers can ensure that human rights and atrocity prevention are considered in the development and governance of these technologies. The discussion focused on the kinds of violations populations may face as a result of expanding technological use in warfare and in broader civic, political and social contexts. Speakers also considered what governments, multilateral institutionsand civil society need to do to prepare for these risks, including developing stronger safeguards, oversight mechanisms, human rights-based standards, and developing digital products and rapid-response tools.

Opening remarks were delivered by Ambassador Véronique Dockendorf, Permanent Representative of Luxembourg to the UN, and Savita Pawnday, Executive Director of the Global Centre, who also moderated the discussion. Ambassador Frank Grütter, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN, and Käthlin Saluveer, Director General for the Department of International Organizations and Human Rights of Estonia, also delivered remarks ahead of the panel discussion.

Panelists:

• • • Max Lamesch, Director for Humanitarian Affairs, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade of Luxembourg
    • Anwar Mahfoudh, Chief, Innovation & Analytics Hub, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
    • Jaclyn Streitfeld-Hall, Deputy Executive Director of the Global Centre for R2P
    • Mario Buil-Merce, Senior Political Affairs Officer and Chief of Staff, UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect