Event information

21 January 2022, 14:30-16:00

GHRP Friday: Digital Uplift

Event

Keyboard with online tab Keyboard with online tab

It is undisputed that procedures inside the Office of the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Treaty Body Branch and also between treaty body (TB) members need to adapt to today’s technologies. Mechanisms and rules put in place in the times of letters and faxes are not anymore up to the task to deliver efficiently in a quickly changing environment where the volume of work has sharply increased over the years.

But how to do so, what to do, by whom and on which budget? The terminology, with references to ‘digital shift’, ‘digital uplift’ or ‘digital transformation’ shows that the vast area of working methods' digitalization is seen differently in scope by various actors. Furthermore, quick sectorial solutions bring the risk of moving from existing siloes to digital ones, so even if some areas might serve as good examples, a major challenge will be the ‘uplift’ of the whole secretariat structure across the board.

This GHRP Friday will look at the technical options currently under discussion, their potential impact and the process required to get there – in terms of decision making, financing and practical implementation. Panelists will also address the value of a digital platform and knowledge management for both internal proceedings, but also for enhancing the transparency and interaction with all stakeholders.

To limit the scope of our discussions, this meeting will neither discuss the substantive impacts of digitalization on the enjoyment of human rights, nor the specific working methods of each committee. It will rather address the systemic approach of knowledge management and digitalized procedures, keeping in mind the claims put forward by TB members (e.g. CRPD paper) to look carefully into which TB activities can be moved online.

Opening

  • Felix Kirchmeier, Executive Director, Geneva Human Rights Platform

Panelists

  • Shara Duncan Villalobos, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the UN in Geneva
  • Dina Rossbacher, Chief, Petitions and Urgent Actions Section, OHCHR
  • Laura Dolci, Special Assistant to CTMD/Director, OHCHR
  • Olivier de Frouville, Member, CED and Member of the GHRP Advisory Board
  • Vincent Ploton, Director of Treaty Body Advocacy, International Service for Human Rights

About the GHRP Fridays

The GHRP Fridays provide an opportunity for all stakeholders to discuss the results of the United Nations (UN) Treaty Body (TB) 2020 Review and practical ways to implement change. They are open to all interested delegations, TB members, staff from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and civil society.

This event series of the Geneva Human Rights Platform – co-organized with the Permanent Missions of Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Morocco, Switzerland and Uruguay to the UN in Geneva – aims at discussing the outcomes of the 2020 UN Treaty Body Review.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

GHRP Diplomat Training News

Strengthening Diplomacy: GHRP Training Course Enhances Engagement with UN Human Rights

5 February 2025

The GHRP’s annual training equipped 19 diplomats with key insights into the UN Human Rights Council’s mechanisms and multilateral processes.

Read more

Human Rights Tiles News

From Signals to Action: Strengthening the UN's Conflict Prevention Efforts

31 March 2025

Our recent research brief series explores how the United Nations' human rights system can enhance its role in early warning and conflict prevention.

Read more

AI for Good Event Event

AI for human rights: Smarter, faster, fairer monitoring

8 July 2025, 14:00-16:00

The event, as part of the AI for Good Summit 2025 will explore how AI tools can support faster data analysis, help uncover patterns in large datasets, and expand the reach of human rights work.

Read more

Open dump Training

Protecting Human Rights and the Environment

15-19 September 2025

Participants in this training course will gain practical insights into UN human rights mechanisms and their role in environmental protection and learn about how to address the interplay between international human rights and environmental law, and explore environmental litigation paths.

Read more

Training

Human Rights and the Environment: Introducing Legal Regimes and Key Issues

1-8 September 2025

Participants in this training course will be introduced to the major international and regional instruments for the promotion of human rights, as well as international environmental law and its implementation and enforcement mechanisms.

Read more

Online folders Project

Digital Human Rights Tracking Tools and Databases

Started in March 2023

This initiative wishes to contribute to better and more coordinated implementation, reporting and follow-up of international human rights recommendations through a global study on digital human rights tracking tools and databases.

Read more

Session of the UN Human Rights Committee Project

Treaty Body Review 2020 and Beyond

Started in January 2018

The Geneva Human Rights Platform contributes to this review process by providing expert input via different avenues, by facilitating dialogue on the review among various stakeholders, as well as by accompanying the development of a follow-up resolution to 68/268 in New York and in Geneva.

Read more

Cover of the publication Publication

Briefing N° 25: Localizing Multilateralism

published on March 2025

Domenico Zipoli, Ludovica Chiussi Curzi, Kamelia Kemileva

Read more