Bridging Geneva and Europe: advancing human rights in the digital age

2 June 2025

In recent weeks, the Geneva Human Rights Platform (GHRP) has taken its work on strengthening the international human rights system to the heart of European policymaking. Guided by the recognition of the central role that EU institutions and the Council of Europe play in safeguarding fundamental rights and democratic values, particularly in times of heightened pressure, this engagement aimed at deepening the connectivity between the Geneva human rights community and European actors.

A shared focus on the responsible use of digital technologies to strengthen human rights protection has underpinned the connection between the GHRP’s recent work and ongoing efforts at the EU level. Within its Digital Human Rights Tracking Tools and Databases (DHRTTDs) initiative, and most notably through its AI Decoded paper and the Third Expert Roundtable, the GHRP has examined the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in human rights monitoring, emphasizing the need for their use to be grounded in human rights principles and informed by critical reflection. These efforts resonate with the European drive for fair and ethical AI governance, exemplified by the EU AI Act and the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention on AI.

Through three recent events in Brussels, Strasbourg, and Vienna, the GHRP has engaged with key European partners to explore these shared priorities, highlighting the need for coordinated, human rights-based approaches to digitalization and AI use.

From Geneva to Brussels: Advancing Human Rights in the Age of AI

At the UNESCO World Press Freedom Day 2025 Parallel Events in Brussels, the Geneva Human Rights Platform joined a high-level panel hosted by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. With interventions from UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan and the European Commission’s Krisztina Stump, the event addressed AI’s impact on disinformation and electoral integrity. Representing the GHRP, Dr Domenico Zipoli underscored the need for human rights-based AI governance, drawing on the AI Decoded report and the GHRP’s DHRTTDs initiative. The GHRP also met with the OHCHR Brussels office to strengthen links between Geneva-based human rights mechanisms and EU-level engagement on digital rights.

Strasbourg Dialogues: Innovation, Governance, and Digital Rights

In Strasbourg, the GHRP contributed to two expert workshops co-organized with the Council of Europe and EuroDIG 2025. At the first, during a working session within the EuroDIG 2025 programme, Dr Domenico Zipoli shared how DHRTTDs and public-sector tools can support ethical AI use in business. The second, under the Digital Partnership framework, explored digital compliance and SDG monitoring. The GHRP emphasized how digital human rights tracking tools and datbases, such as the OHCHR’s NRTD and the ECtHR Knowledge Sharing Platform, can inform responsible business practices and ESG strategies. These engagements helped bridge Geneva–Strasbourg cooperation on digital governance and AI.

Enhancing Civic Space Monitoring: Insights from Vienna

The GHRP joined two workshops at the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) in Vienna to explore civic space data and monitoring. At the FRA strategic workshop and the CIVILSPACE project event (led by LMU Munich, ELTE Budapest, and the University of Turin), GHRP Research Consultant Milica Mirkovic presented ways in which DHRTTDs and AI can enhance data usability, interoperability, and rights-based advocacy. The GHRP’s input supported ongoing EU efforts to strengthen civic space monitoring and fostered new synergies between Geneva’s tools and European human rights actors.

Conclusion

These recent engagements were driven by the aim of fostering greater connectivity between the GHRP’s work and efforts within the European context to promote fair and responsible AI governance for improved human rights implementation. By contributing to discussions on human rights-based AI use within key European institutional settings, this engagement also sought to strengthen the broader connection between Geneva-based human rights actors and their counterparts in Europe.

Looking ahead, the GHRP remains focused on building on this momentum and creating new opportunities to reinforce Geneva–Europe connectivity. A key step will be its upcoming workshop at the ITU 2025 AI for Good Global Summit in July in Geneva, which will bring together human rights and AI stakeholders, including key partners from EU institutions. The workshop, exploring how AI can enhance human rights monitoring while ensuring its use remains grounded in human rights principles and ethical considerations, represents a further step in supporting joint efforts to approach digitalization and emerging technologies in a way that contributes to the effective implementation of human rights.