Statement by India at the 24th Session of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee (17-21 February 2020) under Item 3(i) on ‘New and Emerging Digital Technologies’ delivered by Mr. Animesh Choudhury, First Secretary on 18th February 2020 in Geneva.
Thank You Chair,
At the outset, India thanks the drafting group established by the Advisory Committee for its ongoing work on the preparation of the report on the subject of new and emerging digital technologies and human rights, as mandated by the Human Rights Council.
Mr. Chair,
2. We believe that although technology itself is neutral, its design, deployment and access to its benefits are not. The rapid and emerging technologies bring in issues such as widening the existing digital divide, issues of privacy, cyber security and most importantly raise several ethical questions. There also exists considerable information gap amongst various stakeholders on the importance, understanding and implications of new and emerging technologies which further complicates the issue.
Mr. Chair,
3. Effective Digital Cooperation is the key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. New and emerging technologies need to be well harnessed, pragmatically designed and developed, factoring in the concerns of ethics and privacy. This has been well expressed in the report of the United Nations Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation. We also take note with appreciation of the initiative of the United Nations Human Rights Office in launching the Business and Human Rights in Technology Project also known as the B-Tech Project.
Mr. Chair,
4. Technology at the end of the day is developed to serve the larger human society in a better and efficient manner. Hence its development, design and deployment cannot be treated in isolation from its ultimate objective. We believe that there is a need for greater international cooperation and better governance to address such issues. Addressing ethical questions, questions on privacy, scaling down costs, bridging the information gap and improving access and bringing in implementation modalities are of prime importance.
Thank You.
