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>
3 February 2025
At the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2025, the Geneva Human Rights Platform (GHRP) contributed to key discussions on AI, human rights, and sustainable digital governance. Invited to speak at the House of Pioneers, hosted by AEIR, Dr. Domenico Zipoli, Project Coordinator at the GHRP, presented insights on the intersection of digital human rights tracking tools, artificial intelligence (AI), and sustainable approaches to funding human rights monitoring at two panels: one on impact investment and another under the title Africa Ascends.
The theme of this year’s WEF, ‘Collaboration for the Intelligent Age,’ set the stage for discussions on how emerging technologies can enhance governance, accountability, and rights-based policymaking.
A key message from GHRP’s interventions was the redefinition of data as infrastructure—a crucial foundation for transparency, accountability, and evidence-based decision-making in human rights and sustainable development. Building on the findings of GHRP’s latest publication, The Human Rights Data Revolution, Dr. Zipoli underscored the importance of interoperable, AI-enhanced digital tools in tracking the implementation of human rights commitments globally.
‘Just as roads and bridges connect economies, data connects human rights policies to real-world impact,’ noted Dr. Zipoli. ‘If we want to strengthen compliance with international human rights frameworks and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we must treat data governance as a critical pillar of modern governance.’
At the Impact Investment panel, Dr. Zipoli explored how digital human rights tracking tools can benefit from long-term, sustainable funding models. While impact investment and private-sector engagement can help drive innovation, he stressed that human rights monitoring must remain independent, rights-based, and free from undue influence.
‘Impact investment can help expand digital monitoring solutions beyond traditional funding models, enhancing their resilience and adaptability to global challenges. However, sustaining digital human rights monitoring requires ensuring that these investments do not undermine the independence or ethical governance of these tools,’ Dr. Zipoli emphasized.
During the Africa Ascends discussion, Dr. Zipoli highlighted how African nations are leveraging digital technologies to strengthen human rights monitoring and governance. He highlighted data governance as key to sovereignty, accountability, and policymaking, citing the African Union’s Continental AI Strategy and locally developed tools like HURIDOCS’ Uwazi and locally implemented tools like OHCHR’s National Recommendations Tracking Database (NRTD), which support civil society, NHRIs, and governments in managing human rights data.
He stressed the need for data sovereignty to ensure African-led digital governance and pointed to HRMI’s Rights Tracker and the CCPR Centre’s AI-powered pilot project in the DRC, which strengthen localized, evidence-based monitoring. ‘By investing in homegrown AI solutions,a number of African best practices are joining Latin American and Pacific states as leaders in ethical technology governance,’ he stated, while cautioning against over-reliance on external AI and emphasizing human rights-centric approaches.
Beyond the House of Pioneers, the GHRP was represented as founding member of ITU’s AI Skills Coalition, which was officially launched at the AI House in Davos.
As momentum grows around ethical AI, digital monitoring, and sustainable funding, GHRP continues to push for transparency, accountability, and interoperability. Its newly launched publication, AI Decoded: Key Concepts and Applications of AI for Human Rights and SDG Monitoring, examines AI’s potential and challenges for human rights and SDG. GHRP will integrate these insights into ongoing collaborations with OHCHR, UNDP, ITU’s AI for Good initiative and HURIDOCS, ensuring AI-driven human rights tracking remains ethical, inclusive, and rights-based.
News
Geneva Academy
The Geneva Human Rights Platform has taken its work on strengthening the international human rights system to the heart of European policymaking.
News
ITU
Our event brought together human rights practitioners, data scientists, and AI experts to explore how artificial intelligence can support efforts to monitor human rights and the Sustainable Development 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.
Event
LATSIS Symposium
This interactive, two-part workshop will explore how modern data-science tools – including machine learning and AI – can be leveraged to support the United Nations in promoting and protecting human rights.
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
UNAMID
This project will develop guidance to inform security, human rights and environmental debates on the linkages between environmental rights and conflict, and how their better management can serve as a tool in conflict prevention, resilience and early warning.
Project
Adobe
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.
Publication
