Panel Discussion on Data and AI Governance at the United Nations, CSTD28 Side Event – Geneva, April 2025
On April 9, 2025, I had the honour of moderating the second panel of the OHCHR side event at the 28th session of the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD), held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The session, titled “Data and AI Governance in Human Rights-Sensitive Contexts”, was part of a broader event exploring frameworks and use cases for responsible AI deployment.
The discussion brought together leading voices from the UN and civil society who are navigating the challenges and opportunities of governing data and AI systems where human rights are directly at stake. It followed an insightful first panel on real-world AI deployments, moderated by Irene Kaggwa of the ITU/UNICEF Giga Project.
As moderator, I opened with reflections on the evolving role of the ITU in the digital human rights space. This conversation began in earnest during the 2023 World Standards Conference, where, for the first time, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights addressed an ITU event. That moment marked a shift: recognition that digital standards and protocols are not just technical—they are deeply political.
Since then, we’ve seen growing engagement across the WSIS Forum, the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), and most recently at WTSA-24 in New Delhi, where Resolution 105 on metaverse standardization became the first WTSA resolution to explicitly affirm the need for technical standards to respect human rights—privacy, accessibility, inclusion and beyond.
These foundations set the stage for our panel, which addressed governance strategies in contexts where the consequences of AI misuse—bias, surveillance, exclusion—are not hypothetical but real and pressing.
We heard from:
- Tim Engelhardt (OHCHR), who provided a frank assessment of the gaps in current governance frameworks and emphasized the need for cross-institutional collaboration to ensure accountability and effective remedies.
- Lance Bartholomeusz (UNHCR), who shared valuable insights from the UNHCR’s experience with the Digital Gateway project and data-sharing agreements with host governments. His emphasis on clarity, trust-building, and keeping humans at the centre of digital design was particularly resonant.
- Dr. Domenico Zipoli (Geneva Academy), who introduced the concept of Digital Human Rights Tracking Tools and Databases (DHRTTDs) and discussed the role of AI in scaling these systems responsibly. His ABC framework—Alerts, Benchmarking, Coordination—offered a compelling vision for the future of digital monitoring tools grounded in human rights.
- Maria Paz Canales (Global Partners Digital), who made a powerful case for inclusive and participatory governance of AI. She reminded us that frameworks must not only reflect the values of international human rights law but also be built with the communities most affected.
The interventions were sharp, timely, and ultimately optimistic. Despite the real risks AI poses—particularly for marginalized populations—the conversation underscored that we are not powerless. Rights-based governance is not only possible; it is already being tested and refined in real-world deployments.
For the ITU, the takeaway is clear: governance isn’t just about what we build, but how we build it—and with whom. Standards, tools, and policies must be co-developed across disciplines and sectors, with embedding human rights.
The full room and active Q&A showed how urgent and alive this conversation is. I left the panel encouraged by the energy and the clarity of our speakers and even more convinced that we need to keep bridging the gap between technical communities and rights-based institutions.
You can view the session summary and concept note here.