Digital Transformation for all: An Information Society that respects and protects human rights


African Union, European Union and UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Session 263

Thursday, 10 July 2025 14:00–14:45 (UTC+02:00) Physical (on-site) and Virtual (remote) participation Room E, Palexpo Interactive Session

Human Rights Due Diligence as a tool to advance responsible technology use and governance

The international community is increasingly grappling with digital technologies and their impacts on people and planet. The Geneva Declaration of Principles declared the common desire and commitment to building a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society, grounded in respecting and fully upholding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights[1]. The WSIS+10 review recognized the role of human rights in the information society[2]. Human rights present a pathway that can be used to enable the responsible and inclusive development and deployment of digital technologies whilst also identifying and addressing risks. The UN General Assembly called upon governments, the private sector, and other stakeholders to use human rights due diligence (HRDD) as a concrete way forward to reduce risks while enabling the benefits of digital technologies[3] while the Global Digital Compact (GDC) has integrated human rights due diligence as a critical approach to preventing and addressing any adverse impact on human rights[4]. 

In line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), States have a duty to protect human rights, also applying to their own use of technology, and companies have a responsibility to respect human rights, including with regard to digital products and services. In this regard, human rights due diligence is introduced by the UNGPs as a process to identify, prevent and mitigate actual and potential adverse impacts on human rights, including regarding risks stemming from or being linked to digital products and services. In that regard good practices emerging from States and companies on carrying out human rights due diligence have informed policy making in various countries and inter-regional fora. In May 2024, the United Nations Executive Committee adopted Guidance for Human Rights Due Diligence for Digital Technology Use for the UN System. In the private sector, the UNGPs are driving the integration of human rights due diligence across the tech life cycle, advancing the implementation of the Global Digital Compact and the outcomes of the WSIS[5].

This interactive session will highlight the benefits of embedding human rights due diligence for the development and deployment of digital technologies, including addressing risks, and ways in which it can strengthen WSIS framework building on GDC and protect human rights.


 
[1] https://www.itu.int/net/wsis/docs/geneva/official/dop.html 
[2] A/RES/70/125
[3] A/RES/78/213
[4] https://www.un.org/global-digital-compact/sites/default/files/2024-09/Global%20Digital%20Compact%20-%20English_0.pdf
[5] https://www.ohchr.org/en/business-and-human-rights/b-tech-project 

Panellists
Ms. Peggy Hicks
Ms. Peggy Hicks Director, Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division OHCHR Moderator

Since January 2016, Peggy Hicks has served as director of the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division of the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR). She provides strategic direction to the UN Human Rights Office’s work on a broad range of pressing human rights issues, including human rights in the digital age.

From 2005 to 2015, she was global advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, where she was responsible for managing Human Rights Watch’s advocacy team and providing direction to its advocacy worldwide. Ms. Hicks previously served as the director of the Office of Returns and Communities in the UN mission in Kosovo and as Deputy High Representative for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

She has also worked as the Director of Programs for the International Human Rights Law Group, and as clinical professor of human rights and refugee law at the University of Minnesota Law School. Ms. Hicks is a graduate of Columbia Law School and the University of Michigan.


Mr. Thibaut Kleiner
Mr. Thibaut Kleiner Director for Future Networks DG CNECT, European Commission

Thibaut Kleiner is the Director for Future Networks in DG Connect. He has worked since 2001 at the European Commission. The first ten years of his career in the Commission were spent in the area of competition policy (merger, antitrust and State aid). In September 2011, he moved to the digital policy area, as advisor of Vice-President Neelie Kroes, in charge of the Digital Agenda, and supervised Internet policies at large (Internet Governance, cybersecurity, cloud, data). 

From January 2014 to June 2016, he was head of unit in charge of network technologies (5G and Internet of Things) in DG Connect. From June 2016 to December 2019 he was the deputy head of cabinet of Commissioner Oettinger, in charge of Budget and Human Resources and he then came back to DG Connect to head the unit in charge of Research Strategy and Coordination and was subsequently Director for Policy, Strategy and Outreach from December 2020 until March 2025.

An economist by training Thibaut holds a Master from HEC Paris and a PhD from the London School of Economics.

 


H.E. Ms. Lavina Ramkissoon
H.E. Ms. Lavina Ramkissoon Ambassador African Union Remote Panellist

Ambassador | aiMOM | Influential Figure | Full Stack Human | Dedicated Visionary |

Amb. Lavina Ramkissoon is a visionary figure in the advancement of responsible AI, dedicated to harnessing technology for good and unlocking Africa's potential. Recognised as a Top 10 Leader advancing AI globally.

A true "full-stack human," Amb. Lavina combines her expertise in psychology, technology, and economics to bring a unique and insightful perspective to AI development. Her dedication and achievements are evident in her numerous accolades. A true futurist who's vision is to accelerate the world’s augmentation of data by creating a more intelligent tomorrow through the footprints of collective humane knowledge. She's not just a leader; she's an inspiration, earning the title "#aiMOM" for fostering responsible development for a better tomorrow.


Ms. Fiona Cura-Pietre
Ms. Fiona Cura-Pietre Head of Human Rights Nokia Remote Panellist

Fiona is Head of Human Rights for Nokia. She leads the oversight, development and implementation of Nokia's Human Rights work. She is responsible for driving cross company-wide policies that best respect human rights globally, along with driving the responsible use of technology. Fiona has been working with Human Rights issues for a number of years and is the board member for Nokia in the Global Network Initiative.


Mr. 'Gbenga Sesan
Mr. 'Gbenga Sesan Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative Member of the IGF Leadership Panel Remote Panellist

‘Gbenga Sesan is the Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative, a pan-African social enterprise working on digital inclusion and digital rights through its offices in Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. He is a member of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Internet Governance Forum (IGF) High-Level Leadership Panel and a highly sought-after conference speaker, presenting at over 30 national, regional, and international conferences annually.

Before starting Paradigm Initiative, ‘Gbenga led the Lagos Digital Village, a joint project of Junior Achievement of Nigeria, Microsoft, and the Lagos State Government. Originally trained as an Electronic and Electrical Engineer at Obafemi Awolowo University, he completed Executive Education programs at Lagos Business School, New York Group for Technology Transfer, Oxford University, Harvard University, Stanford University, Santa Clara University, University of the Pacific, INSEAD, and King’s College London. ‘Gbenga’s consulting experience includes assignments completed for numerous institutions in the private and public sectors as well as United Nations agencies, in over 30 countries.

A Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year and former member of the United Nations Committee of eLeaders on Youth and ICT, he is a CyberStewards Fellow, Crans Montana Forum Fellow, Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow, Ashoka Fellow, Our Common Future Fellow and Cordes Fellow.

‘Gbenga served as a member of the Presidential committees on Harmonization of Information Technology, Telecommunications, and Broadcasting Sectors (2006) and Roadmap for the Achievement of Accelerated Universal Broadband Infrastructure and Services Provision (2013), and was listed by CNN as one of the Top 10 African Tech Voices on Twitter and by Ventures Africa as one of 40 African Legends Under 40. ‘Gbenga is married to Temilade Sesan, PhD, an Energy Poverty and Development expert.

‘Gbenga was a Non-Resident Fellow at the Digital Civil Society Lab at Stanford University from 2020 to 2021, advised the World Health Organisation on Data Privacy during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and advised the World Economic Forum on its Operationalising Trust Project, to develop rights-respecting Data Policy for businesses.


H.E. Ms. Suela Janina
H.E. Ms. Suela Janina Permanent Representative of Albania to the UN in New York Albania

Ambassador Suela Janina is a career diplomat of the Republic of Albania. Currently, she is the Permanent Representative of Albania to the United Nations in New York. Before assuming this position, from October 2014 to March 2024, Ambassador Janina has represented Albania as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the European Union, Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium and to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.  

Ambassador Janina joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania in August 1999, where she had previously several diplomatic appointments including the position of the Director of International Law and the General Director for Multilateral Relations.

Suela Janina graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Tirana in 1994 and received a Master degree in Democracy and Human Rights in 2001, a diploma accorded jointly by University of Sarajevo (Bosnia and Hercegovina) and University of Bologna (Italy).  She holds from June 2013, the PhD in international law by the University of Tirana.

Ambassador Janina has a wide experience with international organizations. She has been appointed by the Republic of Albania as an Alternate Arbitrator at the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration and as a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

In May 2011, Suela Janina has been elected as one of the first ten members and the only female member of the newly created United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearance. Ms. Janina has been elected for three mandates as Vice Chair of the CED. From 2017 to 2019 she has been the Chair of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances. 

Ambassador Janina represents Albania to the Executive Board of UN Women, as the Vice President of the EEG group for the year 2025. 


H.E. Mr. Ekitela Lokaale
H.E. Mr. Ekitela Lokaale Permanent Representative of Kenya to the UN in New York Kenya

Ambassador Ekitela Lokaale is a diplomat, human rights lawyer, development practitioner and politician with more than two decades’ experience in diverse fields of practice.

Since August 2024, he has been serving as Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. In addition to spearheading Kenya’s diplomatic engagements at the UN, he has served on the Executive Boards of UNICEF, UNDP and UNFPA and as Vice-Chair of the United Nations Peace Building Commission. He is currently co-facilitator of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) +20 Outcome Review and a Member of the Executive Board of the International Association of Permanent Representatives (IAPR).

Prior to taking up his post at the UN in New York, Ambassador Lokaale headed the Presidential Secretariat of the High-Level Mediation for South Sudan (“Tumaini Initiative”) domiciled at the State Department for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kenya.

He served as a Climate Change Advisor in the State Department for Foreign Affairs and played an important role during the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) meetings, the Africa Climate Summit (ACS) in Nairobi and at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 28th Conference of Parties (COP 28).

For five years, he served as the Speaker and Head of the Legislative Assembly of Turkana County in Kenya and spearheaded legislative and policy development on climate change, access to water and sanitation, community health, among others.
He has vast experience in human rights, international development, peace-building and conflict prevention in Kenya, Africa and globally having worked with the Kenya Human Rights Commission, Oxfam Novib in Somalia and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Ambassador Lokaale also served in special assignments for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UNDP Zambia and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) in India.
He holds Master of Laws (LL.M) in International Development and Human Rights from the University of Warwick (UK), Diploma in Legal Studies from the Kenya School of Law and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from the University of Nairobi (Kenya). He is Married with children.


Topics
Artificial Intelligence Capacity Building Digital Inclusion Global Digital Compact (GDC) Human Rights WSIS+20 Review
WSIS Action Lines
  • AL C4 logo C4. Capacity building
  • AL C5 logo C5. Building confidence and security in use of ICTs
  • AL C6 logo C6. Enabling environment
  • AL C10 logo C10. Ethical dimensions of the Information Society
  • AL C11 logo C11. International and regional cooperation

Human rights are cross-cutting across all WSIS Action Lines, however this event would contribute particularly to WSIS Action Lines 4, 5, 6, 10 and 11.

AL4: This event would feature experiences of conducting human rights due diligence (HRDD) across different sectors, therefore supporting capacity building on using HRDD as tool in terms of the life cycle of technologies.

AL 5: Human rights due diligence helps to identify risks and develops actions to address such risks, therefore supporting the building of confidence and security in the use of ICTs.

AL 6: Human rights due diligence would provide an enabling environment by analysing risks and potential negative impacts and addressing those.

AL 10: Human rights due diligence would facilitate an analysis of human rights impacts, contributing towards the ethical dimensions of the information society.

AL11: This event brings together experiences across different regions and looks at how the UN system, especially OHCHR can further support HRDD going forward as part of international and regional cooperation.

Sustainable Development Goals
  • Goal 5 logo Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
  • Goal 9 logo Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
  • Goal 10 logo Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
  • Goal 16 logo Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies

Human rights are cross-cutting across all SDGs, however this event would contribute particularly to SDG 5, 9, 10 and 16.

SDG5: Human rights due diligence includes a gender dimension as part of human rights impact assessments.

SDG 9: Conducting HRDD enhances the likelihood that innovations will benefit people and limit harms therefore contributing to fostering innovation.

SDG 10: HRDD helps identify inequalities, bias or discrimination that may result from technologies and mitigate those inequalities.

SDG 16: HRDD can contribute to accountable and inclusive institutions by understanding impacts technologies and promoting transparency.

GDC Objectives
  • Objective 3: Foster an inclusive, open, safe and secure digital space that respects, protects and promotes human rights
Links

Human Rights Due Diligence for Digital Technology Use - Guidance of the Secretary-General | OHCHR

https://x.com/_AfricanUnion

https://x.com/EUatUN

https://x.com/EU_UNGeneva

https://x.com/UNHumanRights