Case example – project design phase

As an example, if you are currently designing a project about digital public participation in political processes in a region or a country you are most likely already considering data protection and privacy risks. Since the project would very clearly involve individual persons, it will be important to already at this early stage consider what the broader human rights risks might be with the project so that any preventive measures can be taken.

Case example – project implementation phase

If you, instead, would be implementing the project about digital public participation in political processes in a region or a country, you have most likely already considered data protection and privacy risks during the design phase. Since the project risks impacting individual persons (rights holders) as they use and engage with the various digital platforms, dashboards and other digital solutions, it will be important to take apply a broader human rights lens to the project in order to take preventive measures to address potential future impacts, or to mitigate any impacts that may have already occurred.

Case example – ‘Planned use of digital tool’ or ‘Currently using a digital tool’

Though a renewable energy project as such might not be considered a digital project, it may well be that digital solutions are planned to be used within that project, for specific purposes. For example, there might be a requirement that the project developer use a digital communication or social media platform to engage with local stakeholders. In this case, the correct option would be to select either ‘Planned use of tool’ or ‘Currently using a digital tool’, and to use this Digital Rights Check to assess what the human rights risks involved in using that tool might be.

• Data Helpdesk
• Data Privacy Portal
• Data Privacy Management
• Decision tree: Responsibilities within GIZ Data Privacy Process
• Data protection guidelines 2023
• Guidelines on sharing data with partners and donors in the context of donor coordination

• Toolkit Digitalisierung, “Digital Responsibility“
• Internet Society, “Policy Brief: Principles for Responsible Data Handling“

• EU General Data Protection Regulation, “Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA)“
• Rappler, “Data Privacy 101: What is a Privacy Impact Assessment?“, Oct 30, 2018
• Art. 17 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• Art. 16 Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Art. 11 American Convention on Human Rights
• Art. 8 African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection
• Art. 8 European Convention on Human Rights

For those further interested:

• Danish Institute for Human Rights, “Guidance on human rights impact assessment of digital activities: Introduction“, p. 38-41

• EU Commission, “What personal data is considered sensitive?“
• Art. 17 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• Art. 16 Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Art. 11 American Convention on Human Rights
• Art. 8 African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection
• Art. 8 European Convention on Human Rights

If an e-learning is gated, meaning that it requires users to register and log on in order to go through the training, there is a possibility to connect the data inputted throughout the e-learning to an individual. If, for some reason, the inputted data from the users include information about race, ethnic origin or similar, it will then be considered sensitive data and further precautions must be taken. A first option would be to simply assess whether any of that data is necessary to collect, and perhaps change the structure of the platform to ensure no such data is ever collected. If sensitive data is somehow necessary to collect, there must be other safeguards in place to ensure that the users and their data are protected.

• EU Commission, “What constitutes data processing?“
• For more on what informed consent is, see UK Information Commissioner’s Office, “What is valid consent?“
• Principles for Digital Development, Establish people-first data practices
• Right to privacy:
  • Art. 17 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • Art. 16 Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Art. 11 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 8 African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection
  • Art. 8 European Convention on Human Rights
• Right to Freedom of Information:
  • Art. 19 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  • Art. 19(2) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • Art. 13(1) American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 10(1) European Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 9(1) African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
• Right to Participation:
  • Art. 25, 27 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • Art. 7, 8, 14(2)(a) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
  • Art. 12 Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Art. 4(3), 33(3) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention 169
  • Art. 23 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 13 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

As many organizations have begun using digital collaboration tools to a larger extent during the Covid-19 pandemic, the automatic data processing is increasing as well. An organization that increasingly uses e-learning platforms must be aware of the data collected when users are using the platform and must make sure that it has properly informed the users of the type of information that will be processed, as well as get the informed consent from those individuals.

• For more on what informed consent is, see UK Information Commissioner’s Office, “What is valid consent?“

Principles for Digital Development, Establish people-first data practices

Further resources:

• Art. 12 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Art. 17 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• Art. 16 Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Art. 11 American Convention on Human Rights
• Art. 8 African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection
• Art. 8 European Convention on Human Rights

Consider the following examples:

1. A ‘smart’ public employment service automatically sends job-seekers a general questionnaire, which includes specific questions about health conditions that are only relevant to particular manual occupations. It would be irrelevant and excessive to obtain such information from an individual who applied for an office job. Data must thus be minimized from the outset or subsequently deleted when found it is not relevant.
2. An online classroom is set up for remote education during Covid-19 school closure. Parents are sent a general questionnaire, which includes questions about health conditions in order to assess accessibility questions. However, only certain disabilities are relevant and to obtain further health information would be excessive. Data collection, use and storage must thus be minimized.

• While it is common that data anonymization is used to lower the risks to the right to privacy, it is also important to emphasize the need for data minimization. This is partly because (pseudo-)anonymized personal data can be re-identified by combining that data with other data, see e.g. Imperial College London. “Anonymizing personal data ‘not enough to protect privacy,’ shows new study.“
• See also, Privacy International, “Artificial intelligence“
• Art. 12 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Art. 17 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• Art. 16 Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Art. 11 American Convention on Human Rights
• Art. 8 African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection
• Art. 8 European Convention on Human Rights

According to Privacy International IA applications can be used to identify and thereby track individuals across different devices, in all activities of their lives –  their homes, at work, and in public spaces. “For example, while personal data is routinely (pseudo-)anonymised within datasets, AI can be employed to de-anonymise this data. Facial recognition is another means by which individuals can be tracked and identified, which has the potential to transform expectations of anonymity in public space.” Read more about Privacy International, “Artificial intelligence“- Privacy International, “Artificial intelligence“.

• APCNews, “Why cybersecurity is a human rights issue, and it is time to start treating it like one“, 28 Nov 2019.

• World Economic Forum, “Research shows AI is often biased. Here’s how to make algorithms work for all of us“, 19 Jul 2021
• MIT Technology Review, “This is how AI bias really happens—and why it’s so hard to fix“, 4 Feb 2019
• For more on how to spot unconscious bias see: MIT’s AI Blindspot Project.
• Right to freedom from discrimination:
  • Art. 2 Universal Declaration of Human Rights 
  • Art. 26 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
  • Art. 2 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 
  • Art. 2 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
  • Art. 2 Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Art. 2 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
  • Art. 5, 6 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • Art. 1, 24 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 2 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
  • Art. 14 European Convention on Human Rights
• Right to equality:
  • Art 1 Universal Declaration of Human Rights 
  • Art. 26 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
  • Art. 5 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
  • Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
  • Art. 5 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • Art. 24 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 19 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
  • Protocol 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, European Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 5, 6 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

1. FAIR Forward – Artificial Intelligence for All initiative

• Natural language processing AI can be used to generate and share information in a targeted and individual way. The same type of system can also be used to reach people who cannot read. In order to train such systems there is a need to have a large amount of training data. For a variety of reasons such necessary language data has been very limited from African and Asian nations. The ‘FAIR Forward – Artificial Intelligence for All’ initiative was developed in order to close this gap concerning language data and provide fair and open access to it. On the back of this work, and the increasing availability of national language data and outcome of the Fair Forward initiative has been the development of a chatbot in Rwanda, that will help millions of people there receive coronavirus advice in their local language.
• Source: GIZ, “Artificial Intelligence For All“

2. Use of AI in corona response activities

• “Data analytics supported by AI is having a predominant role in monitoring of the infections, deaths and recovery rates all over the world. Institutions have managed to draw the trends that Covid-19 has in different countries and conditions. Data collection, monitoring and analysis technologies are also needed in developing countries in order to track the virus progress and adapting the response and mitigating measures.
• Artificial Intelligence is being used to detect coronavirus through computerized tomography scans analysis. Imaging departments in healthcare facilities are being overwhelmed with the increased workload created by the virus. This solution improves CT diagnosis speed. Some big tech companies claim to have built AI powered analysis systems able to read scans in seconds giving a 96% accurate diagnosing of the virus. In African countries, lacking of specialised doctors and labs, these technology can be disruptive.
• Intelligent tracing and mobile technologies are being used by governments all over the world to track people movements and prevent further expansion of the virus. The EU needs to support African governments in using the large amount of mobile data available considering the privacy-conscientious use of mobile phone data. Technology solutions are available allowing tracing people movement taking into account the risks of misuse of personal data.”
• Source: Toolkit Digitalisierung, “Practice: Big Data and AI“

• For more on how to spot unconscious bias see: MIT’s AI Blindspot Project.
• Right to freedom from discrimination:
  • Art. 2 Universal Declaration of Human Rights 
  • Art. 26 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
  • Art. 2 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 
  • Art. 2 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
  • Art. 2 Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Art. 2 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
  • Art. 5, 6 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • Art. 1, 24 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 2 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
  • Art. 14 European Convention on Human Rights
• Right to equality:
  • Art 1 Universal Declaration of Human Rights 
  • Art. 26 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
  • Art. 5 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
  • Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
  • Art. 5 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • Art. 24 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 19 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
  • Protocol 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, European Convention on Human Rights

As an example, an AI model aimed at analyzing facial expressions of individuals and detect the emotional state of the individual might have perfectly unbiased data to learn from and is therefore not discriminatory in its development and design. However, since the science behind emotional recognition technology is questionable, there is a risk that any outputs of this AI model are discriminatory. This is particularly true when the context is not taken into account and may therefore have discriminatory impacts on for example individuals from ethnic minority groups or persons with disabilities.

Source: Vox Recode, “Artificial intelligence will help determine if you get your next job“, 12 Dec 2019

• Right to equality and freedom from discrimination:
  • Art. 1, 2 Universal Declaration of Human Rights 
  • Art. 26 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
  • Art. 2 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 
  • Art. 2, 5 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
  • Art. 2 Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Art. 5, 6 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • Art. 1, 24 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 2, 19 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
  • Art. 14 European Convention on Human Rights
• Women’s rights:
  • Art. 3 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • Art. 3 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 
  • Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
  • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa
• On gender digital divide:
  • BMZ, “Women’s Pathways to the Digital Sector: Stories of Opportunities and Challenges“, 2017
• On gender bias in AI:
  • Surya Deva, “Addressing the gender bias in artificial intelligence and automation“, OpenGlobalRights, 10 April 2020
  • Jeffrey Dastin, “Amazon scraps secret AI recruiting tool that showed bias against women“, Reuters, 11 Oct 2108

Many virtual personal assistants (such as Siri, Alexa and Cortana) and chatbots have female names and come with a default female voice. The organization that develops or uses these virtual assistants with ‘female features’ may reinforce stereotypes as well as the social reality in which a majority of personal assistants or secretaries in both public and private sectors are women. It will therefore always be important to assess any unexpected negative impacts related to gender.

For more, see Surya Deva, “Addressing the gender bias in artificial intelligence and automation“, OpenGlobalRights, 10 April 2020

• Obermeyer et al., “Dissecting racial bias in an algorithm used to manage the health of populations“, Science 366, 447–453 (2019)
• Right to freedom from discrimination:
  • Art. 2 Universal Declaration of Human Rights 
  • Art. 26 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
  • Art. 2 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 
  • Art. 2 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
  • Art. 2 Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Art. 2 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
  • Art. 5, 6 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • Art. 1, 24 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 2 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
  • Art. 14 European Convention on Human Rights
• Right to equality:
  • Art 1 Universal Declaration of Human Rights 
  • Art. 26 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
  • Art. 5 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
  • Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
  • Art. 5 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • Art. 24 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 19 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
  • Protocol 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, European Convention on Human Rights

Some health systems rely on AI risk-prediction tools in order to identify and select patients who are in need of high-risk care. If selected to these programs, the patients will be provided additional resources, as well as receive greater attention from trained providers, to help ensure that care is well coordinated. Many health systems have the AI tools as key aspects of their population health management efforts since they are considered effective at improving outcomes and satisfaction while reducing costs, which is often a pursued goal in improving healthcare in emerging economies. These high-risk care programs are very expensive to run and therefore health systems often rely on AI tools to identify patients who will benefit the most from the programs.

In attempting to identify which patients will get the most benefit for entering such programs, the AI tools must make some inference based on the data that is available. One way of identifying the greatest care need is to look at how much the patients have historically paid for their care. That, however, can turn out to be discriminatory against vulnerable populations who have had a lower ability to allocate significant resources to their care, even though the need might have existed.

In this scenario, the problem should have been identified pre-deployment already. However, if that was not the case, post-deployment analysis could illustrate the racial disparities in enrollment in the program and identified the reason for it.

For more, see: Obermeyer et al., “Dissecting racial bias in an algorithm used to manage the health of populations“, Science 366, 447–453 (2019).

• Art. 12 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Art. 17 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• Art. 16 Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Art. 11 American Convention on Human Rights
• Art. 8 African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection
• Art. 8 European Convention on Human Rights

Resources with information on data protection:

• UN Conference on Trade and Development, “Data protection and privacy legislation worldwide“
• Data Protection Africa by ALT Advisory
• DLA Piper, “Data Protection Laws of the World“
• European Commission, “Adequacy decisions”

All digital projects and solutions depend on the possibility to collect, store, treat, alter and share data, and many may also increase the possibilities to do just that. If an innovative project on the use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices for public good is implemented in a country without data protection, little can be expected in terms of access to remedy if data is not handled properly. Therefore, it is important to understand the regulatory context that the digital project or solution be implemented or applied in, in order to identify possible risks. If data protection regulation is in place and enforcement is efficient, that lowers the risk of data related activities.

In case a project aimed at, for example, developing language databases for written languages in the same country or region has been implemented in the country in the past, and you are planning a similar project in the country or region, it could be very useful to engage with the project owners of the previous project. This could help you learn what issues they came across, how they avoided identified pitfalls and how human rights risks were handled more broadly.

• See an example of assessment of potential future impacts in Business for Social Responsibility’s Google Facial Recognition assessment and concept of “Human Rights by Design”

If a project includes the development of an e-registration system for migrant workers it is likely that those using the system will be consulted on their experiences and any potential negative human rights impacts can swiftly be addressed. However, there is also a risk that it is the migrant workers who chose to not use the system that will be negatively impacted and an unintended consequence of the project might be that they cannot find employment.

• ITU, Measuring digital development: Facts and Figures 2022
• See section B.3 in DIHR’s HRIA Guidance and Toolbox
• Principles for Digital Development, Design for Inclusion
• Art. 2 Universal Declaration of Human Rights 
• Art. 26 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
• Art. 2 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 
• Art. 2 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
• Art. 2 Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Art. 2 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
• Art. 5, 6 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• Art. 1, 24 American Convention on Human Rights
• Art. 2 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
• Art. 14 European Convention on Human Rights

• UNICEF, “Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability and Quality framework: A tool to identify potential barriers to accessing services in humanitarian settings“
• Council of Europe, “The Internet, a public service accessible by everyone“
• Principles for Digital Development, Design with People

For more on questions of accessibility, see:

• UNICEF, “Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability and Quality framework: A tool to identify potential barriers to accessing services in humanitarian settings“
• Council of Europe, “The Internet, a public service accessible by everyone“
• Principles for Digital Development, Design for Inclusion
• Right to freedom from discrimination:
  • Art. 2 Universal Declaration of Human Rights 
  • Art. 26 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
  • Art. 2 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 
  • Art. 2 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
  • Art. 2 Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Art. 2 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
  • Art. 5, 6 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • Art. 1, 24 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 2 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
  • Art. 14 European Convention on Human Rights
• Right to equality:
  • Art 1 Universal Declaration of Human Rights 
  • Art. 26 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
  • Art. 5 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
  • Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
  • Art. 5 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • Art. 24 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 19 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
  • Protocol 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, European Convention on Human Rights

• Principles for Digital Development, Design with people

• IDEO, Design Kit
• US General Services Department, Human centered design

• Right to Participation:
  • Art. 25, 27 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • Art. 7, 8, 14(2)(a) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
  • Art. 12 Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Art. 4(3), 33(3) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention 169
  • Art. 23 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 13 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

An illustration of a gender-sensitive enrollment process is evident in India’s Aadhaar program, a nationwide biometric ID system. The enrollment centers diligently follow guidelines to foster favorable conditions for women, such as deploying female operators and volunteers to assist female enrollees. Special provisions, including a separate space for women who prefer to keep their faces covered in the presence of men due to social norms and enrollment stations tailored for physically challenged women, contribute to the inclusivity of the process.

Simultaneously, the program has showcased a commitment to designing for marginalized users. While initial studies lacked systematic sampling of persons with disabilities, recommendations emphasized integrating usability and ergonomics into iris sensor specifications. The current UIDAI specifications prioritize ease of use, incorporating features like physical, video, and audio aids, along with feedback mechanisms. To ensure inclusivity in both aspects, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) collaborated with a visually impaired consultant advocating for universal access. Practical measures, such as piloting enrollment camps for around 870 persons with disabilities, exposed technical and procedural challenges. UIDAI responded by organizing disability sensitization workshops and incorporating pertinent questions, demonstrating their dedication to an identity project that is both inclusive and accessible.

• See Stakeholder Engagement section of DIHR, “Human rights impact assessment guidance and toolbox“
• Principles for Digital Development, Create open and transparent practices
• Shift, “Doing business with respect for human rights“
• Global Compact Network Germany and twentyfifty, “Stakeholder Engagement in Human Rights Due Diligence: a Business Guide“
• Right to an effective remedy
  • Art. 8 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  • Art. 2 (3) (a) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • Art. 25 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 7.1 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
  • Art. 13 European Convention on Human Rights
• Right to Participation:
  • Art. 25, 27 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • Art. 7, 8, 14(2)(a) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
  • Art. 12 Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Art. 4(3), 33(3) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention 169
  • Art. 23 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 13 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Principles for Digital Development, Create open and transparent practices

• Right to an effective remedy
  • Art. 8 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  • Art. 2 (3) (a) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • Art. 25 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 7.1 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
  • Art. 13 European Convention on Human Rights
• Right to Participation:
  • Art. 25, 27 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • Art. 7, 8, 14(2)(a) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
  • Art. 12 Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Art. 4(3), 33(3) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention 169
  • Art. 23 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 13 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Principles for Digital Development, Create open and transparent practices

• Right to an effective remedy
  • Art. 8 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  • Art. 2 (3) (a) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • Art. 25 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 7.1 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
  • Art. 13 European Convention on Human Rights
• Right to Participation:
  • Art. 25, 27 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • Art. 7, 8, 14(2)(a) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
  • Art. 12 Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Art. 4(3), 33(3) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention 169
  • Art. 23 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 13 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Principles for Digital Development, Create open and transparent practices

• Right to an effective remedy
  • Art. 8 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  • Art. 2 (3) (a) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • Art. 25 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 7.1 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
  • Art. 13 European Convention on Human Rights
• Right to Participation:
  • Art. 25, 27 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • Art. 7, 8, 14(2)(a) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
  • Art. 12 Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Art. 4(3), 33(3) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention 169
  • Art. 23 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 13 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Human rights principles should guide development cooperation and programming. Among other things, this means that it is important to consider the principle of participation and inclusion in your project or in relation to the use of a digital solution. Transparency and reporting is essential in order to fulfill the principle, as it can also strengthen rights holders’ capacity to claim their rights. For more on a human rights-based approach, see:

• UNSDG Human Rights Working Group, The Human Rights Based Approach to Development Cooperation, Sept 2003
• Principles for Digital Development, Create open and transparent practices

• Right to Freedom of Information:
  • Art. 19 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  • Art. 19(2) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • Art. 13(1) American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 10(1) European Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 9(1) African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

• Right to Participation

• • Art. 25, 27 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • Art. 7, 8, 14(2)(a) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
  • Art. 12 Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Art. 4(3), 33(3) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention 169
  • Art. 23 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 13 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

For more on access to remedy and grievance mechanisms, see:

• United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (Principle 31)
• Somo, “Human rights & grievance mechanisms“
• Shift, “Doing business with respect for human rights: Remediation and grievance mechanisms“
• Right to an effective remedy
  • Art. 8 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  • Art. 2 (3) (a) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • Art. 25 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 7.1 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
  • Art. 13 European Convention on Human Rights
• Right to Participation:
  • Art. 25, 27 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • Art. 7, 8, 14(2)(a) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
  • Art. 12 Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • Art. 4(3), 33(3) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention 169
  • Art. 23 American Convention on Human Rights
  • Art. 13 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights