On October 6, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously adopted a resolution authored by Armenia, entitled “Strengthening International Cooperation to Promote and Protect the Rights of Women and Girls in the Context of Digital Technologies,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.
The resolution was presented to the Human Rights Council by an interregional group comprising Armenia, Estonia, Rwanda, Uruguay, Senegal, Sweden and Kazakhstan.
The resolution addresses the opportunities offered by digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, in the context of human rights, as well as the challenges associated with them. Bringing together three key areas — access to technology, the full participation of women and girls in the development and governance of technologies, and protection from technology-related risks — the resolution seeks to address gender digital divides, including gaps in technological skills; promote the participation of women and girls in the governance of digital technologies and artificial intelligence; and respond to emerging risks, including issues related to discrimination, algorithmic bias and data representativeness.
A key component of the resolution is the promotion of international cooperation, taking into account the cross-border nature of technologies and the importance of strengthening multilateral cooperation aimed at their effective governance. The resolution encourages the exchange of knowledge and expertise, capacity-building, as well as joint responses to existing and emerging challenges. It establishes a comprehensive new framework for international cooperation, linking human rights and gender equality with science and technology.
Presenting the resolution, Armenia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Geneva, Ambassador Hasmik Tolmajyan, addressed the opportunities offered by digital transformation, noting that discriminatory design of technologies and artificial intelligence, non-representative data and algorithmic bias can serve to reproduce and deepen existing inequalities. Ambassador Tolmajyan stressed the importance of keeping the rights of women and girls at the centre of collective efforts alongside the continued and rapid development of technology.
The new resolution, co-sponsored by around 50 states representing all regional groups of the United Nations, was presented as a continuation of Armenia’s consistent efforts to promote technology and innovation with the aim of advancing gender equality on multilateral platforms.
It also reflects Armenia’s strong commitment to promoting gender equality amid digital transformation, taking into account the high representation of women in the technology sector, which significantly exceeds the global average.
The initiative’s presentation at the Human Rights Council comes at a particularly important time, as the rapid development of artificial intelligence makes it increasingly urgent to strengthen effective international cooperation on the interconnections between technology, equality and human rights.
