UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

32^nd session of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee

16-20 December 2024

EU Statement – Opening Session

Mr Chair,

The European Union welcomes the members of the Advisory Committee and looks forward to interesting discussions throughout the week. More generally, we would like to express our thanks for your work and efforts to provide quality expertise to the Council through studies and research-based advice.

For this session, the EU welcomes the focus on a number of innovative and forward-looking areas for human rights, making the link with issues such as new technologies and the environment. This befits the labelling of the Advisory Committee as the ‘think tank’ of the HRC.

In that respect, the EU welcomes the initiative on the implications of plastic pollution for the full enjoyment of human rights, given the importance of the subject and the global scale of plastic pollution, addressing the full life cycle of plastic. A global agreement on plastics is a high priority for the EU, as it is clear that addressing the plastic pollution crisis requires an international response.

Another key challenge lies in the emergence of new technologies. In this context, the EU and its Member States have consistently emphasised their support for a human-rights based approach to the whole life-cycle of new and emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence systems and neurotechnology. It is also clear that the use of certain technologies is not compliant with human rights. It is therefore fundamental to look not only at how these tools are developed, but also how they are used, through a human rights lens.

Following the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles, the EU’s approach is about empowering individuals, safeguarding their human rights, protecting their personal data and right to privacy, preventing harmful content online, including harassment and gender-based or any kind of violence, as well as ensuring that technical progress serves humanity and contributes to inclusive and sustainable development.

The EU therefore looks forward to the presentations and discussions on the human rights applications of new and emerging technologies in the military domain, on the impact of AI systems on good governance, on the impact of disinformation on the enjoyment and realisation of human rights, and on technology-facilitated gender-based violence and its impact on women and girls.

Thank you.