Day 1 | 7 June

Children’s Rights and Responsible Tech in Asia-Pacific

16:30-18:00 ICT

Background

Digital technologies such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, facial recognition technologies and the Internet of Things have brought along previously unimaginable changes in the lives of children, and they already play a key role in achieving positive social and economic developmental objectives. There is also a well-established understanding that digital technology can help drive progress for all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and that it is essential to harness this potential to be able to reach the goals by 2030.

In East Asia and the Pacific (EAP), children and adolescents are among the most active and influential users of technology, enthusiastically engaging with new technology as it evolves, including social media, live streaming apps, and virtual reality games. Digital technologies provide significant opportunities for children and adolescents to access information, play, learn, communicate, and for civic engagement. However, it also poses unique threats to the well-being of children and adolescents, such as online sexual abuse and exploitation, threats of violence, exposure to age-inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and infringements of privacy.

The UN CRC (Convention on the Rights of the Child) Committee in its General Comment No 25 (‘Children’s rights in relation to the digital environment’) highlights that the business sector affects children’s rights directly and indirectly in the provision of services and products relating to the digital environment. Businesses should respect children’s rights and prevent and remedy abuse of their rights in relation to the digital environment. At the same time, states parties have the obligation to ensure that businesses meet those responsibilities.

Aligned with the UN CRC General Comments No. 16 and 25, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Children’s Rights and Business Principles, this session aims to promote responsible business conduct in the digital environment and share tools and guidance for companies on developing or deploying digital technologies which respect and advance children’s rights and well-being.

About the session

This session will spotlight how tech companies play a crucial role in shaping the world in which children live through their actions, influences and command of resources. Drawing on global and regional projects and evidence, such as the UN CRC Committee’s General Comment No. 25, the RITEC project, the ASEAN ICT Forum on Child Online Protection, the OHCHR’s B-Tech Project, and the World Benchmarking Alliance’s Digital Inclusion Benchmark, this session will look at concrete ways that tech companies interact with children and impact their lives in the region. It will discuss some of the challenges as well as proven and potential solutions for how business can identify and address potential adverse impacts on children.

The session pursues the following objectives:

Share the latest evidence and knowledge on the role of the tech sector in impacting children’s rights and well-being both positively and negatively;
Introduce participants to global and regional guidance and frameworks for the tech sector in respecting children’s rights in relation to the digital environment;
Showcase global and regional initiatives which guide the tech sector in taking concrete steps for respecting children’s rights and advancing children’s well-being in relation to the digital environment;
Discuss the ways that the public and private sector can take action to integrate child rights consideration into their policies, decision-making and product/service design and development processes.

Questions

Panelists will reflect on the following questions in relation to the Asia-Pacific region:

What are the ways that business action or inaction impact children’s rights and well-being in relation to the digital environment?
What are child-specific considerations in the context of business, human rights and digital technologies?
What is the tech sector currently doing to respect children’s rights in the digital environment?
What can tech companies do better to advance children’s well-being in relation to the digital environment?
What are the main drivers to ensure responsible business practices with respect to child rights and digital technologies in this region?
What is the role of public policy and regulation for accelerating business action in respecting children’s rights in the digital environment?

Speakers

Sabine K. Witting

Dr Sabine K Witting is a human rights lawyer specialising in the interaction between human rights and digital technologies. She has been working for UNICEF on children's rights and digital technologies in Eastern and Southern Africa and in Southeast Asia since 2015. Sabine is an Assistant Professor for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University and is the co-founder of Tech Legality, a consultancy firm specialising in human rights and digital technologies.

Dio Tobing

Dio Herdiawan Tobing is the Head of Public Policy (Asia) at the World Benchmarking Alliance. He leads the organisation’s public policy strategy development and engagement with governments and regional institutions in Asia. Dio has 7+ years of experience leading international development and policy programme management projects in Indonesia, ASEAN, and the wider Asia-Pacific region. He also worked as Senior Consultant at Pearl Consulting, assigned as Policy Programmes Manager at WhatsApp Indonesia, leading the company’s social impact initiatives on digital citizenship and economy, and Senior Policy Advisor at the Dutch Embassy in Jakarta. Dio holds LL.M in Public International Law from Leiden University in the Netherlands and MPP from the School of Government and Public Policy in Indonesia.

May Min Thone

May Min Thone describes herself as an adventurous teenager who is trying to work hard for community development while improving her personal skills. Currently, she is volunteering as a task force member of U-Report Myanmar. The Media Team is her duty station and it is a place where she can empower youths in Myanmar by creating knowledge sharing contents about global matters. She also participated as a moderator at the ASEAN ICT Forum on Child Online Protection 2022. To be a pediatrician and support children has always been her biggest dream.

Malina Enlund

Malina is the Safety Policy Manager for Meta, overseeing the development and implementation of safety policies, tools and programs across the platform in APAC. Malina works with Government and Non-Government partners in the region on issues of child online safety, women's safety, human trafficking, mental health and well-being. Prior to joining Meta, Malina spent 14 years working in the field of anti-trafficking and child exploitation in Southeast Asia. Previously she served as the Head of Trafficking for ECPAT International where she led the global program and policy work for the network operating in 114 countries worldwide. Malina holds a Bachelor's degree International Development from the University of Calgary and a Master's degree in Child Protection from the University of Kent, UK.

Wanchai Roujanavong

Mr. Wanchai Roujanavong is a Senior Consultant Public Prosecutor who began his legal career in 1975. With his extensive experience in the legal field, he is often called upon as an expert in matters of child abuse, trafficking in persons and children, transnational organized crime, extradition and mutual legal assistance. As Thailand’s ACWC Representative on Children’s Rights, his on-going projects are Regional Plan of Action for the Protection of Children from All Forms of Online Exploitation and Abuse in ASEAN (2021-2025) and Regional Plan of Action on Implementing the ASEAN Declaration on the Rights of the Child in the Context of Migration. Throughout his career in the government sector he has taken lead positions in various departments of the Office of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Justice, including as Director-General of the Child and Juvenile Observation and Protection Department, Director-General of the Probation Department, Director-General of the Correction Department and Director-General of the International Affairs Department. Apart from his government duty as a public official, Mr. Roujanavong has been supporting various NGOs as an expert advisor since 1994. He is the Chairman of three NGOs working for promotion and protection of children’s rights. Furthermore he served as a member of the Executive Committee of ECPAT International (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes) from 1995 – 2000. Mr. Roujanavong is a UNODC’s expert on trafficking in persons, especially women and children. He represented and negotiated on behalf of Thailand in the deliberations of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, the UN Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, the UN Convention against Corruption, as well as for many other conventions, treaties, and MOUs both bilateral and multilateral. In addition, he was head of the Thai delegation at the Regional Research Group on child sexual exploitation in travel and tourism for Project Childhood. He is a lecturer on the subject of human rights and children’s rights in many universities. He has dedicated more than twenty years towards work in the area of child protection and children’s rights. From his work, he has received two national awards for his outstanding work for women and children. These awards were “An Outstanding Person Working for Women Award” (1998), and “A Person Working for Children in Field of Legal Protection of Children’s Rights Award” (2000).

Adam Ingle

Global lead on responsible digital engagement with children, Government and Public Affairs (LEGO Group)

United Nations Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum, Asia-Pacific