Background

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The digital realm is transforming social, economic, and political landscapes across Asia and the Pacific, offering the potential to advance human rights, civic engagement and gender equality. However, these benefits coexist with significant risks ranging from digital harms against women human rights defenders, discriminatory algorithmic practices, to the amplification of online violence and spread of hate speech.

International human rights law and frameworks such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) establish clear State obligations and corporate responsibilities. Yet, rapid technological evolution has blurred these lines, creating legal ambiguity and uncertainty where technology companies increasingly act as quasi-public actors without sufficient accountability or oversight.

Additionally, women’s rights, as enshrined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), face new challenges and opportunities in today’s evolving digital landscape, where technology companies, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic decision-making increasingly shape women’s rights, often beyond the scope of public oversight.

This session will raise awareness of the scope and application of existing international human rights law in protecting rights within digital spaces, while identifying emerging legal challenges in this rapidly evolving landscape. It seeks to clarify the shifting boundaries between State obligations and corporate responsibilities, including those of technology companies. It will highlight how tech companies increasingly influence women’s rights, including through artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic decision-making, underscoring the urgent need for accountable, gender-responsive governance to address real-world impacts.

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Key Objectives

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• Raise awareness of the scope and application of existing international human rights law for protecting rights in digital spaces, and identify potential legal challenges. 

• Clarify the evolving boundaries between State obligations and corporate responsibilities in the digital space, including those of tech companies.

• Analyse how women’s rights, as framed by CEDAW, are increasingly influenced by technology companies with a focus on real-world impacts.

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Guiding Questions

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• How do evolving roles of tech companies in the digital space challenge traditional understandings of State versus corporate responsibility under international human rights law, and what does this mean for human rights accountability?

• How do technology companies, including through AI, impact women’s rights and what are the potential risks and opportunities that follow?

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