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[Insert statement of urgency and significance for why this right relates to AI.]

Sectors #

The contributors of the AI & Human Rights Index have identified the following sectors as responsible for both using AI to protect and advance this human right.

• ART: Arts and Culture
• BUS: Business
• COM: Media and Communication
• DEF: Defense and Military
• EDU: Education and Research
• ENV: Environmental and Energy
• FIN: Financial Services
• GOV: Government and Public Sector
• HLTH: Healthcare and Public Health
• INTL: International Organizations and Relations
• LAW: Legal and Law Enforcement
• REG: Regulatory and Oversight Bodies
• SOC: Social Services and Housing
• TECH: Technology
• TRAN: Transportation and Infrastructure
• WORK: Employment and Labor

AI’s Potential Violations #

[Insert 300- to 500-word analysis of how AI could violate this human right.]

AI’s Potential Benefits #

[Insert 300- to 500-word analysis of how AI could advance this human right.]

Human Rights Instruments #

Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1924) #

League of Nations, Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child, League of Nations O.J. Spec. Supp. 21, at 43 (1924).

Principle 4

 The child must be put in a position to earn a livelihood, and must be protected against every form of exploitation.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) #

G.A. Res. 217 (III) A, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, U.N. Doc. A/RES/217(III) (Dec. 10, 1948)

Article 25(2)

Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) #

G.A. Res. 1386 (XIV), U.N. Doc. A/RES/1386(XIV) (Nov. 20, 1959)

Principle 2 

The child shall enjoy special protection, and shall be given opportunities and facilities, by law and by other means, to enable him to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of Freedom and Dignity. In the enactment of laws for this purpose, the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) #

G.A. Res. 2200A (XXI), 999 U.N.T.S. 171 (Dec. 16, 1966)

Article 24(1)–(3)

Every child shall have… the right to such measures of protection as are required by his status as a minor, on the part of his family, society and the State. Every child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have a name. Every child has the right to acquire a nationality.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) #

G.A. Res. 2200A (XXI), 993 U.N.T.S. 3 (Dec. 16, 1966)

Article 10(3)

Special measures of protection and assistance should be taken on behalf of all children and young persons without any discrimination for reasons of parentage or other conditions. Children and young persons should be protected from economic and social exploitation. Their employment in work harmful to their morals or health or dangerous to life or likely to hamper their normal development should be punishable by law. States should also set age limits below which the paid employment of child labour should be prohibited and punishable by law.

American Convention on Human Rights (1969) #

Nov. 22, 1969, 1144 U.N.T.S. 123 (entered into force July 18, 1978)

Article 19

Every minor child has the right to the measures of protection required by his condition as a minor on the part of his family, society, and the state.

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979) #

G.A. Res. 34/180, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, U.N. Doc. A/RES/34/180 (Dec. 18, 1979)

Article 5 (b)

To ensure that family education includes a proper understanding of maternity as a social function and the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their children, it being understood that the interest of the children is the primordial consideration in all cases.

Article 6

States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women.

Article 16 (1)(d)

The same rights and responsibilities as parents, irrespective of their marital status, in matters relating to their children; in all cases the interests of the children shall be paramount;

Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) #

G.A. Res. 44/25, Convention on the Rights of the Child, U.N. Doc. A/RES/44/25 (Nov. 20, 1989)

The entirety of this instrument is applicable, with specific consideration to articles 3, 9, 18, 20, 21, 37(c), and 40 in terms of the best interests of the child.

• Article 6 has specific consideration to the Right to Life, Survival, and Development.
• Article 7 has specific consideration to the Right to Know and Be Cared for by Parents.
• Article 9 has specific consideration to the Right to Maintain personal Relations and Family Life.
• Article 11 has specific consideration to the Right to Protection from Illicit Transfer and Non-Return.
• Article 12 has specific consideration to the Right to Be Heard.
• Article 19 has specific consideration to the Right to Protection from Violence, Abuse, Injury or Exploitation.
• Articles 20 and 21 have specific consideration to the Right to Protection during Adoption.
• Article 25 has specific consideration to the Right to Periodic review of Placement.

African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990) #

O.A.U. Doc. CAB/LEG/24.9/49 (1990)

Article 21(2)

Child marriage and the betrothal of girls and boys shall be prohibited and effective action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify the minimum age of marriage to be 18 years and make registration of all marriages in an official registry compulsory.

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (2000) #

G.A. Res. 54/263, U.N. Doc. A/RES/54/263 (May 25, 2000)

Article 3

1. Each State Party shall ensure that, as a minimum, the following acts and activities are fully covered under its criminal or penal law, whether such offences are committed domestically or transnationally or on an individual or organized basis:

(a) In the context of sale of children as defined in article 2:

(i) Offering, delivering or accepting, by whatever means, a child for the purpose of:

a. Sexual exploitation of the child;

b. Transfer of organs of the child for profit;

c. Engagement of the child in forced labour;

(ii) Improperly inducing Consent, as an intermediary, for the adoption of a child in violation of applicable international legal instruments on adoption;

(b) Offering, obtaining, procuring or providing a child for child prostitution, as defined in article 2;

(c) Producing, distributing, disseminating, importing, exporting, offering, selling or possessing for the above purposes child pornography as defined in article 2.

2. Subject to the provisions of the national law of a State Party, the same shall apply to an attempt to commit any of the said acts and to complicity or participation in any of the said acts.

3. Each State Party shall make such offences punishable by appropriate penalties that take into account their grave nature.

4. Subject to the provisions of its national law, each State Party shall take measures, where appropriate, to establish the liability of legal persons for offences established in paragraph 1 of the present article. Subject to the legal principles of the State Party, such liability of legal persons may be criminal, civil or administrative.

5. States Parties shall take all appropriate legal and administrative measures to ensure that all persons involved in the adoption of a child act in conformity with applicable international legal instruments.

Article 8 (3)

States Parties shall ensure that, in the treatment by the criminal Justice system of children who are victims of the offences described in the present Protocol, the best interest of the child shall be a primary consideration.

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities #

G.A. Res. 61/106, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, U.N. Doc. A/RES/61/106 (Dec. 13, 2006)

Article 7 (3)

States Parties shall ensure that children with disabilities have the right to express their views freely on all matters affecting them, their views being given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity, on an equal basis with other children, and to be provided with disability and age-appropriate assistance to realize that right.

Article 16

1. States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social, educational and other measures to protect persons with disabilities, both within and outside the home, from all forms of exploitation, violence and abuse, including their gender-based aspects.

2. States Parties shall also take all appropriate measures to prevent all forms of exploitation, violence and abuse by ensuring, inter alia, appropriate forms of gender- and age-sensitive assistance and support for persons with disabilities and their families and caregivers, including through the provision of information and education on how to avoid, recognize and report instances of exploitation, violence and abuse. States Parties shall ensure that protection services are age-, gender- and disability-sensitive.

3. In order to prevent the occurrence of all forms of exploitation, violence and abuse, States Parties shall ensure that all facilities and programmes designed to serve persons with disabilities are effectively monitored by independent authorities.

4. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to promote the physical, cognitive and psychological recovery, rehabilitation and social reintegration of persons with disabilities who become victims of any form of exploitation, violence or abuse, including through the provision of protection services. Such recovery and reintegration shall take place in an environment that fosters the health, welfare, self-respect, Dignity and Autonomy of the person and takes into account gender- and age-specific needs.

5. States Parties shall put in place effective legislation and policies, including women- and child-focused legislation and policies, to ensure that instances of exploitation, violence and abuse against persons with disabilities are identified, investigated and, where appropriate, prosecuted.

Article 23

1. States Parties shall take effective and appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against persons with disabilities in all matters relating to marriage, family, parenthood and relationships, on an equal basis with others, so as to ensure that:

a) The right of all persons with disabilities who are of marriageable age to marry and to found a family on the basis of free and full Consent of the intending spouses is recognized;

b) The rights of persons with disabilities to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to age-appropriate information, reproductive and family planning education are recognized, and the means necessary to enable them to exercise these rights are provided;

c) Persons with disabilities, including children, retain their fertility on an equal basis with others.

2. States Parties shall ensure the rights and responsibilities of persons with disabilities, with regard to guardianship, wardship, trusteeship, adoption of children or similar institutions, where these concepts exist in national legislation; in all cases the best interests of the child shall be paramount. States Parties shall render appropriate assistance to persons with disabilities in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities.

3. States Parties shall ensure that children with disabilities have equal rights with respect to family life. With a view to realizing these rights, and to prevent concealment, abandonment, neglect and segregation of children with disabilities, States Parties shall undertake to provide early and comprehensive information, services and support to children with disabilities and their families.

4. States Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will, except when competent authorities subject to judicial review determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures, that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child. In no case shall a child be separated from parents on the basis of a disability of either the child or one or both of the parents.

5. States Parties shall, where the immediate family is unable to care for a child with disabilities, undertake every effort to provide alternative care within the wider family, and failing that, within the community in a family setting.

Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (2007) #

C.E.T.S. No. 201 (Oct. 25, 2007)

Article 23

Each Party shall take the necessary measures to criminalise the intentional proposal, through information and communication technologies, of an adult to meet a child… for the purpose of committing any of the sexual offences against him or her, where this proposal has been followed by material acts leading to such a meeting.

ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (2012) #

Adopted Nov. 18, 2012 by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Article 4

The rights of women, children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, migrant workers, and vulnerable and marginalised groups are inalienable, integral and indivisible parts of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child General Comment No. 25 (2021) #

Children’s Rights in Relation to the Digital Environment), U.N. Doc. CRC/C/GC/25

Para. 4

The rights of every child must be respected, protected and fulfilled in the digital environment.

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