February 20, 2025
The AI Ethics Lab at Rutgers University is pleased to announce the publication of the whitepaper “Promoting and Advancing Human Rights in Global AI Ecosystems,” which will be presented at a side event of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 20–21, 2025.
The paper advocates for an international, human rights-focused convention on artificial intelligence. This paper is the result of an independent collaboration among more than twenty researchers and experts worldwide in AI and human rights, committed to fostering a global dialogue beyond institutional and political affiliations.
Dr. Walker began contributing to this paper in July 2024, when he participated in the International AI and Human Rights Summit. Several of the leading contributors to this project are also editors and contributors to the AI Ethics Lab’s next publication, the AI & Human Rights Index.
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally transforming human interactions, key processes and systems that underpin modern society, from decision-making mechanisms to information flows, economic structures, and international relations. While its potential is comprehensive, AI introduces significant risks, such as reduced human autonomy, algorithmic bias, data privacy threats, and challenges in accountability for algorithmic harm. Emerging technologies, such as embodied AI and large language models, exacerbate these risks, affecting human-machine interactions and raising concerns about environmental sustainability and human rights across the AI value chain. In response to far-reaching societal impacts of AI, policymakers are increasingly adopting a human rights lens for AI governance. However, the regulatory landscape remains fragmented and characterized by Western led initiatives as well as inconsistent enforcement. To address these limitations, a unified and binding international framework is urgently needed. The proposed Convention on AI, Data, and Human Rights (drafted as the “Munich Convention on AI, Data, and Human Rights”) is an initiative toward such a framework. Developed with contributions from over 50 global experts, it proposes an international convention to align AI governance with human rights principles. This whitepaper explores the underlying rationale behind the convention, emphasizing its alignment with the norms and principles articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Charter. It examines the relevance of safeguards against AI’s misuse in facilitating human rights violations, with particular focus on protecting underrepresented or marginalized groups, including indigenous peoples, and addressing collective rights. It furthermore points to the necessity to codify rights that empower individuals to opt out, be forgotten, seek explanations, and access remedies to maintain adequate human rights standards in the context of AI. The urgency to act arises from the escalating impact of AI and the rapid pace of political and technological advancements. The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is particularly well poised to play a leading role in initiating global discussions on a binding convention for AI governance, grounded in human rights principles. Drawing on its established mandate to uphold human rights globally, the UNHRC has a record of successfully embedding human rights principles into international frameworks, as demonstrated by its endorsement of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the recognition of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. Through dedicated action around promoting a convention on AI and human rights, the UNHRC can foster international consensus and proactively shape the future of AI in a manner that prioritizes the values and principles enshrined in the key documents of international human rights law.
Contributors
The whitepaper was led and coordinated by Alexander Kriebitz (Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich) and Caitlin C. Corrigan (Technical University of Munich). The following people contributed to the paper: Aive Pevkur (Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia); Alexander Kriebitz (Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany); Allison Pierok (Globethics, Switzerland); Amanda Horzyk (University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom); Caitlin C. Corrigan (Technical University of Munich, Germany); Camila Lombana-Diaz (SAP, Germany); Dirk Brand (Stellenbosch University, South Africa); Dodzi Koku Hattoh (Bonn Sustainable AI Lab, Germany & University of Ghana, Ghana); Fadi Daou (Globethics, Switzerland); Francis P. Crawley (IDPC, Committee on Data (CODATA), International Science Council (ISC); Leuven, Belgium); Gilles Fayad (AI Commons, Canada); Ibifuro Robert Jaja (Centre for Philosophy and AI Research (PAIR), Friedrich- Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Germany; Rivers State University, Nigeria); Karin Tafur (Information Society Law Center – Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy); Mariette Awad (American University of Beirut, Lebanon); Maria O’Sullivan (Deakin University, Australia); Martina Malcheva (Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria; Sofia University, Bulgaria); Natalia Amasiadi (University of Patras, Greece); Nessa Lynch (University College Cork, Ireland; Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand); Nathan C. Walker (AI Ethics Lab, Rutgers University, United States of America); Olivier Alais (UN ITU, Switzerland); Sajal Sharma (School of Law, UPES, India); Sophia Devlin (Ulster University, United Kingdom); Stefanos Athanasiou (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany); Wallace Shuaihua Cheng (Globethics, Switzerland).
Acknowledgments
We would like to express our gratitude to Nicole Manger (German Federal Foreign Office, Germany), Raphael Max (University of Hohenheim, Germany), Wanda Muñoz (International Consultant), Michael Santoro (Santa Clara University, United States of America) and Kamil Strzępek (Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Poland) for their valuable feedback on the whitepaper.
Citation
Alexander Kriebitz and Caitlin C. Corrigan, eds. Promoting and Advancing Human Rights in Global AI Ecosystems: The Need for a Comprehensive Framework under International Law. Munich, Germany, February 20, 2025. With support from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, the AI Ethics Lab at Rutgers University, the Responsible AI Network–Africa (RAIN-Africa), and the Globethics Foundation. Presented at a side event of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Switzerland on March 20–21, 2025.
