HRC44: Statement on new digital technologies

Panel discussion on new digital technologies(res. 41/11) accessible

Organisation:Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)

Speaker:Claire Denman

Thank you Madame President,

CSW thanks the High Commissioner for her report and shares concerns regarding the significant risks the use of facial recognition technology pose to the enjoyment of human rights.

In Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, (also referred to by many Uyghurs as East Turkestan),such technology is widely used by the Chinese authorities to identify and restrict the movements of Uyghurs and other ethnic groups as part of the authorities’ extensive crackdown on these groups, in which between one and three million individuals are believed to have been detained in so-called ‘political re-education camps.’

Facial recognition technologies also facilitate the tight control of communal gatherings of any nature, including peaceful religious activities, in the region, and there are serious concerns that similar technologies are now being used across China.

We call on China to end the practice of using surveillance and other technologies to facilitate the violation of human rights.

We echo the High Commissioner’s recommendation to systematically conduct human rights due diligence before deploying facial recognition technology devices and throughout the entire life cycle of the tools deployed.

The report also highlights the important role played by the private sector in providing surveillance and other technologies to states.

In the case of China, several companies have provided technology to the Chinese authorities which has been used to surveille and oppress Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.

We call on digital technology companies to conduct detailed investigations into how their products are used, and to cease the sale of products to the Chinese authorities where there is evidence that they have been used to facilitate or aid human rights violations.

We also urge member states to consider sanctions on companies found to be complicit in providing technologies used in the violation of human rights.

Thank you