The International Commission of Jurists has partnered with the Danish Institute for Human Rights to launch an initiative aimed at developing global principles for protecting human rights in digital spaces.
The Digital Democracy Initiative was launched at the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo, Norway, hosted by the Norwegian Nobel Institute, to address the urgent need to ensure human rights protection in increasingly online civic and private activities.
Led by international legal experts with contributions from stakeholders across all global regions, the initiative will develop legal principles and guidelines on applying international law and standards in today’s digital reality.
Mikiko Otani, Chairperson of the Principles’ Experts Group and ICJ Commissioner, emphasised that the project focuses on clarifying existing international law rather than creating new legislation.
“The principles this project will develop are not about drafting new laws, but about setting out clearly how existing international law and standards should be interpreted, applied, and enforced in the digital space, in a spirit of progressive development,” Otani said at the event launch.
She expressed confidence that the work would contribute to making international law more relevant and effective in today’s digital environment.
The principles will address critical issues, including state obligations to respect, protect, and fulfil human rights in digital spaces, private sector responsibilities and liabilities to respect human rights, accountability frameworks under international law, and the right to effective remedy for digital rights violations.
An expert group of 18 members from diverse disciplines and geographic regions has been established to elaborate the principles and guidelines, with Otani serving as chairperson.
The expert group includes representatives from prominent organisations such as ARTICLE 19, Media Rights Agenda, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Privacy International, and various human rights commissions and academic institutions.
Notable Nigerian representation comes through Edetaen Ojo from Media Rights Agenda, who joins other regional experts in the drafting process.
Otani outlined three essential elements for the principles’ effectiveness: a diverse expert drafting group, broad stakeholder involvement to integrate multiple perspectives, and rigorous promotion to ensure adoption by states, legislators, policymakers, and civil society organisations.
The principles will undergo regional consultation processes to gather input from wider stakeholder groups and ensure that challenges unique to each region are addressed in the final framework.
The initiative aims to provide guidance that states, national human rights institutions, civil society organisations, lawyers, and human rights advocates can reference and apply in national and international jurisprudence, as well as within the UN and regional human rights bodies.
The comprehensive principles and guidelines are expected to be completed by 2026, following extensive consultation and drafting processes across multiple regions.
This initiative represents a significant step toward establishing clear international standards for human rights protection in an increasingly digital world where traditional legal frameworks require clarification and adaptation.