UNA*USA · Peace through Technology
Human Rights
& Technology
AP0110 advises the UNA-USA Human Rights Affinity Group on AI strategy and technology policy — translating UN human rights instruments into practical guidance for the digital age.
Technology Is a Human Rights Issue
Digital technologies provide new means to advocate for and exercise human rights — but they also serve to suppress and limit them. AI systems that track, analyze, predict, and manipulate behavior carry significant risks for human dignity, autonomy, and privacy without effective safeguards.
Surveillance & Privacy
Mass surveillance technologies, spyware, and biometric tracking are deployed against activists, journalists, and minorities — in direct violation of ICCPR Article 17 protections for privacy.
Algorithmic Accountability
Automated decision-making systems determine access to housing, credit, asylum, and parole — often with discriminatory outcomes. Accountability frameworks are urgently needed to align AI with non-discrimination norms.
Digital Access as a Right
Internet shutdowns, platform censorship, and the digital divide deny billions the rights to free expression, assembly, and access to information — all guaranteed under the UDHR and ICCPR.
The International Framework
UN Human Rights Law Applies in Digital Spaces
The rights guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights apply online as they do offline. The 2024 Global Digital Compact — adopted by all 193 UN member states — makes AI governance and digital rights a binding multilateral commitment for the first time.
Global Digital Compact · Adopted Sept 22, 2024
Digital Public Infrastructure
DPI is a set of foundational digital systems — built on open standards and governed for the public good — that enables citizens to exercise rights in practice: access to identity, financial services, healthcare, and government. The Global Digital Compact, adopted unanimously by 193 UN member states, makes DPI a cornerstone of the multilateral digital rights agenda.
Global Digital Compact — Key Commitments
- Universal connectivity and closing the global digital divide
- AI governance with an independent international scientific panel
- Digital public goods: open-source software, open data, open AI models
- Protecting human rights in digital spaces, including children online
AP0110's Advisory Role
Technology PillarWe serve as technology and AI strategy advisors to the UNA-USA Human Rights Affinity Group — a national member network dedicated to advancing UN human rights instruments at home and around the world. Our role is to translate fast-moving developments in AI and digital infrastructure into actionable policy guidance the Affinity Group can bring to advocacy, chapter education, and Capitol Hill.
Three Pillars of Our Work
AI Policy & Strategy
Advising the Affinity Group on AI governance frameworks — from the Global Digital Compact's international AI scientific panel to OHCHR guidelines — and translating these into concrete advocacy positions for UNA-USA chapters.
Digital Rights Literacy
Building capacity within the Affinity Group to understand surveillance law, algorithmic bias, and digital privacy — equipping UNA-USA chapters and advocates to educate communities and engage policymakers with confidence.
Technology for Human Rights
Applying decentralized, privacy-preserving Web 4.0 technologies to human rights documentation, secure communications for at-risk advocates, and resilient connectivity in censored or conflict-affected environments.
UNA*USA Human Rights Affinity Group
Open to all current UNA-USA members · National peer network · Strategy, education & advocacy
Share & Strategize
A national peer network to share knowledge and align strategy around UN human rights instruments — UDHR, UPR, HRC resolutions — and their application to technology and AI policy.
Bringing Rights Home
As Eleanor Roosevelt said, human rights begin "in small places, close to home." The Affinity Group grounds international frameworks in community, campus, and Capitol Hill advocacy across all 50 states.
National Dialogue
Webinars, fireside chats, and working sessions on AI ethics, digital rights, and the Universal Periodic Review — connecting UNA-USA members with leading experts and practitioners.
Principle: Rights Apply Online as They Do Offline
The UN Human Rights Council has affirmed that the same rights people have offline must be protected online — including freedom of expression, privacy, and non-discrimination. AP0110 ensures the Affinity Group has the technical grounding to advocate for this principle in the age of AI.
×AP0110Independent Internet for Human Rights Defenders
AP0110's Web 4.0 Independent Internet technologies directly serve human rights defenders. Where centralized platforms can be surveilled, censored, or shut down, our decentralized mesh infrastructure provides secure, resilient connectivity — especially in conflict-affected and high-censorship environments where the stakes of digital exposure are highest.
Censorship-Resistant Networks
Mesh networking provides connectivity that cannot be shut down by a single authority — protecting freedom of expression and access to information under UDHR Article 19.
Privacy-Preserving Infrastructure
Edge-based, post-quantum cryptographic systems keep sensitive communications and data local — protecting advocates, witnesses, and communities from state and non-state surveillance.
Ethical AI Advisory
Advising organizations on AI adoption aligned with UDHR principles — identifying algorithmic bias risks, building human rights impact assessments, and advocating for accountable governance frameworks.
Affinity Group Leadership
Ruby Guillen
Co-ChairUNA-USA Human Rights Affinity Group
Ruby is a 25-year veteran of LA County child welfare, a U.S. Air Force veteran, and the founder of Humanistic Technologies — building platforms for mental health access, human trafficking response, and child fatality review. As Co-Chair of the Human Rights Affinity Group, she leads national dialogue on applying UN frameworks — including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and CEDAW — to domestic AI and data governance policy.
Get Involved
Whether you're a UNA-USA member, a technology professional, a human rights advocate, or a researcher — there's a place for you in this work.
Join the Human Rights Affinity Group
Current UNA-USA members can join the Human Rights Affinity Group to access webinars, working groups, and the national advocacy network — including the Technology pillar led by AP0110.
Learn More at UNA-USA ↗Work with AP0110
Organizations, researchers, and policymakers working at the intersection of technology and human rights — connect with AP0110 to explore collaboration on AI strategy, digital rights education, or technology advisory.
Contact AP0110