On 6 and 7 November 2025 the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), together with the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), co-hosted an Asia-Pacific regional consultation on the development of legal principles and guidance on protecting human rights in the digital space. Participants included some 30 human rights practitioners and digital-governance experts from across the region, including from civil society, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), academia, the legal community, and the private sector.
Through a project launched in June 2025 as the Digital Democracy Initiative (DDI), the ICJ and DIHR have assembled a group of 18 independent experts that will produce a unified set of global standards incorporating existing State obligations and corporate responsibilities, with a view to assisting State authorities, judicial bodies, independent lawyers, civil society organizations and others protecting human rights online in digitally mediated spaces.
The dialogue centred on five core areas of the draft principles and guidance: (i) general principles; (ii) State obligations to respect, protect, and fulfil human rights in digital spaces; (iii) private-sector responsibilities to respect human rights; (iv) accountability under international law; and (v) the right to effective remedy and reparation.
Participants affirmed that international human rights law remains a fundamental component of digital governance which must guide both States and companies. They called for clear, operational guidance that could serve to clarify the relationship between commonly impacted human rights in digital contexts and strengthen procedural safeguards and transparency.
On State responsibilities, participants called for standards addressing the imperative of harmonizing domestic law with international human rights law; the need to avoid overbroad national-security justifications for restricting rights digitally; the risks arising from cross-border data transfers that may enable transnational or domestic repression; strengthening independent oversight and transparency, particularly in surveillance and public procurement; and embedding meaningful multi-stakeholder participation in digital governance.
On corporate responsibility, participants highlighted the failure of companies to incorporate the responsibility to respect human rights in company practice, as reflected in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and recommended integrating “safety-by-design,” mandatory and actionable human-rights due diligence (HRDD), and extending responsibility across value chains.
Participants stressed that companies should push back against laws or directives inconsistent with human rights, and enhance algorithmic and data-monetization transparency. Participants also cautioned against laws mandating local presence, data localization, or licensing requirements that could be weaponized for censorship, restrictions on of freedom of expression and muzzling of those operating in the digital civic space.
On effective remedies, reparations and accountability, participants called for the guidance emphasizing the need to make available effective, accessible, and timely judicial and non-judicial mechanisms, including independent operational grievance mechanisms and avenues through NHRIs. They also underscored the need to strengthen accountability for grave digital harms under international law, emphasizing robust procedural and privacy safeguards in the preservation and use of digital evidence.
The consultation concluded with an exchange on possible implementation pathways once the principles and guidance are finalized.
Background
This consultation formed part of a series of multi-stakeholder dialogues, following an earlier Africa consultation held in Namibia alongside the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAFRICA).
Additional regional consultations will follow to capture a wider range of perspectives.
The global principles and guidance are being developed by an independent expert group of 18 leading specialists in digital governance, international law, human rights, and related fields, with completion expected by 2026. The group functions independently, with a composition that reflects gender parity, regional and legal diversity, and a commitment to impartial, evidence-based analysis.
Further reading
ICJ and DIHR Launch Initiative on Global Principles on Human Rights in the Digital Space
Contact
Sanhawan Srisod, Senior Legal Adviser, Legal and Policy Office, e: sanhawan.srisod@icj.org
