Civil society observers call for an effective Council of Europe Convention on AI
On the occasion of the International Data Protection Day on 28 January, AlgorithmWatch and six other civil society organizations remind the Council of Europe of its mandate in negotiating a global Convention on AI.
The Council of Europe has officially opened its negotiations on a Convention on AI: The Committee on AI, tasked with drafting the treaty, has started its work in 2022. AlgorithmWatch is among the official civil society observer organizations, which are able to participate in the plenary sessions but which cannot take part in the drafting group, which is limited to potential future signatories. Hence, with six partner organizations, we issued a joint public statement to remind the drafting parties of the key points for ensuring an effective governance framework.
Given its mandate to protect human rights, democracy, and the rule of law, the Council of Europe has a unique opportunity to create a robust, global AI governance framework to safeguard the very values it is based upon—and it should seize this opportunity.
Signed by:
Access Now
AlgorithmWatch
BEUC
Center for AI and Digital Policy
Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe
Global Partners Digital
Homo Digitalis
Read more on our policy & advocacy work on the Council of Europe.