event description
There is no doubt that the technological revolution and digital transformation represent opportunities, but also challenges, for our societies. In recent years, numerous debates have arisen about how new technologies can impact human rights and fundamental freedoms. In particular, conversations around surveillance seem to dominate the European and global public spheres nowadays, as a result of scandals regarding the widespread use of spyware, including the Pegasus software, in different political arenas, and investigations that shed light on how these mechanisms have been used to violate the rights of, among others, activists and human rights defenders.
Back in July 2021, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned about how surveillance technologies were used to illegally undermine people’s human rights. The systematic violation of rights has become a constant in the case of Palestine, on which the tools that are making headlines today have been tested for years. This conversation between leading experts will address the need for human rights-centered technologies. It will also elucidate the deep-seated relationship between the pervasive recourse to sophisticate surveillance Israeli-made mechanisms and the violation of international law in the case of the Palestinian people.’
about the speakers
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Nadim Nashif, Director General Director of 7amleh - The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media
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Mona Shtaya, Advocacy Adviser at 7amleh - The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media
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Nijmeh Ali, Research Fellow, National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago
Discussant: Alaa Tartir, Research Associate, Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP), Geneva Graduate Institute
Chair: Jérôme Duberry, Managing Director of the Tech Hub, Geneva Graduate Institute