ICJ, Danish Institute Launch Initiative on Global Principles on Human Rights in Digital Space

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) have launched an initiative aimed at elaborating a set of global principles on the application of international law and standards to guide the protection of human rights in the digital space. The formal launch of the project tagged “Global Policy and Legal Action to Protect Digital Civic Space against Human Rights Harms”, which is being implemented under the auspices of the Digital Democracy Initiative (DDI), took place at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway, on June 23, 2025 and was hosted by the Norwegian Nobel Institute. The project aims to address the urgent need to ensure that human rights remain at the forefront of both civic and private life, which increasingly takes place online, and will lead to the development of a set of global legal principles and guidelines on the protection of human rights in digital and online spaces, which will serve multiple purposes, including in advocacy and legal proceedings such as submission of legal opinions, amicus curae or complaints to grievance mechanisms. The initiative is led by a group of 18 international experts, drawn from diverse disciplines and geographic regions, who will serve in their individual capacities. They include the Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Mr. Edetaen Ojo, who is also a member of the Advisory Network of the Freedom Online Coalition, and has also previously served as a member of the International Advisory Committee for UNESCO’s project on “The Safety of Online Media Actors Doing Journalism”. The Expert Group is chaired by Dr. Mikiko Otani, a Japanese international human rights lawyer, who is also a Commissioner at the ICJ and former Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. Besides Dr. Otani and Mr. Ojo, other members of the Experts Group include:

• Prof. Catalina Botero Marino, an ICJ Commissioner, is a lawyer, director of the UNESCO Chair on Freedom of Expression at the Universidad de Los Andes; co-chair of the Oversight Board of Facebook and Instagram; and an adjunct professor at American University’s Human Rights Academy. She was Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organisation of American States (OAS); Dean of the Faculty of Law of the Universidad de Los Andes, and an Associate Judge of the Constitutional Court of Colombia and of the Council of State in Colombia.

• Ms Chantal Joris, is a Senior Legal Officer at ARTICLE 19, a London-based international human rights organisation which works around the world to promote and protect the right to freedom of expression and information.

• Ms Dionysia Peppa, is a Senior Legal and Policy Analyst and the Policy Unit Coordinator at SMEX, a non-profit based in Beirut, Lebanon, that seeks to advance human rights in digital spaces across West Asia and North Africa.

• Dr. Eileen Carter is Eastern Cape Provincial Manager at the South African Human Rights Commission and National Coordinator of its Human Rights and Developing Technologies programme.

• Ms Eliška Pírková, a human rights lawyer specialising in freedom of expression and the protection of digital rights, is a Senior Policy Analyst and the Global freedom of expression lead at Access Now, an international human rights organisation that defends the digital rights of online users at risk around the world. She has previously served as an independent expert for the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on Combating Hate Speech.

• Ms Francesca Fanucci, is Senior Legal Adviser at the European Center For Not-For-Profit Law (ECNL) and the Conference of International Non-Governmental Organisations of the Council of Europe (CINGO).  She is also a member of the Council of Europe Expert Committee on Impact of Generative AI on Freedom of Expression and the Council of Europe Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI)

• Dr. Ian Seiderman, a human rights lawyer and scholar, is currently serving as ICJ’s Senior Legal and Policy Director.

• Ms Katitza Rodriguez is Global Privacy Policy Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)

• Ms Lorraine Finley, a lawyer and academic specialising in human rights and public law, is a Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission.

• Mr. Nadim Nasif is the founder and Executive Director of 7amleh, also known as the Arab Center for Social Media Advancement. He is also an Advisory Board member of DDI.

• Dr. Nieves Molina-Clemente is the Chief Adviser for International Law, Human Rights and Tech at the Danish Institute for Human Rights.

• Prof. Richard Wilson is the Gladstein Distinguished Chair of Human Rights, Board of Trustees Professor of Law and Anthropology, and founding director of the Human Rights Institute at the University of Connecticut in the United States. He is also the Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Intellectual Life at the University of Connecticut School of Law.

• Dr Sarah Zarmsky is a Lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast School of Law with a research focus on the intersections between international law, human rights, and new and emerging technologies. She has held positions at the International Criminal Court, the International Bar Association, and the International Court of Justice.

• Ms Shannon Raj Singh is the Principal and Founder of Athena Tech & Atrocities Advisory, where she advises governments, international organisations, and civil society groups on the digital dynamics of armed conflict, and opportunities to leverage technology to support civilian protection.  She is Co-Chair of the War Crimes Committee of the International Bar Association, and a Special Advisor on Social Media and Conflict to the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Geneva-based organisation supporting peace negotiations around the world. She is also working with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Simon-Skjodt Centre for the Prevention of Genocide to explore how social media can support efforts to avert mass violence.

• Prof. Theodore Te is a Filipino human rights lawyer, academic, and former Spokesperson of the Supreme Court of the Philippines as Chief of the Public Information Office.  He is an Assistant Professor at the University of the Philippines, where he is also the Clinical Legal Education Program Director. He is a human rights advocate with the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG).

• Mr. Tomaso Falchetta is an Italian lawyer and serves as Global Advocacy Coordinator at Privacy International and leads the organisation’s international advocacy with the United Nations, the European Union, and other relevant intergovernmental bodies.

Dr. Otani said at the launch: “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. I believe our work will contribute to making international law more relevant and effective in today’s digital environment.” The principles will address issues such as: State obligations to respect, protect, and fulfil human rights in the digital space; private sector responsibilities and liabilities to respect human rights; accountability frameworks under international law; and the right to effective remedy and reparation for those whose human rights have been violated or abused in, or through, digital spaces. According to Dr. Otani, “For these principles to be effective and influential, three elements are essential: first, a drafting group composed of experts from diverse backgrounds; second, broad involvement of experts and stakeholders to ensure that a wide range of perspectives is integrated into the drafting process; and third, rigorous promotion, recognition, and endorsement — so that States, legislators, policymakers, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations, lawyers, human rights advocates and defenders may refer to and apply them in national and international jurisprudence, and within UN and regional human rights bodies.” The launch event featured a facilitated debate, which was moderated by Ms Mette Thygesen, International Director at the Danish Institute for Human Rights and had as panellists Dr. Otani, who is Chair of the Expert Group and Mr. Steven Jensen, Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute.  Other panelists were Judge Åsne Julsrud, a judge at the Oslo District Court and Commissioner at ICJ as well as Professor Dan Svantesson, a Professor at the Bond University Faculty of Law in Australia, Co-Director of the Centre for Space, Cyberspace and Data Law at the University; Senior Fellow at the Social Cyber Institute in Australia, and an Associated Researcher at the Swedish Law and Informatics Research Institute of Stockholm University in Sweden.  He is also currently a Fellow at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo. • The event was preceded by an inaugural meeting of the Expert Group, where they discussed the scope and areas to be covered by the principles as well as the form and style of the proposed document. The process of developing and finalising the principles will involve contributions from stakeholders from all regions of the world, as the principles will also undergo a regional consultation process to allow input from a wider range of stakeholders and to ensure that challenges unique to each region are heard. The principles are expected to be completed by 2026.