Doha Declaration calls for integrating human rights principles into every stage of AI

Doha, Qatar: The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) of Qatar concluded its international conference, “Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights: Opportunities, Risks, and Visions for a Better Future,” with the adoption of the landmark Doha Declaration on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights. 

The declaration outlines a set of bold recommendations aimed at safeguarding human rights in the age of AI and promoting ethical and inclusive development of emerging technologies.
Chairperson of the NHRC H E Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah, emphasized the importance of this global gathering, noting that it reflects the Committee’s mission to keep pace with the rapid evolution of human rights challenges worldwide. She extended her thanks to all participants for their contributions to the success of the event, which saw significant engagement from human rights defenders, technologists, and global policymakers.

Delivering the final statement, NHRC Secretary-General H E Sultan bin Hassan Al Jamali highlighted the main outcomes of the conference, which call for integrating human rights principles into every stage of AI development, deployment, and governance. This integration is seen as essential to ensure that AI technologies promote human dignity, autonomy, inclusivity, and accountability.

The declaration stresses the urgent need for a global governance framework that addresses the far-reaching implications of AI on human rights. It also underscores the importance of broad and meaningful participation from women, youth, persons with disabilities, and marginalized communities in the design and oversight of AI systems at national, regional, and international levels, in line with international human rights law.

In addition, it calls for effective monitoring and reporting of cyberattacks and AI-enabled threats targeting female politicians, human rights defenders, and activists, alongside the provision of legal protections and access to remedies. The declaration promotes international cooperation to ensure fair access to the benefits of AI across all regions. 

With special emphasis on supporting developing countries, guided by the principles of solidarity and shared responsibility. It also calls on the international community to investigate the use of AI in military operations and ensure compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law. The document further encourages states to evaluate the intended use of AI systems before adoption and consider safer, less intrusive alternatives. 

It emphasises the importance of human oversight in critical areas, including justice, healthcare, social protection, law enforcement, and military operations, to complement AI decision-making with human judgment.

Regarding due diligence, the declaration highlights the necessity of conducting human rights impact assessments throughout the AI lifecycle. Governments are urged to implement these assessments in public sector AI use, while the private sector should be legally required to do the same and publish the findings. 

The declaration calls for banning AI applications that pose unmitigable threats to human rights, including autonomous weapon systems that violate international law.

On data protection, the declaration advocates for robust legislation based on principles such as legality, data minimisation, purpose limitation, transparency, accountability, and protection from unauthorised access. 

It calls for the creation of independent data protection bodies with the authority and resources to enforce compliance.  AI developers should maintain detailed records of the personal data used to train their models and disclose such information in the public interest. 

The Doha Declaration stands as a global call to action, reaffirming the need for a human-centred, rights-based approach to AI and setting a visionary path for ethical innovation in the digital era.