AHISA SUBMISSION

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

11 November 2020

Children’s rights in relation to the digital environment

AHISA’s submission responded to a draft General Comment on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment, issued by the Committee on the Rights of the Child within the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Paragraph I.4 of the General Comment states, ‘The opportunities and the risks of harm for children are likely to increase, even where children do not actively access the internet, as societies progressively rely upon digital technologies for their functioning’. In its submission, AHISA argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has:
• Highlighted the high risk of personal and social harms posed by social media 
• Raised the likelihood of the risk of harm to children to the level of certainty
• Exposed and threatens to broaden the equity gaps in children’s access to digital opportunities in their education.

AHISA supports the draft General Comment, and encourages the Office of the High Commissioner to rigorously pursue its adoption by governments.