At their 1519^th meeting, on 13 February 2025, the Ministers’ Deputies held their annual exchange of views on relations with the United Nations on human rights questions, with the participation of experts from capitals. The Deputies held an initial exchange with Ambassador Jürg Lauber, President of the United Nations Human Rights Council. This was followed by a thematic discussion on “Human rights and digital technologies”, which covered a wide range of topics, including the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on human rights, democracy and the rule of law and the recent adoption of the Council of Europe Framework Convention on AI. Additionally, the discussion explored coordinated efforts with the United Nations to develop legal standards and methodologies ensuring AI technologies promote innovation while safeguarding human rights. The following personalities participated in the exchange: Amandeep Singh Gill, Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies (video message); Peggy Hicks, Director of the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures, and Right to Development Division, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; and Jaroslaw Ponder, Head of the International Telecommunication Union Office for Europe.

On the first day of the meeting, the Deputies took note of the following documents:

• two reports adopted by the Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child (CDENF):
  • implementation review report of Recommendation CM/Rec(2009)10 on Council of Europe policy guidelines on integrated national strategies for the protection of children from violence;
  • implementation review report (and its appendix) of Recommendation CM/Rec(2019)11 on effective guardianship for unaccompanied and separated children in the context of migration;
• a policy paper, adopted by the Council of Europe International Co-operation Group on Drugs and Addictions (Pompidou Group), on “Bringing human rights to the heart of drug and addiction policies: guidance for aligning drug and addiction policies with human rights” [more information …].

The other items examined by the Deputies appear in the Agenda and the decisions adopted are available in the meeting file.