AU Students Submit Human Rights Report to UN

Students in SIS professor Jonathan Crock's Human Rights, Media, and Technology course in SIS's Department of Peace, Human Rights, and Cultural Relations authored two human rights publications that were submitted at the request of the United Nations as inputs into forthcoming UN reports.

The first student publication informs the UN Secretary-General's report to the General Assembly on human rights and digital technologies in the administration of justice. The second advises a UN expert workshop and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in its forthcoming report that was requested by the Human Rights Council on the centrality of care and support from a human rights perspective.

Previous reports written by Professor Crock's students have been cited by the UN Human Rights Council and Australian Human Rights Commission.

"Student authors are making a real-world impact and changing the course of UN and state actions by raising issues in their reports that otherwise would not have been addressed," said Crock. "My students are also educating others through their publications and have been contacted by experts about their research. I have had students publish work that has led directly to jobs and fellowships."

The authors in Crock's course are: Cherisse Lewis, Chris Chavers, Monique Vaz, Sharit Cardenas Lopez, Aliza Inam, Matilda Olufunke Ajibola, Lili Martin, Courtney McGourty, Eleftherios Hazapis, Hannah Lipstein, Nicholas Sergio Ferrari, Jean-Philippe Beaudet, and Tess Herdman.

Human Rights and Digital Technologies in the Administration of Justice

The report on human rights and digital technologies in the administration of justice details how the adoption of new technologies in the justice system is resulting in human rights violations due to poor oversight, intentional neglect, and biased regulation and implementation.

When introduced to institutions such as policing and the court system, new technologies have upheld white supremacy and led to human rights abuses against marginalized communities. The expansion of the use of highly biased and racist technology has led to violence through police brutality and incarceration against Black Americans and other people of color and extrajudicial killings based on incomplete or intentionally misleading surveillance footage.

Furthermore, the benefits of the global tech trade are highly skewed towards the interests and enrichment of individuals in wealthy nations. In its trade policies, the US consistently prioritizes economic interests over global human rights, creating gaps in access to critical, beneficial technologies and violations of the human right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress.

The report recommends that the UN and member states pursue laws and policies to create a more equitable system of power in the administration of justice and restore power back to communities that are exploited and killed in the name of technological progress.

The report was submitted in March 2024 to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in response to the UN's call for input to inform the UN Secretary-General's report to the UN General Assembly on human rights and digital technologies in the administration of justice, pursuant to resolution A/RES/77/219.

Human Rights and the Centrality of Care and Support for Ongoing COVID-19 Impacts

The human rights report on the centrality of care and support for ongoing COVID-19 impacts reveals how the pandemic has left a staggering 65 million people worldwide grappling with the debilitating effects of Long COVID, and that number continues to grow. With symptoms ranging from chronic pain and debilitating fatigue to organ damage and neurological issues, this often-overlooked condition is a silent crisis that demands urgent attention.

From overcrowded long-term care facilities to the disproportionate burden on women, people of color, and immigrant communities, the pandemic has exposed deep fault lines in the US and global healthcare systems. This report highlights the importance of an intersectional, human rights-based approach to creating more equitable policies and support systems.

The report is a wake-up call urging us to rethink our care systems, dramatically increase public funding, prioritize innovative research, and adopt policies that support the most marginalized and affected members of society.

The report was submitted to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in April 2024 in response to the UN's call for input to inform the UN expert workshop and UN High Commissioner's report to the Human Rights Council, pursuant to resolution 54/6 on the centrality of care and support from a human rights perspective.

Previous Reports Cited by Human Rights Bodies

Professor Crock's classes previously submitted a report on technology and children's right to privacy that was cited three times in a UN Human Rights Council report (A/HRC/46/37), a report on democratic control of artificial intelligence that was cited five times by the Australian Human Rights Commission in its report on human rights and technology, a report on violence against women to the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, and a report on the right to housing to the UN special rapporteurs on the right to adequate housing and extreme poverty and human rights.

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