A/RES/79/172
Human rights in the administration of justice
Recalling the commitment to establish appropriate safeguards to prevent and
address any adverse impact on human rights arising from the use of digital and
emerging technologies and protect individuals against violations and abuses of their
human rights in the digital space, including through human rights due diligence and
establishing effective oversight and remedy mechanisms, recently reaffirmed by
Member States in the Global Digital Compact, as annexed to General Assembly
resolution 79/1 of 22 September 2024,
Recognizing the rapid advances in the design, development and use of digital
technologies, including artificial intelligence systems, in various aspects of criminal
justice systems, including the pretrial stage, during trials as well as after convictions,
Bearing in mind that the use of digital technology, including emerging
information and communications technology, including artificial intelligence, can
improve the administration of justice but also has the potential to negatively affect
human rights,
Encouraging law enforcement, criminal justice and other relevant institutions
to effectively and appropriately employ new and advanced technologies, including
artificial intelligence, as tools against crime with adequate and effective safeguards
to prevent the misuse and abuse of these technologies in this regard, and underscoring
the importance of designing and using artificial intelligence systems in such a way as
to produce explainable and non-discriminatory results,
Recognizing the importance of the principle that, except for those lawful
limitations that are demonstrably necessitated by the fact of incarceration, persons
deprived of their liberty shall retain their non-derogable human rights and all other
human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Concerned about the negative impact of overincarceration and overcrowding on
the enjoyment of human rights, and acknowledging that overincarceration constitutes
one of the major underlying causes of overcrowding,
Emphasizing that the penitentiary system should provide the possibility of
reform and social rehabilitation of the offender in all appropriate cases, and that
punishment should be dealt with in the larger framework of a criminal justice system
that provides the possibility of reinsertion and reintegration of the offender into
society,
Recalling that the social rehabilitation and reintegration of persons deprived of
their liberty shall be among the essential aims of the criminal justice system, ensuring,
as far as possible, that offenders are able to lead a law -abiding and self-supporting
life upon their return to society,
Underlining that, where persons are in vulnerable situations or marginalized,
prejudice and discrimination in the administration of justice may result in their
overincarceration and overrepresentation throughout the criminal justice system,
which could also potentially occur due to the use of digital technologies, including
artificial intelligence, in the administration of justice, and recognizing the need for
States to take measures, within the justice system, particularly the criminal justice
system, to prevent discrimination, inter alia, against persons with disabilities and
persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and to
increase their effective participation within the system,
Aware of the need for special vigilance with regard to the specific situation of
children, juveniles, women, persons with disabilities, older persons, Indigenous
Peoples, refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, persons belonging to
national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and people who are in vulnerable
situations in the administration of justice, in particular while they are deprived of
4/11
24-24212