C 342/210
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
6.9.2022
Thursday 17 February 2022
103.
Stresses the need for continued engagement and dialogue between the EU and all stakeholders in beneficiary countries, notably civil society organisations and trade unions, as well as for further improvements to transparency and monitoring in order to ensure that the GSP scheme fulfils its objective of sustainable development and good governance;
Digital technologies
104.
Underlines the important role played by digital technologies, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic; stresses that these technologies will continue to be implemented around the world in the post-pandemic period and that that they should be appropriately regulated to leverage their strength while avoiding any negative effects on human rights; stresses, in particular, the importance of effective safeguards to the right to privacy and data protection in the health-related systems of mass surveillance, and of their proportionate use which should also be limited in time; stresses the evident risks of surveillance technologies being used inappropriately against human rights defenders, opposition figures, journalists, civil society and others, not least as such technologies pose a serious obstacle to the defence of human rights, a risk to privacy and freedom of expression, and a serious threat to democratic institutions; calls on the EU to urgently devise a robust regulatory framework in this field to guarantee that the use of these technologies is compliant with international human rights standards; calls on the EU and its Member States to ensure full due human rights diligence and proper vetting of exports of European surveillance technology and technical assistance; calls on the EU and its Member States to engage with third-country governments to end repressive legislative practices on cybersecurity and counter-terrorism; calls on the EU to take the initiative to promote an immediate global moratorium on the sale, transfer and use of spyware technology;
105.
Notes the benefits brought about by the increased use of artificial intelligence, but stresses that the technologies must be developed, deployed and used under meaningful human supervision, in full transparency and ensuring accountability and non-discrimination, in particular to avoid both bias in automated decisions and data protection violations;
106.
Stresses the vital role of social platforms in advancing freedom of expression and of organisation, but underlines the need for proper safeguards to prevent the manipulation or unjustified limitation or curation of user content, including automated censorship, on the one hand, and the spread of hate speech, fake news, disinformation and intentionally harmful content, on the other; calls for the EU to propose ways to facilitate the work of human rights defenders online and promote recognition of the notion that debate on human rights should be promoted and protected in all circumstances; welcomes the adoption of the new EU rules on the control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use technologies;
107.
Emphasises that democracy is facing increasing threats through covert foreign funding, disinformation and other interference online, and underlines the fact that in the authoritarian states the internet and cyberspace is often the only area free of state control and the censorship of human rights defenders, free media and pro-democratic opposition; calls on the Commission and the Council to strengthen the EU’s response and work towards the creation of international safeguards on disinformation, cyber-attacks and other hybrid threats emanating from malign foreign actors seeking to undermine societal resilience and democratic processes across the EU, in our neighbourhood and beyond; stresses the need for more public support into research on novel ways to counter the spread of fake news;
The death penalty, torture and other forms of ill-treatment
108.
Reiterates its strong opposition to the death penalty in view of its cruel and irreversible nature and calls for the EU to intensify its efforts to advocate universal abolition; underlines that a positive trend emerged in 2020 towards a moratorium on executions with a view to fully abolishing the death penalty, with 123 states voting in favour of the UN General Assembly’s resolution on this matter; is extremely concerned, however, about the dramatic increase in executions in certain countries; urges the EU and its Member States to defend abolition in all international forums and advocate for the broadest possible support for this position;