APC submission to UN highlights digital risks facing women human rights defenders
A submission by the Association for Progressive Communications outlines how digital technologies are being used to target women human rights defenders and marginalised communities across multiple regions.
The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) has submitted input to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for its report on human rights defenders and new and emerging technologies.
The submission draws on APC’s work with members and partners in Africa, Latin America, Southwest Asia and North Africa, and the Asia Pacific region. It examines how digital technologies can be used not only for communication and participation, but also for targeting, silencing, and endangering women human rights defenders and marginalised groups.
According to APC, these harms include gendered disinformation campaigns, algorithmic systems that undermine women’s voices, intrusive surveillance, and other forms of digital repression. The submission argues that these practices affect rights such as freedom of expression, privacy, and association.
The document places these issues in a broader political and technological context, linking the safety of defenders to wider conditions that shape public participation and access to digital spaces.
It addresses several areas, including legal and regulatory measures, digital communications, privacy-related restrictions, and the role of companies in responding to these risks.
The submission also draws on APC’s research, capacity-building work, contributions to UN processes, and feminist security approaches developed with grassroots activists.
