August, 2024

AlSur and its member organizations urge Latin American States not to adopt or ratify the first UN Convention on cybercrime because it contravenes their international human rights obligations.

The elections of July 28th in Venezuela have unleashed a climate of lack of transparency, repression, violence and serious human rights violations. As AlSur Consortium, we join the international voices condemning the abuses of the Venezuelan government and demand guarantees for people to be able to demonstrate, protest and express themselves freely in the country.

To have clarity on the relevant governance forums for Latin America, it must be said, in principle, that they are mostly facilitated by actors promoting the development agenda that seeks to prioritize the economic benefits stemming from the exploitation and production of AI systems with the aim of boosting the economy and labor market. Among these are the BRICS+, ECLAC, and the G20.

diverse that, at times, they can feel overwhelming to those of us closely following the various activities or agendas where AI is discussed with the aim of agreeing on principles, norms, or technical standards and human rights applied to its design, deployment, operation, and uses.

Reflecting on the past year in the field of human rights advocacy in digital environments is an exercise that begins with an analysis of the problems. 2023, like previous years marked by the pandemic and the War in Ukraine, reminded us that complex situations can escalate further. This year showed that, when it seems that challenges cannot increase, new scenarios always arise to complicate everything.

The human catastrophe that is occurring in the Gaza Strip and that has escalated since October 7, 2023, calls us as organizations of the AlSur consortium to make a collective position calling for a ceasefire and attention to the human rights that are currently being violated.

From October 8-12, the eighteenth Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was held in the city of Kyoto, Japan with an agenda centered around concerns for the deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, climate resilience and the deepening of the Global Digital Compact (GDC). AlSur organizations were present in 11 sessions and made progress in the development of their governance and Strategic Plan.

The organizations Derechos Digitales, Red en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales (R3D), Instituto Panamericano de Derecho y Tecnologías (IPANDETEC) and Hiperderecho, belonging to the AlSur consortium, and officially registered to participate as civil society in the sessions of the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive International Convention on Combating the Criminal Misuse of Information and Communication Technologies, prepared a specific contribution to the draft text (