Session
Organizer 1: Gayatri Khandhadai, 🔒
Organizer 2: Marwa Fatafta, 🔒Access Now
Organizer 3: Jalal Abukhater, 7amleh - The Arab Centre for the Advancement of Social Media
Organizer 2: Marwa Fatafta, 🔒Access Now
Organizer 3: Jalal Abukhater, 7amleh - The Arab Centre for the Advancement of Social Media
Speaker 1: Gayatri khandhadai, Civil Society, African Group
Speaker 2: Jalal Abukhater, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 3: Kiran Aziz, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 2: Jalal Abukhater, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 3: Kiran Aziz, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Moderator
Gayatri Khandhadai, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Online Moderator
Veit Meredith, Civil Society, Eastern European Group
Rapporteur
Jalal Abukhater, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Format
Roundtable
Duration (minutes): 90
Format description: A workshop is best suited for this discussion as it needs in-depth conversation on solutions and this is an urgent issue. Why are we failing despite international attention on conflicts? To answer this question, we need a multistakeholder solution oriented dialogue, one that accounts for all perspectives. The aim is to have an interactive discussion garnering insights from all the participants. A round table format will let us have the following session plan: 1. 30 minutes of introductory interventions by the different speakers 2. 30 minutes of discussion on gaps in the current initiatives to hold companies accountable for violations in conflict zones 3. 30 minutes of discussion on what concrete recommendations we can make to companies, states and to international mechanisms. We need this to be a collaborative exercise and a round table will facilitate that.
Duration (minutes): 90
Format description: A workshop is best suited for this discussion as it needs in-depth conversation on solutions and this is an urgent issue. Why are we failing despite international attention on conflicts? To answer this question, we need a multistakeholder solution oriented dialogue, one that accounts for all perspectives. The aim is to have an interactive discussion garnering insights from all the participants. A round table format will let us have the following session plan: 1. 30 minutes of introductory interventions by the different speakers 2. 30 minutes of discussion on gaps in the current initiatives to hold companies accountable for violations in conflict zones 3. 30 minutes of discussion on what concrete recommendations we can make to companies, states and to international mechanisms. We need this to be a collaborative exercise and a round table will facilitate that.
Policy Question(s)
What policies and due diligence requirements should be enforced to ensure tech companies do not enable rights abuses in conflict zones?
How can responsible disengagement be structured to prevent complicity in war crimes while minimizing harm to affected populations?
What mechanisms can strengthen corporate accountability for tech companies operating in conflict-affected areas under international humanitarian law?
What will participants gain from attending this session? 1. A deeper understanding of the role tech companies play in conflict zones, including their business relationships and governance challenges.
2. Insights into corporate responsibility and the expectations around heightened human rights due diligence in conflict-affected areas.
3. Knowledge of accountability mechanisms and policy solutions to address the risks of complicity in war crimes and violence.
4. A multi-regional perspective on the issue, drawing from case studies and data from MENA, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Europe as well as a multi dimensional perspective from investors, humanitarian law experts, corporate accountability experts and human rights defenders.
Actionable recommendations for policy advocacy, corporate engagement, and responsible investment strategies.
Description:
The growing role of tech companies in conflict is increasingly under scrutiny, as digital platforms, surveillance technologies, and AI-driven tools become both enablers of violence and instruments of accountability. Profiteering from war economies remains an under discussed area in multi stakeholder spaces. To fill this gap, this session will explore: 1. How tech companies contribute to conflict dynamics through providing infrastructure, platform governance and AI-driven surveillance. 2. Challenges that business relationships of tech companies with governments or other actors accused of war crimes poses. 3. Actualizing corporate responsibility of tech companies operating in conflict zones, including compliance with heightened human rights due diligence. 4. The challenges of responsible disengagement and the risks of complicity when withdrawing from conflict zones. 5. What accountability mechanisms exist (or should be developed) to ensure corporate compliance with international humanitarian law and requirements of heightened due diligence. The session will feature insights from experts in human rights, responsible investing, humanitarian law and corporate accountability. We will be drawing on perspectives from MENA, Asia-Pacific, Africa and Europe based on the data collected by the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre on conflict and corporate accountability. This is a diverse and multi-stakeholder dialogue geared towards finding the right solutions. Given that the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights focused on conflict later this year and the inclusion of a BPF on Securing Access to the Internet and Protect Core Internet Resources in Contexts of Conflict and Crises, this discussion is not only timely but necessary at the IGF.
The growing role of tech companies in conflict is increasingly under scrutiny, as digital platforms, surveillance technologies, and AI-driven tools become both enablers of violence and instruments of accountability. Profiteering from war economies remains an under discussed area in multi stakeholder spaces. To fill this gap, this session will explore: 1. How tech companies contribute to conflict dynamics through providing infrastructure, platform governance and AI-driven surveillance. 2. Challenges that business relationships of tech companies with governments or other actors accused of war crimes poses. 3. Actualizing corporate responsibility of tech companies operating in conflict zones, including compliance with heightened human rights due diligence. 4. The challenges of responsible disengagement and the risks of complicity when withdrawing from conflict zones. 5. What accountability mechanisms exist (or should be developed) to ensure corporate compliance with international humanitarian law and requirements of heightened due diligence. The session will feature insights from experts in human rights, responsible investing, humanitarian law and corporate accountability. We will be drawing on perspectives from MENA, Asia-Pacific, Africa and Europe based on the data collected by the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre on conflict and corporate accountability. This is a diverse and multi-stakeholder dialogue geared towards finding the right solutions. Given that the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights focused on conflict later this year and the inclusion of a BPF on Securing Access to the Internet and Protect Core Internet Resources in Contexts of Conflict and Crises, this discussion is not only timely but necessary at the IGF.
Expected Outcomes
Key outcomes we are aiming for are:
1. Identification of concrete policy recommendations for businesses, investors, and regulators to enhance accountability in conflict settings.
2. Improved coordination among the participants who are working on different aspects of this topic
3. Concrete plan for setting out civil society expectations of how heightened due diligence should be carried out by tech companies
Hybrid Format: To provide a more inclusive experience for participants on-site and online, the event is going to livestreamed, and an online moderator will collect questions from the audience to be answered duringt he relevant sections of the session. The onsite moderator will be in close contact with the online moderator to field questions or feedback. The online moderator will host the interactive discussion with the participants on the link and to gather their feedback to the questions that the onsite participants will be discussing. The participants will use a whiteboard or similar tool that is most accessible by all which will be shared on the onsite moderators’ s screen to facilitate organizing ideas that are shared by the participants.