IEEE is celebrating the 10th anniversary of “Ethically Aligned Design,” a groundbreaking initiative that put Human Rights at the center of technology development. This milestone coincides with wider recognition of these principles, as reflected in a recent report on Human Rights and ICT standardization to which IEEE SA contributed.
The report builds on a seminar of the same title held on 14 April 2026, organized by the European Commission, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), with support from the EU-funded projects StandICT.eu, INSTAR, and InDiCo Global. The event drew more than 190 registrants and 100 live participants, ranging from standards bodies and policymakers to industry, academia, and the human rights community.
Exploring how human rights considerations can be practically embedded into ICT standards development, the report provides concrete examples designed to guide standards bodies, regulators, and policymakers in aligning their efforts. Its content is structured around four distinct sections:
- Section 1, “Why Dialogue Between Human Rights Organizations and ICT Standardization Bodies Is Needed,” establishes the rationale and context.
- Section 2, “Best Practice Examples from Standards Development Organizations (SDOs)”, showcases measures already being implemented by different entities. It also highlights IEEE’s work, which began in 2016 with the Ethically Aligned Design initiative, a landmark effort that established human rights as the primary design principle and subsequent led to a second edition, as well as the development of a series of socio-technical standards such as the IEEE 7000 series and certifications programs, including CertifAIEd™, that are relevant to human rights considerations.
- Section 3 provides guidelines on processes and supporting measures for SDOs, human rights experts, civil society, policymakers, regulators, academia and industry.
- Section 4 presents calls to action to strengthen cooperation, promoting stakeholder dialogue and participation, developing a common methodology, and building a shared vocabulary between technical and human rights communities.