Today, on 15 June 2026, the 62nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC62) commenced in Geneva. Against a backdrop of unprecedented attacks on international law, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights opened the session by reminding us that ‘the nuts and bolts of human rights work are delivering safety, dignity and freedom for millions of people every day’.
Over the next three weeks, the Human Rights Council will be negotiating and adopting resolutions and holding interactive dialogues with significant impacts on the enjoyment of the right to freedom of expression worldwide. Among key issues on the agenda will be new resolutions on freedom of opinion and expression and disinformation, as well as interactive dialogues on the freedom of expression in new frontiers, the chilling effects of digital surveillance on the right to assembly and association, and the impact of artificial intelligence on the rights of women and girls. There will also be action to provide scrutiny and ensure accountability of country-specific human rights violations.
At the session, the President of the Human Rights Council will also appoint a new UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, who will bring a new vision to the mandate and play a leading role in shaping international human rights standards over the next six years.
Here, ARTICLE 19 highlights the most relevant developments pertaining to the right to freedom of expression at the session, focusing on resolutions and interactive dialogues.
Resolutions
Freedom of opinion and expression
Canada and the Netherlands – alongside a broader core group consisting of the missions of Brazil, Fiji, Namibia, and Sweden – will lead a thematic resolution on freedom of opinion and expression, with substantive recommendations to governments and other relevant stakeholders. This resolution is tabled, renegotiated, and adopted every two years. The previous version of the resolution adopted two years ago will be updated to reflect persisting or new challenges to the exercise of the right to freedom of expression.
We will be taking part in negotiations and meeting with delegations throughout the session to ensure it is a progressive resolution. In particular, we will be pushing for the resolution to be the first to explicitly and comprehensively address the issue of transnational repression, and its existential chilling effects on the right to freedom of expression worldwide. We will also be advocating for strengthening the language on core issues pertaining to the right to freedom of expression, such as strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) and the repressive legal frameworks underpinning them.
Disinformation
Ukraine, alongside the missions of Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and the United Kingdom, will lead a thematic resolution on disinformation and human rights. The previous version of the resolution will be updated at the session, with the aim of new language touching upon the impact of artificial intelligence on the information environment.
We will work closely with the core group and other delegations to ensure that the resolution retains a human rights-based approach to countering disinformation, including any new language on artificial intelligence and other technologies.
Interactive Dialogues
Freedom of expression in new frontiers
The Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression will be presenting her final report on freedom of expression in new frontiers, which examines how the intersection of public and private power and the convergence of geopolitical and corporate interests is creating a new crisis for the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
We are co-sponsoring a side event on the report and will make a statement during the interactive dialogue. In particular, we will highlight how the concentration of power in the hands of a small number of technology companies is providing them with unprecedented levels of control that allow them to become de-facto gatekeepers of the online information ecosystem. We will call for regulation to include measures aimed at reducing the excessive economic and political power of dominant technology companies and creating stronger incentives for them to respect human rights.
Chilling effects of digital surveillance
The Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and association will be presenting a report on the chilling effects of digital surveillance, looking at the normalisation of digital surveillance under the guise of security and crime prevention and the resulting profound sociopolitical consequences.
We will champion the report and call for governments and other stakeholders to implement its recommendations, including the need to strictly prohibit the use and transfer of surveillance technologies that fail to comply with international human rights law, as well as to ban the use of biometric technologies and other artificial intelligence applications for mass surveillance, such as facial recognition technology.
Impacts of artificial intelligence on the rights of women and girls
The Working Group on discrimination against women and girls will present its report examining the impact of artificial intelligence and related digital technologies and their development and deployment in a context shaped by entrenched gender inequality and intersecting forms of discrimination. Our input into the report focused on how women journalists, especially those facing intersecting and multiple forms of discrimination, are subject to uniquely gendered violations and abuses exacerbated by the growing use of artificial intelligence.
We will use our meetings with delegations at the session as an opportunity to raise awareness of our submission and the impacts of artificial intelligence on women journalists, alongside expressing strong support for the report and its contribution to the growing global call to establish redlines on artificial intelligence.
During HRC62, follow @article19 for live updates and use #HRC62 to join the discussion. You can also check out our full coverage of the session here.