Kickstarting Mechanisms to Embed Human Rights in Digital Governance

To fully reap the benefits of Smart City development with the upgrade of technology and service provision, city government must address the issue of “digital divide” that may persist in the municipality. However, to bridge the digital gap of infrastructure and services, it cannot be handled by only one department or a single IT-agency. It will be required to involve the whole-of-government. This needs a great degree of coordination between government agencies and other participating city stakeholders. To kickstart this holistic approach, UN Habitat suggests mechanism to embed in the digital governance that ensure the delivery of basic human rights in the digital platform.

First is to mainstream the human rights and digitalisation in all policy area. This involves breaking the silos to create network of collaboration, creating shared responsibility between participating parties in the digital governance of the city. Next, it is essential to form a team with suitable capabilities. These team of individuals are responsible to form a link that applies the combined focus of the goal. Thus, it is equally vital to provide opportunities for the digital and technological upskilling program for the public servants. Continuous upgrade and transformation in the digital governance of the city is imminent for city development. Lastly. city should also open avenues for experiments and test for digital solutions, so that new initiatives and technologies can thrive. 

Reference:

UN Habitat’s Mainstreaming Human Rights in the Digital Transformation of Cities: A guide for local governments

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