United Nations, March 8 (IANS) India’s international human rights pioneer Hansa Mehta’s unflinching stand for the recognition of women animates contemporary struggles for their protection in the age of Artificial Intelligence, according to General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock.
“We should be reminded every day when we are working on these new AI regulations to hold our stand firmly, as Hansa Mehta once did,” Baerbock has said.
Mehta is credited with rewording the First Article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from a male-centric version that spoke of only men to "All human beings are born free and equal", making it inclusive of women.
Speaking at the annual Hansa Mehta Memorial lecture sponsored by India’s UN Mission, Baerbock said, “Her legacy lives on in the foundational principles she helped etch into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”.
When, as a member of the Commission on Human Rights in 1949, Mehta demanded the change from "all men" to "all human beings", “they were frankly dismissive”, she said.
“She persisted until she secured a formulation that was unambiguous”, and that was “a small change on the page but one with monumental consequences”, Baerbock said.
This year’s theme of the lecture was “Breaking barriers for Social Transformation: Dr. Hansa Mehta’s inspiring life”.
Baerbock said, “Advances in digital technology and Artificial Intelligence promise transformation, yet women remain less likely to have equal access to digital tools.”
Moreover, these technologies are being used to target women, she said, pointing out that “96 per cent of non-consensual deepfake pornography depicts women”.
"We should be reminded every day when we are working on these new AI regulations to hold our stand firmly, as Hansa Mehta once did,” Baerbock said.
Therefore, she added, it was fitting that “India’s hosting of the second AI Impact Summit, which reflects a commitment to harnessing these technologies for inclusive and equitable development”.
“If just a single person can make such an immense difference, imagine how profoundly a society can transform when that opportunity is extended to all humanity”, she said.
Mehta was one of only 15 women in the Constituent Assembly of India that was responsible for drafting the Constitution.
--IANS
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