GENEVA – The World Jewish Congress welcomed a joint statement by 52 United Nations member states reaffirming the fight against antisemitism as an international human rights priority and calling for stronger action to address the growing threat of antisemitism through artificial intelligence.
Led by Austria, Czechia and Slovakia as part of their Slavkov trilateral cooperation, the initiative has become one of the few sustained multilateral efforts to place the fight against antisemitism firmly on the agenda of the UN Human Rights Council. First launched in 2020, the annual initiative has addressed issues including online antisemitism, hatred in and through sports, interfaith dialogue and, this year, the risks and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence. This year’s statement was read out by the Permanent Representative of Czechia to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Karel Beran.
Ronald S. Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress, said
“For years, the World Jewish Congress has worked with diplomats in Geneva to make clear that antisemitism is not only a Jewish concern. It is a human rights issue, and confronting it requires the attention and commitment of the international community. The fact that this coalition has endured and grown shows that persistent engagement can make a difference.
“Artificial intelligence must not become a new engine for old hatred. We cannot allow antisemitism, Holocaust distortion, and conspiracy theories to be spread faster and further simply because the technology has changed. Nor can we allow sacred terms such as genocide to be redefined by those who seek to do harm to Jews. Governments and technology companies have a responsibility to act now, before these dangers become even harder to contain.
“We thank Austria, Czechia and Slovakia for their continued leadership, and every country that has joined this effort. The WJC is proud to have played a critical role in building and advancing this initiative over the years.”
The World Jewish Congress has, for years, helped to facilitate this the initiative, working with diplomatic missions in Geneva to build international support and ensure that combating antisemitism is recognized as a fundamental human rights priority.
This year's statement warns that artificial intelligence, while offering significant opportunities for innovation, can also enable the creation and dissemination of antisemitic content, Holocaust denial and distortion, disinformation and harmful stereotypes at unprecedented speed and scale. It calls on governments, technology companies and other stakeholders to strengthen safeguards, transparency, due diligence, human oversight and accountability in the development and deployment of AI.
The statement also recognizes the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism as a practical tool that can assist in identifying and mitigating antisemitic bias.
The initiative forms part of the World Jewish Congress' broader and sustained engagement at the UN Human Rights Council. During the Council's ongoing session, WJC has delivered statements on behalf of Jewish communities worldwide, including under Agenda Item 7, while continuing to advocate directly with governments and international institutions on issues affecting Jewish communities and Israel.
WJC also uses its presence at the Council to provide affiliated Jewish organizations and community leaders with a platform to address human rights issues in their own countries directly. Through the Universal Periodic Review process, WJC has enabled representatives of national Jewish communities to address the Council in connection with the reviews of their respective countries, bringing the experiences and priorities of those communities directly into the international human rights system. At this session, representatives from the Jewish communities of Estonia, Latvia and Paraguay have delivered statements in connection with their countries' UPR processes. WJC also organized an event highlighting Muslim-Jewish dialogue as a means to promote more peaceful and cohesive societies.
Through these efforts, the World Jewish Congress seeks not only to speak on behalf of Jewish communities worldwide, but to ensure that those communities are able to speak for themselves before the international institutions whose decisions affect them.
