Council of Europe Finalizes Draft AI Treaty, but Concerns Remain over Private Sector

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) welcomed the completion of the draft Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, which is set to become the first international treaty on AI. However, the Assembly expressed regret that the convention "does not cover to an equal extent public and private actors," potentially creating a significant loophole in its enforcement.

The draft convention, which has been negotiated by representatives from Council of Europe member states, the EU, and non-European countries such as the US, Japan, and Canada, aims to protect human rights, democratic processes, and the rule of law in the context of AI. It is based on the Council of Europe's standards in these areas and will be open to all states worldwide once adopted.

While PACE acknowledged that the drafting process had to accommodate diverse legal and political traditions, resulting in general and abstract provisions, it proposed several amendments to strengthen the convention. These include limiting the ability of states to restrict the convention's application for national security reasons, ensuring such activities comply with international human rights law, and allowing for bans on certain AI uses deemed incompatible with human rights.

The Assembly "strongly calls on all member States of the Council of Europe, when ratifying the Framework Convention," to recognize its full applicability to private actors and to report accordingly to the future Conference of the Parties. It believes that dynamic interpretation by the convention's supervisory mechanism will foster advances over time, despite the differentiated approach for the private sector.

CAIDP, along with partners and allies among civil society organizations, has worked closely with the Council of Europe on the development of the AI Treaty since work began almost five years ago. CAIDP Europe Executive Director Karine Caunes said, "We congratulate the Parliamentary Assembly for listening to the voice of AI experts and civil society organisations who urged the Council of Europe to protect human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in the age of AI. We call on the Committee of Ministers to adopt the recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly prior to final adoption of the Convention in May."