Rositsa Kirova, head of the Bulgarian Parliament's permanent delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), is participating in the Global Parliamentary Conference on Human Rights, taking place on November…
Rositsa Kirova, head of the Bulgarian Parliament's permanent delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), is participating in the Global Parliamentary Conference on Human Rights, taking place on November 12-13 in Geneva, the Tourism Committee said. The forum, organized by the IPU, was opened by its Secretary General, Anda Filip, and brought together parliamentarians from around the world, UN representatives and international experts. Kirova chairs the parliamentary Tourism Committee.
On Thursday, participants discussed how parliaments can protect fundamental rights and monitor the implementation of international commitments at the national level. Key topics included the impact of artificial intelligence on human rights, freedom of expression and efforts to combat intimidation and violence in politics.
During a panel on human rights in the AI era, Kirova asked whether independent studies existed comparing the full cost of performing the same task to the same quality standard in three different ways: by a human alone, by a human assisted by AI, and by an automated system under human supervision. She questioned whether such assessments take into account energy consumption, water used for cooling, equipment, data infrastructure and the human labour required to check and correct results.
Kirova also asked who should be held responsible when an error causes harm to people's rights, stressing that technology must serve society and respect human rights. During a session on freedom of expression, Kirova asked how journalists and citizens could be protected from legal proceedings brought with the intention of intimidating them, while ensuring that everyone retains fair legal means to defend their dignity, reputation and privacy. She also highlighted the importance of protecting the privacy of children of public figures.
The final panel on Thursday focused on protecting parliamentarians from intimidation and violence. Discussions addressed parliamentarians' right to freely express views that differ from prevailing opinions, as well as how threats, harassment and violence restrict women's participation in politics and their ability to carry out their mandates. Kirova said technological developments allow intimidation and pressure to take increasingly subtle forms. She emphasized the importance of sharing experience between national parliaments to help identify such attacks and protect those affected.
This is a source-linked briefing. Read the original report from Bulgarian News Agency .