United Nations, March 12 (IANS) Extending the power of digital tools across humanity helps promote human rights because improving the lives of all people is essential for realising its potential, according to India.

"In India, we have harnessed digital tools to expand access to rights for all, at scale", Sibi George, who is the Secretary (West) in India's External Affairs Ministry, told the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday (local time).

"It has also facilitated access to justice, civil and political rights, democratic participation of 1.4 billion Indians, and empowerment of our women," he said.

The AI Impact Summit in Delhi last month, where more than 100 countries participated, endorsed this idea of sharing the power of AI universally, he said.

20 heads of state or government and about 45 ministers attended the summit convened by India, along with France.

The summit "acknowledged that the power of AI is best realised only when its benefits are shared equitably by humanity, including participation of the Global South", George said.

George recalled External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar's call to the Council to move beyond statements and resolutions to tangible improvements in the daily lives of the most vulnerable.

"We firmly believe that a holistic and balanced approach to all human rights, anchored in an integrated development paradigm, is the most effective pathway to achieving this", George said, citing the example of India's digital programme as one of its pillars.

He reminded the Council about terrorism's serious threat to human rights and called for united action against it.

"Terrorism remains one of the gravest threats to human rights," he said.

"We must remain steadfast in our resolve to counter it in all its forms and manifestations," he said. "This Council should continue to speak with one voice on this issue".

--IANS

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