The Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and human rights, democracy and the rule of law is the in this field. Opened for signature on 5 September 2024, it aims to ensure that activities within the lifecycle of artificial intelligence systems are fully consistent with human rights, democracy and the rule of law, while being conducive to technological progress and innovation.

 Framework Convention and its Explanatory Report

The Framework Convention complements existing international standards on human rights, democracy and the rule of law, and . In order to stand the test of time, the Framework Convention does not regulate technology and is essentially .

Work was initiated in 2019, when the ad hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAHAI) was tasked with examining the feasibility of such an instrument. Following its mandate, it was succeeded in 2022 by the Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI) which drafted and negotiated the text.

The Framework Convention was drafted by the 46 member states of the Council of Europe, with the participation of all observer states: Canada, Japan, Mexico, the Holy See and the United States of America, as well as the European Union, and a significant number of non-member states: Australia, Argentina, Costa Rica, Israel, Peru and Uruguay.

In line with the Council of Europe’s practice of multi-stakeholder engagement, 68 international representatives from civil society, academia and industry, as well as several other international organisations were also actively involved in the development of the Framework Convention.

The Framework Convention covers the use of AI systems by – including acting on their behalf – and .

The Convention offers Parties two modalities to comply with its principles and obligations when regulating the private sector: Parties may opt to be directly obliged by the relevant Convention provisions or, as an alternative, take other measures to comply with the treaty’s provisions while fully respecting their international obligations regarding human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

Parties to the Framework Convention are not required to apply the provisions of the treaty to activities related to the protection of their national security interests but must ensure that such activities respect international law and democratic institutions and processes. The Framework Convention does not apply to national defence matters nor to research and development activities, except when the testing of AI systems may have the potential to interfere with human rights, democracy, or the rule of law.

The Framework Convention establishes a follow-up mechanism, the Conference of the Parties, composed of official representatives of the Parties to the Convention to determine the extent to which its provisions are being implemented. Their findings and recommendations help to ensure States’ compliance with the Framework Convention and guarantee its long-term effectiveness. The Conference of the Parties shall also facilitate co-operation with relevant stakeholders, including through public hearings concerning pertinent aspects of the implementation of the Framework Convention.