By Magdalene Wanja - Reporter
Kenya, January 21, 2026 - Several United Nations agencies are urging governments to strengthen laws, policies, and programmes to ensure that artificial intelligence (AI) is governed responsibly, with children’s rights at its centre.
They are calling on states to take coordinated action at international, national and local levels to ensure AI systems respect, protect and promote children’s rights, recognising children as independent rights holders under international law.
The appeal brings together a broad range of UN bodies, including the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), UNICEF, UNESCO, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and several UN special representatives and rapporteurs.
In a joint statement, the agencies stressed the urgent need for a child rights-based approach to the design, development, deployment and governance of AI. “We come together to address the urgent need for a child rights-based approach to the design, development, deployment and governance of AI,” the statement said, recalling the Convention on the Rights of the Child, its Optional Protocols and CRC General Comment No. 25 on children’s rights in the digital environment.
Children, defined as all persons under the age of 18, are a distinct group of rights holders whose physical, emotional, social and cognitive development requires special protection. As children mature, they gradually gain the capacity to exercise their rights independently.
AI technologies are rapidly reshaping societies and the lives of present and future generations. While they offer opportunities to support children’s development and the realisation of their rights, the agencies warned that they also pose serious risks.
“AI can pose profound challenges to the realisation of the rights of the child,” the statement noted, pointing to risks such as exploitation, abuse and discrimination arising from both direct interactions with AI systems and their indirect impacts.
The agencies also highlighted significant gaps in AI literacy and training among key stakeholders, including children, parents, teachers, caregivers, policymakers and government officials. Insufficient understanding of AI frameworks, data protection and child rights impact assessments “undermines effective governance,” they warned.
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Most AI tools and systems are not designed with children’s best interests in mind, according to the statement, which underscored the responsibility of technology companies to respect children’s rights and help create safer digital environments.
Although international child rights law applies regardless of technology, the agencies said more targeted guidance is needed. “There is a need to consolidate existing guidance and to provide further direction where needed,” the statement said, to support effective regulation and ensure full protection of children’s rights in relation to AI.
Among their recommendations, the agencies urged parliaments to use their legislative, oversight, budgetary and public engagement powers to safeguard children’s rights in the context of AI. They also called on governments to collect and analyse disaggregated data to inform AI-related policies and programmes.
The statement further recommended establishing monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, including child rights impact assessments, to identify, prevent and mitigate risks posed by AI systems. “These assessments should be accessible to the wider public, including children, in an age-appropriate manner and in a language they understand,” the agencies said.
Governments were also urged to allocate sufficient budgetary resources to support efforts aimed at protecting children’s rights in the age of AI.
