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United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

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Paris, France
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UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded on 16 November 1945. For this specialized United Nations agency, it is not enough to build classrooms in devastated countries or to publish scientific breakthroughs. Education, Social and Natural Science, Culture and Communication are the means to a far more ambitious goal : to build peace in the minds of women and men.

UNESCO Contribution to the European Training Platform

I) Rule of Law and Freedom of Expression 

As the United Nations agency with a specific mandate to foster “the free flow of ideas by word and image”, UNESCO is committed to foster freedom of expression and access to information. These are fundamental freedoms and cornerstones of democracy, but also enablers of other human rights and the rule of law more broadly. Further, UNESCO promotes the safety of journalists and contributes to end impunity for crimes and attacks committed against them.

In line with its mandate and in the framework of the UN Plan of Action on Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, UNESCO cooperates with members of the judiciary to support their vital role in protecting and ensuring an environment conducive to freedom of expression, access to information and other fundamental freedoms, and in reinforcing the ‘three Ps’: Prevention, Protection and Prosecution of crimes and attacks against journalists. 

Through the Judges’ Initiative, since 2013 UNESCO has raised knowledge and capacities of judicial actors on international and regional standards on freedom of expression, access to information and the safety of journalists in more than 160 countries around the world. Over 38,000 judicial actors - including judges, prosecutors and lawyers - have been trained on these issues, notably through:

Webpages: 

 

II) AI & the Rule of Law 

Judicial operators play a key role in tackling the challenges arising from the rapid advancement of AI, while also using AI to enhance the administration of justice. UNESCO’s AI and the rule of law programme, supported by the European Commission, is aimed at building the capacity of judicial actors to leverage AI use in the judiciary, protect the rule of law and human rights. With this objective, UNESCO has embarked on inter-regional and national trainings, in both in-person and online formats across the world. As part of this programme, UNESCO has reached over 10.000 judicial operators in 2025 alone. Through its Global Toolkit on AI and the Rule of Law for the Judiciary, UNESCO offers a foundational tool to support judicial training institutions in upgrading their curriculum with AI use cases and extensive analysis of AI’s impact on human rights. This project responds to the growing need of judicial actors who want to deepen their knowledge about the benefits and risks of AI in the justice system and society more broadly. UNESCO has created a Global Network of Experts on AI & the Rule of Law to support its mission, deliver training and technical assistance to the judiciary. 

Beyond training, UNESCO supports judicial authorities and courts as they design and implement AI governance frameworks. In 2025, UNESCO published its Guidelines for the Use of AI in Courts and Tribunals to support courts and individual judges on the development, deployment and control of AI systems. The Guidelines have successfully been adapted in Colombia, India, Paraguay, and the Philippines.

UNESCO has developed several resources and capacity building tools to achieve its objectives, including: 

1/ Publications & tools 

2/ Free Online Courses