From 7-9 October 2025, ICEED participated in the fifth and final session of the Council of Europe’s (CoE) Drafting Group on Human Rights and Artificial Intelligence (CDDH-IA) at the Council’s headquarters in Strasbourg, France. The group was created in July 2024 by the Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) with a mandate to develop a handbook for the public sector providing nonbinding, practical guidance in line with the CoE’s Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law on upholding human rights in the use of AI across sectors.
The fifth session was the final meeting before the CDDH-IA’s mandate is due to expire at the end of 2025, and involved discussions on the final round of suggested edits and comments on the draft handbook the group has been developing. CoE member states that participated in the CDDH-IA include, but are not limited to, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Norway, and Poland, with participant countries having attended most, if not all, the sessions. ICEED was joined by civil society and non-profit organizations, including the Council of International Non-Governmental Organisations (CINGO) and the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) in advocating to maintain robust human rights standards in the use of AI across sectors.
In addition to providing an overview of the intersection of human rights and artificial intelligence and related technical definitions, the final version of the handbook is set to include chapters offering practical guidance for specific sectors. These chapters will outline the key considerations for upholding human rights in sector-specific AI use cases.
The handbook is set to be adopted in the coming months and will provide a valuable guide for the public sector not only in CoE member states, but around the world, in upholding robust human rights standards in the design, development, and deployment of AI systems.
A book on the King’s Harmony philosophy, called “Harmony: A New Way of Looking at the World,” was published by King Charles when he was Prince of Wales in 2010. Co-authored by Tony Juniper and Ian Skelly, the book describes the interconnectedness within and between nature and humanity. It offers this interconnectedness as a basis for taking a holistic approach to the challenges facing the planet and our communities, including living with nature, not against it. The King’s Harmony philosophy relies on Indigenous knowledge, practices, and values as guides for realizing this approach.
The Harmony Summit comes ahead of a landmark documentary on The King’s Harmony philosophy, currently in production and due to be released by Prime Video in late 2025 or early 2026.
“I’m moved by the wisdom shared during this engagement. These words are not new, but their reminder could not be more timely. Our era calls for leaders who recognize that resilience is built when knowledge is shared across generations, cultures, and disciplines because knowledge becomes power only when it is translated into collective action.”
— Ken Kitatani, Governance Officer, Board of Directors of ICEED
Inspired by the guidance and enduring wisdom of Indigenous peoples, who have survived millennia of planetary challenges, King Charles III has expressed keen interest in further collaboration. His long-standing passion for living in harmony with nature was deeply moved by the message shared at the Summit.