Side event organised by the COE-FRA-ENNHRI-EQUINET Collaborative Platform on Social and Economic Rights
The side event examines the growing digitalisation of social protection systems across Europe and its implications for the effective enjoyment of social rights. While digital tools promise efficiency, transparency and improved access to benefits, experience shows that they can also create new forms of exclusion. Digital-only procedures, opaque algorithmic decision-making and reduced human contact risk preventing vulnerable individuals from accessing social assistance and social security.
Framed by the European Social Charter, the discussion emphasises that social rights are binding human rights and that technological innovation must strengthen — not undermine — equal access, dignity and effective remedies. The event will explore how States can reconcile administrative efficiency with their human-rights obligations.
It also highlights the role of National Human Rights Institutions and Equality Bodies in monitoring impacts, detecting discrimination, scrutinising automated systems, supporting complaints and advising governments. The aim is to identify practical, rights-based principles for inclusive digital welfare systems in Europe.