A high-level panel discussion on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Human Rights was held on October 19, 2025, bringing together legal experts, civil society advocates, and policymakers to examine the ethical, legal, and social implications of AI across Africa.
Organised with participation from Avocats sans frontières France, the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Baobab Bytes, Dadaïdes, and the European Union Delegation to Nigeria, the session was moderated by representatives from the University of Lagos.
Gaps in Africa’s AI Legal Frameworks
The panel underscored the urgent need for comprehensive AI legislation on the continent, noting that while Africa has adopted regional instruments like the African Union Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection (Malabo Convention), few countries have enacted binding national AI laws.
Using Nigeria and Ghana as case studies, panellists pointed to persistent policy gaps, insufficient regulatory oversight, and limited technical capacity to govern AI systems effectively.
“AI Is an Extractive Industry in Africa”
Stéphanie Lamy, founder of Dadaïdes, drew attention to the unequal global AI ecosystem, describing how foreign AI companies often operate as “extractive industries” in Africa—harvesting local data without contributing meaningfully to local capacity-building or value creation.
The discussion also explored cyberaddiction, algorithmic manipulation, opaque decision-making processes, and data sovereignty as key risks that require urgent policy attention.
Human Rights and Ethical AI
The International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) called for a human rights-based approach to AI regulation, emphasizing protections for privacy, freedom of expression, and non-discrimination.
Panellists agreed that AI ethics frameworks must be grounded in African legal traditions, linguistic diversity, and socioeconomic realities, ensuring that technology advances do not undermine civil liberties or deepen inequality.
The Way Forward
The session concluded with a shared commitment to collaborative governance, urging governments, academia, and civil society to co-develop AI policies that balance innovation with accountability.
Participants also highlighted the economic potential of AI in multilingual Africa, noting that local language technologies could expand access, inclusion, and representation across the continent’s digital ecosystems.
As Africa’s AI sector accelerates, the panel’s consensus was clear: rights, transparency, and local ownership must form the foundation of the continent’s AI future.
