Ukraine’s Rapid Digitalization: Human Rights Risks and Opportunities in a Postwar Environment

As the government of Ukraine and its international partners look to the postwar reconstruction process, Ukraine’s rapid and widespread digitalization presents both innovative opportunities and unprecedented risks. Though the war has not yet ended, the Ukrainian government is already thinking ahead to the future of the country and how it can achieve both security and prosperity in the long term. EU accession is a large part of that vision, and reaching certain benchmarks in terms of privacy and human rights will be vital to the success of their bid. This report by the Human Rights Initiative and the Strategic Technologies Program outlines four strategies to center human rights values within a post-conflict digital governance framework in Ukraine: continue to effectively safeguard e-governance systems and critical private infrastructure from external attacks; promote the accessibility of digital services for all Ukrainians; engage in dialogue with citizens on the appropriate limitations of surveillance technologies in peacetime; and continue working to ensure consistency with emerging EU standards on digital technology, particularly with respect to privacy and surveillance.

This report was made possible with the generous support of the Open Society Foundations.