In February 2025, I had the opportunity to travel to Taipei, Taiwan, to attend RightsCon 2025 as the EU Advocacy Officer at 7amleh-The Arab Center for Social Media Advancement. In this piece, I share an overview of important discussions, connections and insights resulting from this experience, which was made possible thanks to the APC Member Engagement and Travel Fund (METF).
AI and military greenwashing
Before the official start of RightsCon, I participated in an event on 24 February called the “Pre-RightsCon Workshop on Environment, Technology and Anti-Militarism”. This workshop gathered researchers, technologists and movement actors from Taiwan, the wider region, and the Global Majority to build trust. Together we did a power mapping analysis and explored the intersections between local environmental struggles, technology infrastructure expansion, global extractivism, and military supply chains. During the workshop, I took part in a roundtable discussion on “green militarism”, examining how armies worldwide are adopting AI and emerging technologies under the guise of environmental sustainability. We discussed how military greenwashing is being used to justify expansion and obfuscate harm, with my focus specifically on the Israeli army’s role in ecocide within Palestinian territories.
Claiming an independent Palestinian ICT sector
When RightsCon officially kicked off, I spoke at a session on internet shutdowns, where I highlighted the ongoing disruptions and shutdowns in Gaza since 7 October 2023. This discussion was a great introduction to our #ReconnectGaza Campaign, which we officially launched on 26 February. Around 70 participants joined us to learn more about the systematic destruction of telecommunications infrastructure in Gaza, as well as our petition to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) advocating for immediate action.
In this petition, we are calling for emergency connectivity through satellite internet, portable Wi-Fi hotspots, and mobile units to restore essential communications. We also point out the urgency of rebuilding Gaza’s telecom infrastructure with modern, high-speed technologies to support education, healthcare, and economic recovery – including the protection of telecom workers, ensuring accountability for attacks targeting them.
We need an independent Palestinian ICT sector, free from external control, as a pillar of Gaza’s reconstruction.
This demands urgent action from global stakeholders, including UN agencies, governments and telecom companies, to restore and modernise Gaza’s networks. You can sign the petition here and your organisation can endorse it here.
Online censorship
Later that day, I was also a panellist in an online session in French on digital resistance in the Francophone context, where I addressed the increasing online censorship in France targeting pro-Palestinian voices. I shared insights on how civil society, lawyers and human rights defenders are actively resisting and advocating against this repression through legal challenges and litigation, digital security training for the activists, and grassroots resilience.
Beyond speaking in multiple sessions, I had the chance to attend important discussions on the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) and a workshop on investor responsibility in deploying weaponised AI in armed conflicts.
This experience at RightsCon was incredibly enriching – not only did I contribute to key discussions, but I also had the opportunity to meet people in person, connect with like-minded advocates, and exchange knowledge with experts from different regions. These interactions were invaluable in strengthening collaborations, deepening my understanding of emerging challenges, and reinforcing collective efforts toward digital rights and accountability.
Taysir Mathlouthi is 7amleh’s EU Advocacy Officer