EU-funded AI systems ‘exacerbate’ human rights violations in the Arab region: report

The European Union's funding and exporting of high-risk artificial intelligence (AI) systems is exacerbating existing human rights violations in Palestine and across the wider Middle East, according to a new report.

Released on Monday by 7amleh, The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, the findings highlight that the EU adopted one of the world’s most comprehensive legislative frameworks regulating artificial intelligence in 2024, aiming to ban systems that pose an "unacceptable risk".

Despite this regulatory framework, the report argues that outside the EU’s borders, and particularly in the Arab region, AI systems originating from Europe are contributing to increased surveillance and repression.

According to the report, such technologies are "exacerbating surveillance and rights violations, hindering democratic participation, and reinforcing discrimination".

It further argues that "European policies contribute to financing and exporting advanced digital technologies used in the context of surveillance, control, and repression".

This dynamic, the report says, goes beyond developing regulatory frameworks for artificial intelligence within the EU itself. Instead, these technologies are increasingly deployed abroad in areas such as migration management, biometric surveillance, predictive security systems and data analysis.

7amleh examines several case studies across the Middle East, placing particular emphasis on Israel’s use of AI-powered technologies against Palestinians.

It argues that Israel subjects Palestinians to "AI-driven surveillance systems embedded within a broader architecture of digital control that enables Israeli authorities to track and monitor their movements".

Such systems affect freedom of movement, daily life and access to essential services, the report says.

It further suggests that European support for these technologies risks making the EU complicit in Israel’s system of apartheid against Palestinians, referencing findings by the International Court of Justice in 2024 regarding Israel’s policies in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Migration management programmes

The report identifies three main pathways through which EU-backed AI technologies reach the Middle East and North Africa.

The first is through EU-funded migration management programmes and technology transfers.

These initiatives have expanded particularly in North Africa, where EU collaboration with countries such as Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia has intensified in response to increasing numbers of asylum seekers attempting to reach Europe.

Such programmes often rely on advanced surveillance technologies already used within EU borders, including biometric identification systems and risk-analysis tools designed to monitor and control migration flows.

Financial and research support for Israeli technology firms

A second pathway identified by 7amleh is European financial and research support for Israeli weapons and technology companies developing AI-based military and surveillance systems.

Some of these technologies, the report notes, have been financed through European research and innovation programmes or through defence and investment funding mechanisms.

The EU’s flagship research programme, Horizon Europe, has long faced scrutiny over funding provided to Israeli startups developing technologies used by the Israeli military.

According to the report, some funded projects involved AI-equipped drones or algorithms used to track and target Palestinians, including during Israel’s ongoing genocidal war in the besieged and war-torn Gaza Strip.

The state-owned defence manufacturer Israel Aerospace Industries has also benefited from millions of euros in EU defence funding despite its role in supplying weapons to the Israeli military.

Export of high-risk AI technologies

The third pathway highlighted is the export of high-risk AI systems by European companies to governments and security actors in the region.

These include facial recognition technologies, smart-city infrastructure and digital surveillance systems.

One case study highlighted by 7amleh concerns Palestine, where Israel uses surveillance cameras of European origin as part of what it describes as an “extensive network” monitoring Palestinians and restricting their freedoms.

The report cites the French defence group Thales, which previously sold key components and communication systems for Israeli drones before transferring them to Israeli defence firms such as Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries.

Another example cited is in Egypt, where the Spanish company SACTI installed a large security system at South Valley University in the city of Qena. The system consists of hundreds of cameras equipped with AI capabilities designed to alert security officials when specific events are detected.

The report also identifies legal loopholes that allow European companies to export technologies classified as high-risk, or even prohibited, under EU regulations to countries lacking safeguards to prevent human rights abuses.

Rising concerns over EU accountability

The findings come amid growing scrutiny from members of the European Parliament, particularly since October 2023, regarding EU funding allocated to Israeli state-linked companies.

However, according to 7amleh, the European Commission has continued to provide only vague responses regarding the safeguards in place to prevent the misuse of such technologies.

If the funding and export of these systems continues unchecked, the report warns, it could further expand the surveillance and repression capacities of governments and military actors across the region.

It also raises concerns about the risks posed to activists, journalists and human rights defenders, who may face increased monitoring and targeting through AI-driven surveillance tools.

The report concludes that "current European policies on funding, innovation, and technology exports raise serious questions regarding the EU’s commitment to human rights principles in its external actions, particularly when these activities intersect with armed conflicts or authoritarian governance systems".