AI child safety took center stage as a new international coalition was launched in Geneva on Tuesday to ensure children’s rights and protection remain a priority as artificial intelligence continues to reshape how they learn, play, and grow.

The Coalition for Children’s Rights and Protection in the Age of Artificial Intelligence was unveiled during the two day UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, which began on Monday. The initiative brings together governments, UN agencies, technology companies, civil society organizations, educators, and child welfare experts.

The coalition is built on the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the world’s most widely ratified human rights treaty. Its goal is to ensure that children’s rights are integrated into the development and governance of AI technologies.

The founding UN members include the Department of Global Communications (DGC), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies, UNICEF, and UNESCO.

So far, 17 countries have joined the coalition. These include Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Luxembourg, Morocco, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, and Spain. The European Commission has also signed on.

According to the coalition’s founding declaration, children are already living much of their lives in environments shaped by AI. From educational platforms to content recommendation algorithms and digital communication tools, AI increasingly influences their daily experiences.

At the same time, the declaration notes that these technologies create opportunities in education, creativity, and inclusion. However, they also expose children to new risks that existing systems were not designed to address. As a result, the coalition aims to strengthen AI child safety through policies and practices that place children’s rights at the center of AI development.

The coalition argues that children should not only be viewed as technology users who require protection after systems are deployed. Instead, they should be recognized as rights holders whose perspectives help shape AI from the earliest stages of design.

Its members have committed to incorporating children’s views into the design, deployment, and oversight of AI systems. They describe this as a legal obligation under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, rather than a voluntary consultation process.

Meanwhile, the coalition’s launch follows UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ call for an AI Child Safety Pledge during his opening remarks at the Global Dialogue on AI on Monday.

Going forward, coalition members will share evidence, best practices, and policy recommendations. They also aim to ensure children’s voices meaningfully influence decisions about AI systems that affect their lives, reinforcing the global commitment to AI child safety.

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