Every AI Policy Ever · open in the interactive register

Published (non-binding, current)Non-binding · Resolution

Seizing the opportunities of safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems for sustainable development

Record UN-02 · A/RES/78/265

Issued by
UN General Assembly
Jurisdiction
United Nations
Level · region
International · Global
Published / adopted
2024-03-21
Language
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish
Official identifier
A/RES/78/265

Summary

The first General Assembly resolution on regulating artificial intelligence. It calls on Member States and stakeholders to refrain from or cease using AI systems that cannot be operated in compliance with international human rights law or that pose undue risks to human rights, and affirms that the rights people have offline must also be protected online throughout the life cycle of AI systems. It urges States, the private sector, civil society, research organisations and the media to develop and support regulatory and governance approaches for safe, secure and trustworthy AI, and to help developing countries close the digital divide.

Safety topics

international cooperationprohibited practices

Status notes

Introduced by the United States and co-sponsored by more than 120 Member States; adopted without a vote on 21 March 2024. The second General Assembly resolution on AI that year, 78/311 of 1 July 2024 on capacity-building, is UN-03; both are recalled in resolution 79/325 of 26 August 2025 (UN-07).

Sources

Open the official source https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/4043244?ln=en

Secondary source: https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147831

Local copy

Archived, needs review. The site returned a JavaScript bot-check page (web application firewall) instead of the document. The browser retry also failed (HTTP 403 (in browser)). Last attempt 2026-10-18 06:47:50 UTC

Official source (third-party copy, not published) archive/UN-02/2026-10-17/official.html
Retrieved 2026-10-17 14:28:21 UTC
SHA-256 78811a40b30735b9dfbab3d2a440bef294908bd607df2dead80ea08dee0017d4

Warning: The site returned a JavaScript bot-check page (web application firewall) instead of the document

Secondary source (third-party copy, not published) archive/UN-02/2026-10-17/secondary.html
Retrieved 2026-10-17 14:28:24 UTC
SHA-256 1dade5416724fb5ba5274d74f86fa927272b374babd538b616c23c23cc4b7be8

Verification

B
Another official source, such as an announcement by the issuer, confirms the title, date and status. checked 2026-10-18 · alternative-official-url-fetched
Refresh of 18 Oct 2026. The resolution's own text could not be stored: the UN Digital Library record (official_url) returns a bot-check page, the press.un.org meeting coverage GA/12588 returns a JavaScript 'Client Challenge' page also in a browser, and documents.un.org is closed to automated downloads by robots.txt. Stored for this record: the UN News article of 21 March 2024 (secondary source), a news item that gives the date, the adoption without a vote and quotations of the operative text; its quotes count as alt-official. The General Assembly's list of the resolutions of its 78th session (un.org) was stored in this run, but the stored copy lists only resolutions 78/319 to 78/331 and does not show 78/265. The recheck of 17 Oct 2026 stored further un.org pages that name the resolution, its number and date: the spokesperson's briefing of the President of the General Assembly of 21 March 2024, the UN Photo caption of the adoption, A/RES/79/325, which recalls '78/265 of 21 March 2024', and the High-level Advisory Body's final report. The summary is written from the operative text that UN News quotes.
Second check: Independent check by Claude Code (claude-sonnet-5-5), 2026-10-18: 5 field(s) supported.

History

  1. 2026-10-18related: [{"slug": "unga-78-311-ai-capacity-building", "id": "UN-03"}, {"slug": "global-d → [{"slug": "unga-78-311-ai-capacity-building", "id": "UN-03"}, {"slug": "global-d — two-way link added: UN-13 link(s) to UN-022026-10-18-fix-related-links · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
  2. 2026-10-18verification.level: A → B — level computed from the evidence by tools/pipeline.py2026-10-18-refresh-level-rule-1 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
  3. 2026-10-17notes: US-led text, adopted without a vote at the 63rd plenary meeting on 21 Mar 2024 ( → Introduced by the United States and co-sponsored by more than 120 Member States; — '63rd plenary meeting' and 'document dated 1 Apr 2024' removed (no stored file shows them); introduction by the United States and co-sponsorship from the President's briefing; the link to UN-03 and UN-07 added2026-10-17-recheck-international-1 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
  4. 2026-10-17safety_topics: ["international cooperation", "transparency & labelling", "accountability & liab → ["international cooperation", "prohibited practices"] — 'transparency & labelling' and 'accountability & liability' removed, because no stored file shows a provision on them; 'prohibited practices' added for the call to refrain from or cease using AI systems that cannot be operated in compliance with international human rights law2026-10-17-recheck-international-1 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
  5. 2026-10-17summary: The first stand-alone UNGA resolution on AI. It encourages Member States to deve → The first General Assembly resolution on regulating artificial intelligence. It — rewritten from the operative text that UN News quotes; version 1's 'risk management' and 'content-provenance tools' are not shown by any stored file2026-10-17-recheck-international-1 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
  6. 2026-10-17secondary_url: https://press.un.org/en/2024/ga12588.doc.htm → https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147831 — the UN News article of 21 March 2024, which the archiver can store and which carries the date, the manner of adoption and the operative text; press.un.org GA/12588 returns a Client Challenge page even in a browser2026-10-17-recheck-international-1 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)

Related records

UNGA resolution on AI capacity-building United Nations · Published (non-binding, current)

Global Digital Compact United Nations · Published (non-binding, current)

UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance 2026 Co-Chairs' Summary United Nations · Published (non-binding, current)

Citation

UN General Assembly. Seizing the opportunities of safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems for sustainable development [A/RES/78/265]. 2024-03-21. https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/4043244?ln=en. Status: Published (non-binding, current); verified 2026-10-18 (level B). Local copy archive/UN-02/2026-10-17/official.html retrieved 2026-10-17 14:28:21 UTC, SHA-256 78811a40b30735b9dfbab3d2a440bef294908bd607df2dead80ea08dee0017d4. Every AI Policy Ever, version 1.18 (snapshot 2026-10-18), record UN-02.

Improve this record

Know of an amendment, a status change or an error? Report news or an error on GitHub; the form opens with this record filled in.