Member States finalize a new cybercrime convention

Photograph is for illustration purposes only. Photo: WAJ

 After three years of work, the committee established by the UN General Assembly to negotiate a new convention on cybercrime agreed today on a draft convention text (9 August).

The draft convention is expected to be adopted by the General Assembly later this year, thus becoming the first global legally binding instrument on cybercrime.

This achievement represents the culmination of a five-year effort by UN Member States, with the input of civil society, academic institutions and the private sector. UNODC served as the substantive secretariat for the negotiations.

“The finalization of this Convention is a landmark step as the first multilateral anti-crime treaty in over 20 years and the first UN Convention against Cybercrime at a time when threats in cyberspace are growing rapidly,” said UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly. “I congratulate Member States and the Ad Hoc Committee, under the leadership of Ambassador Faouzia Boumaiza-Mebarki as Chair and a strong representative of women diplomats, for guiding negotiations and reaching consensus on the final text. UNODC is immensely proud to have supported the negotiation process and to serve as the Secretariat of the Convention. We will continue to play a central role in assisting in the implementation and ratification of the Convention, once adopted by the General Assembly, as well as providing technical assistance to Member States, as we work with all countries and partners to safeguard digital spaces.”

As noted in the draft convention, technology has created opportunities for a greater scale, speed, and scope of crimes, from terrorism to drug trafficking to trafficking in persons, migrant smuggling, firearms trafficking, and more.

The draft convention provides tools that will enhance international cooperation, law enforcement efforts, technical assistance, and capacity-building relating to cybercrime.