This article recaps the genesis and evolution of the Global Digital Compact, an ambitious initiative born out of the United Nations’ 75th anniversary declaration. Against the reality of escalating global tensions, the 2020 declaration emphasised the urgency of upholding the organisation’s founding principles. The proposed Compact represents a response to the challenges posed by digital technologies, which both offer immense …
Striking the Right Balance: A Commentary on the Fourth Substantive Session of the OEWG on ICTs
The recent meeting of the OEWG on ICTs in New York was held amidst a climate of significant global cyber threats and geopolitical tensions. The meeting was successful in terms of attracting a high number of new proposals and broad participation from member states, which is particularly valuable in the current climate of multilateral uncertainty. However, the OEWG faces the …
Top 5 Cyber Policy Articles to Read For 2023
The past year has been a busy one for cyber and digital diplomacy. Discussions by the UN Ad Hoc Committee on Cybercrime and the UN Open-ended Working Group on responsible state behaviour in cyberspace have advanced global debate on these issues and have included much more participation from the Global South. However, decisions about the participation of non-governmental stakeholders left …
Multi-stakeholder Governance of Cyberspace – Merely a Myth?
Blocking non-state stakeholders’ participation in discussions about the information and communication technology environment may set a dangerous precedent for the future
A Path to Progress at the UN Cybersecurity Forum
Cybersecurity is a matter of international security. Recent incidents with implications for international security include ransomware operations conducted by groups with ties to a foreign government military intelligence service against Costa Rican government services and operations against the communication services used by the Ukrainian military conducted by Russian cyber threat actors. These developments make cyber diplomacy more relevant, but also …
Tracking UN Voting Patterns on Cybercrime
The establishment of the UN Ad Hoc Committee to Elaborate a Comprehensive International Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes was the result of a highly politicised approach by certain countries regarding international cooperation to fight cybercrime. Even though the Ad Hoc Committee has not even started working on substance, the disagreements over the …
Russia’s Vision for a Cybercrime Treaty
In January 2022, the UN will hold the first meeting to negotiate a treaty on cybercrime. While most states are in the process of developing their positions around the scope and the principles of this new treaty, Russia has already submitted a draft proposal to the UN suggesting it to be used as the basis of the negotiations. This draft …
Cyber Diplomacy in 2021: Mid-term Review
The spring of 2021 brought two landmark international cybersecurity events: all UN member states lined up behind the final report of the Open-ended Working Group, and the UN GGE of 25 government experts was able to produce a consensus report. These breakthroughs mark the beginning of a more nuanced dialogue and an era in which, to break truly common ground …
India’s Vision for Cyber Diplomacy
India’s rapid integration into the Digital Economy has been driven by her financial and telecoms sector reforms. The growth of trade, manufacturing, services and investment sectors have generated a $3 trillion economy. The concerns over sustainability of this growth have turned India’s interest in a stable and secure international digital environment into a priority. International trade contributes 40% of India’s …
Could Cyber-Diplomacy Learn From Outer Space?
While the Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) consensus report on ICTs in the context of international security is perhaps a successful compromise, it brought limited novelty in terms of cyber norms. Fifty-five years ago, there was another “space” in need of international regulation as a consequence of technological innovation: outer space, which yielded concrete results in the form of the …
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