13.08.2024 09:40:00
Дата публикации
On August 9, negotiations on the creation of an international UN convention on cybercrime were completed in New York.
The UN Special Committee approved the draft, which envisages the creation of a network of contact centers working 24/7 to assist in the investigation and prevention of crimes, including the exchange of electronic evidence.
The convention will become the basis for international cooperation in the fight against cybercrime. The document will soon be put to a vote among the 193 member states of the General Assembly, and if the majority approves, the treaty will proceed to ratification.
The draft convention proposed by Russia was developed with the participation of 46 states. Representatives of more than 160 countries, including political and law enforcement experts, participated in the negotiations.
The Council of Europe has been supporting the drafting process since 2022 to ensure consistency with the Budapest Convention and the inclusion of minimum human rights guarantees, and its key provisions have been replicated in the draft, but concerns remain about their implementation given the positions of some states.
The US State Department also welcomes the adoption of the document and its contribution to the global fight against cybercrime, but notes that some countries could use it to suppress freedoms.
Concerns of human rights groups
Katisa Rodriguez of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said the convention was a “blank cheque” for abuse.
The EFF and Human Rights Watch (HRW) argue that the text is too broad and allows countries to prosecute acts not previously considered cybercrime.
HRW Executive Director Tirana Hassan stressed that under the draft convention, human rights protection would depend largely on national legislation, and this creates a risk of abuse.
Human rights activists also warn of the transnational dangers of the agreement. The treaty could become the basis for a global surveillance network, Rodriguez believes.
Industry representatives from the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, a coalition that includes Microsoft, Meta, and others, are concerned about the potential difficulties for the private sector in complying with the terms of the convention.
Dirk Engling of the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) is demanding that the document be rejected, calling it “arbitrary” because it does not contain clear definitions that would protect IT researchers and journalists from surveillance. Human rights activists believe that the risk of human rights violations and abuses is “already embedded in the very program” of the draft convention.
(the text is translated automatically)
The UN Special Committee approved the draft, which envisages the creation of a network of contact centers working 24/7 to assist in the investigation and prevention of crimes, including the exchange of electronic evidence.
The convention will become the basis for international cooperation in the fight against cybercrime. The document will soon be put to a vote among the 193 member states of the General Assembly, and if the majority approves, the treaty will proceed to ratification.
The draft convention proposed by Russia was developed with the participation of 46 states. Representatives of more than 160 countries, including political and law enforcement experts, participated in the negotiations.
The Council of Europe has been supporting the drafting process since 2022 to ensure consistency with the Budapest Convention and the inclusion of minimum human rights guarantees, and its key provisions have been replicated in the draft, but concerns remain about their implementation given the positions of some states.
The US State Department also welcomes the adoption of the document and its contribution to the global fight against cybercrime, but notes that some countries could use it to suppress freedoms.
Concerns of human rights groups
Katisa Rodriguez of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said the convention was a “blank cheque” for abuse.
The EFF and Human Rights Watch (HRW) argue that the text is too broad and allows countries to prosecute acts not previously considered cybercrime.
HRW Executive Director Tirana Hassan stressed that under the draft convention, human rights protection would depend largely on national legislation, and this creates a risk of abuse.
Human rights activists also warn of the transnational dangers of the agreement. The treaty could become the basis for a global surveillance network, Rodriguez believes.
Industry representatives from the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, a coalition that includes Microsoft, Meta, and others, are concerned about the potential difficulties for the private sector in complying with the terms of the convention.
Dirk Engling of the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) is demanding that the document be rejected, calling it “arbitrary” because it does not contain clear definitions that would protect IT researchers and journalists from surveillance. Human rights activists believe that the risk of human rights violations and abuses is “already embedded in the very program” of the draft convention.
