The UN General Assembly on Wednesday adopted by consensus a resolution proposed by Russia aimed at reaching a treaty against cybercrime by 2023, an initiative viewed with suspicion by the West.
Called “Fight against the use of information and communication technologies for criminal purposes”, the resolution co-drafted with Equatorial Guinea, concerns the modalities of the work of a Special Committee launched in 2019.
From January, it will hold at least six sessions of ten days alternately in New York and Vienna until the presentation of a “draft convention to the General Assembly at its 78th session”, in September 2023, depending on the resolution.
Russia’s attempts to frame the use of cyberspace in an international treaty have been fiercely opposed in recent years – but in vain – by the United States, Europeans and human rights NGOs.
They see the Russian approach as a way to “muzzle” the internet, to restrict its use and freedom of expression on social networks.
“With the idea of a world convention, the Russians want to impose restrictions on the Internet,” said a Western diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity.
A restrictive treaty could make it easier to stop Internet access and strengthen control over its users in certain countries, experts fear.
During the very long discussion of the text on Wednesday, amendments were imposed on the Russian text, in particular the obligation, in case of impossibility to find a consensus, to approve “the decisions of the Committee on matters of substance (.. .) by a two-thirds majority of the representatives present and voting “of the member countries of the United Nations (193) and not by a simple majority.
The resolution adopted on Wednesday underlines that “information and communications technologies, which offer immense possibilities for the development of States, nevertheless open up new perspectives for women and men offenders and can lead to an increase in crime, both in terms of of severity than of complexity “.
Cyberspace is often a prolific theater for espionage, blackmail, manipulation and aggression, often initiated by states or parastatal groups.
To date, only one binding international instrument exists in the field of cybercrime, the Convention on Cybercrime, also known as the Budapest Convention, which entered into force in 2004.
Unlike the global text envisaged by Russia, this convention has only regional scope. It serves as a reference for European countries adopting legislation on cybercrime and as a framework for international cooperation among the signatory states.
If a new text is approved, it could eventually nullify the Budapest Convention, worry critics of the Russian initiative.
–
