UN member states agree on first treaty to combat cybercrime

After three years of formal negotiations, and a final two-week session in New York, the “United Nations Convention against Cybercrime” was approved by consensus on Thursday, August 8, and will have to be submitted to the General Assembly for formal adoption at a later date. “I consider that the documents (…) are adopted. Thank you very much, congratulations to all!”launched to applause Faouzia Boumaiza Mebarki, president of the intergovernmental committee created in 2019 to draft this treaty, on a proposal from Russia.

The new treaty, which can enter into force after being ratified by 40 states, aims to “fight cybercrime more effectively” and to strengthen international cooperation in this area, citing in particular child pornography and money laundering. But its detractors, an unusual alliance between human rights defenders and large tech companies, denounce a scope that is far too broad, which they say will make it a treaty of global “surveillance”.

The adopted text provides that a state may, in order to investigate any crime punishable by a minimum of four years in prison under its national law, request from the authorities of another state any electronic evidence related to this crime and also request data from an access provider. Human rights defenders fear that the text could be used by states that criminalize homosexuality or by governments that target dissidents or journalists. “We call on States to ensure that human rights are at the heart of the Convention to be adopted this week.”the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had argued on X this week.