UN panel finalises landmark cybercrime treaty: Key features and pressing concerns
The international treaty on cybercrime has been finalised and is on its way to the UNGA. Here’s a closer look at what it says.
A global effort to frame legislation tackling cybercrime cleared a major hurdle earlier this month, despite stiff opposition from tech companies, industry coalitions, academic institutions, human rights activists, and other stakeholders.
The draft of the United Nations Cybercrime Convention which has been under negotiation for the past three years, was unanimously approved by UN members at the end of a two-week session in New York, US, on August 9.
The first-ever, 41 page-long draft UN cybercrime treaty proposes a legislative framework to boost international cooperation among law enforcement agencies and offer technical assistance to countries that lack adequate infrastructure for combating cybercrime. It also contains provisions addressing illegal interception, money laundering, hacking, and online child sexual abuse material.
The finalisation 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,” Ghada Waly, the executive director of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said in a statement.
Now, the draft cybercrime treaty is headed to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for a vote that could take place next month. If adopted, the treaty will have to be signed and ratified by at least 40 countries in order to take effect; even as its detractors call for UN member nations to abandon the legally-binding agreement altogether.
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