The Cybersecurity Tech Accord had the honor to participate and deliver a statement during the latest Informal Dialogue with the Chair of the meeting of the UN Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies (ICT), which took place on 17 May. As a coalition representing more than 150 companies globally in international cybersecurity policy, we have long advocated for greater multistakeholder participation in UN cyber processes. We have provided input into the OEWG since 2019, and we continue to advocate for meaningful multistakeholder inclusion in this process, as we believe that modalities allowing any single state to veto individual stakeholders is not fit for purpose.
In the Cybersecurity Tech Accord’s view, the success of the Programme of Action (PoA), or any other permanent mechanism, will depend on its ability to facilitate multistakeholder inclusion in building and maintaining a rules-based order online. To this end, we propose that any successor mechanism to the OEWG should ensure the modalities for the Ad-Hoc Committee on cybercrime, which have proven to be successful and valuable, are the minimum starting place for stakeholder participation. We strongly believe that the scope of a permanent mechanism should include capacity building, should monitor progress and build consensus, and should update and ser new norms that address emerging and unforeseen cyber threats.
Please find our full statement right below.