UN Adopts Cybercrime Convention Amid Controversy Over Human Rights Concerns

Shafaq News/ The UN has adopted the Convention against Cybercrime after three years of negotiations, despite concerns from human rights groups that it could be misused by countries targeting homosexuality, opponents and journalists.

“I consider the documents as… adopted. Thank you very much, bravo to everyone!” said Algerian diplomat Faouzia Boumaiza Mebarki, chair of the treaty-drafting committee set up after Russia’s first move in 2017, despite opposition from the US and Europe.

According to AFP, the new treaty will enter into force after being ratified by 40 member states and will now be submitted to the General Assembly for formal approval.

“The aim is to prevent and combat cybercrime more efficiently and effectively,” particularly when it comes to child sexual abuse images and money laundering.

South Africa’s delegate called it a “historic convention” and said: “The provisions for technical assistance and capacity building provide much-needed support to countries with less developed cyber infrastructures.”

However, critics of the treaty, including an unusual alliance of human rights activists and major tech companies, argue that it is too broad and could serve as a global “surveillance” tool, potentially leading to repression.

The text of the treaty provides that a state can request electronic evidence and data from internet service providers in another country to investigate a crime punishable under domestic law by at least four years’ imprisonment.

Deborah Brown of Human Rights Watch warned of an “unprecedented multilateral surveillance tool” and told AFP the treaty “will be a disaster for human rights and a dark moment for the UN.”

“This treaty is in fact a legal instrument of repression,” she said. “It can be used to crack down on journalists, activists, LGBT people, freethinkers and others across borders.”

In this context, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has expressed serious concerns about the text and this week called on states to “ensure that human rights are at the heart of the treaty.”

“Rights defenders, researchers and children should not fear criminalisation for protected activities. Protection of human rights and domestic and transnational police powers are essential,” OHCHR said on X.

While there is consensus on tackling child pornography and child sexual exploitation, there are concerns about the potential criminalisation of intimate selfies or photographs taken by minors during consensual relationships.

Nick Ashton-Hart, who leads the Cybersecurity Tech Accord delegation representing more than 100 technology companies including Microsoft and Meta, said Thursday that the committee “regrettably adopted a treaty without addressing many of the major shortcomings identified by civil society, the private sector and even the UN human rights body itself.”

“Wherever the treaty is implemented, it will be harmful to the digital environment in general and to human rights in particular,” he told AFP, calling on countries not to sign or implement the treaty.

However, some countries argue that the treaty contains excessive human rights safeguards.

Russia, which has always supported the treaty’s drafting, had previously criticized the treaty for being “overloaded with human rights guarantees” and accused other countries of pursuing “narrow, selfish goals under the guise of democratic values.”