UN member states meet Monday seeking to finalize an international treaty on the fight against cybercrime, a text strongly opposed by an unlikely alliance of human rights groups and big technology companies.
The “United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime” originated in 2017 when Russian diplomats sent the world body’s secretary-general a letter outlining the initiative.
Two years later, and despite US and European opposition, the General Assembly created an intergovernmental committee tasked with drawing up such a treaty.
Now, the draft text will finally come up for a vote by member states at the end of a two-week session.
But after seven negotiating sessions to date, criticism has only grown.
If the revised draft includes “some welcome improvements,” according to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, concerns remain “about significant shortcomings, with many provisions failing to meet international human rights standards.”
“These shortcomings are particularly problematic against …