Welcoming Adoption of Historic Cybercrime Convention, Secretary-General Urges All States Join to Promote Safe Cyberspace

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The Secretary-General welcomes the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime; Strengthening International Cooperation for Combating Certain Crimes Committed by Means of Information and Communications Technology Systems and for the Sharing of Evidence in Electronic Form of Serious Crimes, which is the first international criminal-justice treaty to have been negotiated in over 20 years.

This treaty is a demonstration of multilateralism succeeding during difficult times and reflects the collective will of Member States to promote international cooperation to prevent and combat cybercrime.  The Convention creates an unprecedented platform for collaboration in the exchange of electronic evidence, protection for victims and prevention, while ensuring human rights are protected online.

The Secretary-General trusts that the new treaty will promote a safe cyberspace and calls on all States to join the Convention and to implement it in cooperation with relevant stakeholders.