New York: Agencies
The United Nations Committee for Negotiating a Convention to Combat Cybercrime approved the text of the new convention, in preparation for submitting it to the United Nations General Assembly for adoption, in a historic step that comes in light of the unprecedented developments witnessed by the world in information technology, and the increasing use of these tools for criminal and terrorist purposes.
According to the United Nations in its statement today, the committee, which included representatives of all member states of the United Nations, was able to reach an agreement after three years of intensive negotiations, with technical and organizational support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. According to what was reported by the Al-Youm Al-Sabea website in Cairo, Dr. Ghada Wali, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, confirmed that agreeing on this text represents a very important step in terms of strengthening international action in combating cybercrime, which has witnessed a significant increase in recent years, resulting in a large number of victims of exploitation, looting and other crimes, and costing the world billions of dollars.
She explained that adopting the agreement will help countries, especially developing countries, to confront this serious and growing threat, by facilitating judicial cooperation and the exchange of electronic evidence between countries, in addition to providing technical assistance, capacity building and technology transfer.
She added that reaching this agreement under the current international circumstances demonstrates the ability of the international community to reach understandings in order to confront international challenges, even in the face of differences and divisions, and she highlighted in this regard that the text of the agreement was approved unanimously by all member states.
If the UN General Assembly adopts the text of the agreement as expected, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime will play a fundamental role in its implementation, as it will supervise the organization of implementation follow-up mechanisms, in addition to providing technical support to countries and providing the necessary mechanisms for effective international cooperation.
According to the United Nations, this role reflects the international community's confidence in the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and its ability to carry out this important responsibility, after the efforts made by the office to provide support to countries during the negotiation process, and its pivotal contribution to the success of these negotiations.