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The human rights wing of the UN urged states to ensure the cybercrime treaty ‘has human rights at its heart’.
UN member states have approved a landmark treaty on cybercrime that has attracted criticism from human rights groups around the world amid surveillance concerns.
The draft convention against cybercrime approved this week was first initiated by Russia nearly seven years ago and is aimed at enhancing global efforts in tackling cybercrime, particularly in areas such as child sexual abuse imagery and money laundering. It will enter into force once it has been ratified by at least 40 member states.
In a rare instance of solidarity between two unlikely groups, human rights activists and Big Tech companies have expressed their concerns arising from the treaty, especially the breadth of its scope, procedural measures and rules around international cooperation.
“We urge states to narrow the focus solely on cybercrime – those offences specifically provided for in the criminalisation chapter – and amend the title to address only cybercrime, ie attacks on computer systems,” reads an open letter from civil society and industry stakeholders.
“The final draft contains ambiguous provisions and definitions related to criminalisation, and lacks sufficient respect and protections for human rights, press freedom and gender equality, thereby endangering a range of groups … Without effectively addressing all of the below issues we call on member states not to adopt the convention.”
In particular, the draft notes that a state investigating a crime punishable by a minimum of four years’ imprisonment may ask authorities of another nation for any electronic evidence linked to the crime and request data from internet service providers.
Deborah Brown, deputy director for technology, rights, and investigations at Human Rights Watch, said on X that if countries adopt this “fundamentally flawed” cybercrime treaty, they’ll be doing so despite “stark warnings” from leading human rights experts, the UN’s human rights authority, industry groups and more than 100 NGOs.
“This treaty is effectively a legal instrument of repression,” she said separately. “It can be used to crack down on journalists, activists, LGBT people, free thinkers and others across borders.”
“We urge states to ensure [the] cybercrime convention to be adopted this week has human rights at its heart,” UN Human Rights wrote on X. “Rights defenders, researchers and children shouldn’t fear criminalisation for protected activity. Human rights safeguards on domestic and transnational police powers are essential.”
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