UN cybercrime treaty heads to final vote amid US support

The UN Cybercrime Convention is nearing a General Assembly vote, with the US and UK defending their support despite concerns over human rights violations, surveillance, and privacy issues, while both countries emphasise safeguards to prevent misuse.

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The UN Cybercrime Convention is moving closer to a full vote in the General Assembly following its approval at a recent meeting. Despite significant opposition from the private sector, civil society, and US congressional members, the United States and the United Kingdom defended their support of the treaty.

US officials acknowledged concerns but emphasised that ‘this Convention, by its explicit terms, does not permit Parties to misuse the Convention or any part of it to suppress human rights’ and that ‘the US further call on all states to take necessary steps within their domestic legal systems to ensure the Convention will not be applied in a manner inconsistent with human rights obligations, including those relating to speech, political dissent, and sexual identity’.

Jonathan Shrier, a US representative to the UN, emphasised that the US would hold governments accountable for any misuse of the treaty and encouraged signatories to pass laws safeguarding human rights. He also highlighted mechanisms to monitor and address future abuses under the treaty, urging countries to reject data-sharing requests from those violating its human rights protections.

The UK also issued a statement endorsing the treaty but acknowledged that some member states have already resisted its human rights obligations. In the statement, the UK highlighted that it ‘will not cooperate with any country which does not comply with the safeguards required by this Convention’.

DiploFoundation recently organised an expert discussion to discuss directly with some delegations the contents of the UN convention, including the human rights provisions.