New York, 12 March 2022 (TDI): The United Nations Ad Hoc committee proposed by Russian Federation concluded the first session on drafting a comprehensive convention on countering cybercrime.
☝️The Russia-proposed open, inclusive and transparent talks finally got underway. These talks represent comprehensive efforts to counter cybercrime under UN aegis.
🔗 https://t.co/H4C47ISwgc pic.twitter.com/SBauUoQLn7
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) March 12, 2022
The Russian-proposed Ad Hoc Committee
The Ad Hoc Committee is an open-ended intergovernmental committee. The committee consists of representatives and experts from all regions. Likewise, it is assigned the task to draft a new cybercrime convention.
The committee was proposed by the Russian Federation and 17 co-sponsors in 2019. Similarly, it was established by the UN GA Resolution 74/247 under the patronage of the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly.
First Session of the Ad Hoc Committee
On 28 February, the first session on drafting a convention on countering the Useful Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes was convened. Faouzia Mebarki, an Algerian Ambassador, chaired the session to Austria and Slovakia, and it concluded on 11 March 2022.
Purpose of the Ad Hoc Committee
The committee is mandated to elaborate a “comprehensive international convention to counter the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes”. Further, the committee’s job will be done when it presents a draft convention at its seventy-eighth session to General Assembly in September 2024.
Members of the Committee
A hundred and seventy-eight UN member states participated in the organizational session of the committee. Besides, the Ad Hoc Committee elected its officers at the organizational session. As mentioned previously, Algeria chaired the committee.
Likewise, the 13 vice-chairs are Egypt, Nigeria, China, Japan, Estonia, Poland, Russian Federation, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Suriname, Australia, Portugal, and the USA. Besides, Indonesia was appointed the committee’s rapporteur.
Russia’s Role
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, this negotiating mechanism was established at Russia’s initiative with 46 co-authors. Additionally, it was established by UN General Assembly Resolution 74/247.
Moreover, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took to Twitter to remark on the successful conclusion of the committee’s first session.
