As the signing ceremony for the UN Convention Against Cybercrime (“Convention”) approaches, the Global Network Initiative (GNI) reiterates its deep concerns about the Convention’s possible human rights implications, and calls on governments to refrain from signing as they work with other stakeholders to ensure additional human rights safeguards are built into the Convention.
As the GNI has articulated previously, the Convention creates a permission structure for:
Over the ten months since its adoption by the UN General Assembly, geopolitical tensions and democratic backsliding have intensified. These developments reinforce GNI’s concern that the Convention could be used to justify overbroad government powers, pressure private companies, and facilitate transnational repression.In this context, GNI urges rights-respecting governments not to sign or ratify the Convention. Instead, with negotiations for a supplemental protocol set to begin in early 2026, GNI urges governments to condition their support or ratification on achieving rights-protecting outcomes in those negotiations.GNI also calls on all actors to advocate for a more open and participatory negotiation process, and ensure that any additional instruments include stronger safeguards against misuse.