UN Cyber Processes
(OEWG & AHC)
Key facts
Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) on the Security of and in the Use of ICTs
- The current (2021-2025) OEWG is the main UN process for advancing international cooperation on cyber norms, international law, and capacity building.
- It was established by the UN General Assembly in 2018 to discuss responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.
- It is open to all UN Member States, unlike its more closed predecessor, the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE), composed of experts from 25 States working in their personal capacity.
- It is led by the UN First Committee and supported by the OEWG Secretariat, and produces annual progress reports (APR) that influence global policy by recording the views of Member States on what constitutes responsible behaviour in cyberspace and agreed actions.
Ad Hoc Committee on Cybercrime (AHC) / UN Cybercrime Convention (UNCC)
- In 2019, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) established the AHC to negotiate an international convention on cybercrime.
- The text of this convention – the draft UN Cybercrime Convention (UNCC) – was finalised and adopted by UNGA in 2024.
- The draft UNCC covers criminalisation, investigative powers, and cross-border cooperation. It will enter into force once 40 states ratify it and ratifying states must align national laws with its provisions.
- States agreed that the AHC will continue its work to negotiate an additional protocol to the Convention, addressing additional offences.
Related events
Why it matters
Both the OEWG and the AHC’s UNCC may have serious implications for the respect, protection and promotion of human rights online and offline.
Through voluntary and consensus-based agreements, the OEWG shapes expectations around state conduct in cyberspace, including the application of international law in cyberspace. It also builds understanding of cyber capacity building and promotes confidence building measures. Civil society engagement is vital to ensure rights-respecting approaches.
The OEWG is coming to an end in July 2025 and discussions on a new permanent cybersecurity mechanism are ongoing. Civil society participation is needed to push for any future mechanism to be inclusive of all stakeholders, transparent and grounded in human rights.
The AHC’s draft UNCC introduces broad criminalisation and sweeping surveillance and enforcement powers, posing serious risks to human rights, including freedom of expression and privacy. While it contains some human rights safeguards, many actors see these as vague, insufficient and lacking effective oversight.
The negotiation of an additional protocol to the UNCC – aimed at increasing the scope of the Convention through adding further offences – poses additional risks to human rights.
Although the UNCC has been adopted, advocacy continues to urge States to withdraw support or decline to ratify. In addition, further negotiations of an optional protocol are due to begin, and an oversight mechanism will be established, requiring future engagement and monitoring from civil society once it enters into force.
How it works
The AHC and OEWG have very different mandates and trajectories:
- The OEWG is a voluntary and consensus-based process, focusing broadly on international security in cyberspace. Its outputs are non-binding but persuasive.
- The AHC is a treaty process, anchored by a specific, binding output (the UNCC). Once it enters into force, ratifying states will be required to align their domestic laws with its provisions
Both processes are state-led with varying opportunities for stakeholders to engage:
- The OEWG requires accreditation for stakeholders without ECOSOC status, which any UN member state can block. Sessions and meetings occur throughout the year, culminating in the negotiation of an annual progress report. The OEWG is now discussing the creation of a new, permanent mechanism.
- The AHC has allowed more meaningful stakeholder input, but like the OEWG, it is a multilateral process, meaning that only States have powers to vote and negotiate.
How to engage
OEWG
- Monitor developments for a permanent cybersecurity mechanism.
AHC
- Monitor and engage in further negotiations of an optional protocol and set-up of an oversight mechanism.
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