ICT4Peace is pleased to announce its sponsorship of the first Global Commentary on “Voluntary, Non-Binding Norms for Responsible State Behaviour in the Use of Information and Communications Technology” published by the United Nations in December 2017.
In July 2017 ICT4Peace co-launched a global call for Comments by scholars and practitioners, on how to implement the United Nations’ Recommendations on Responsible State Behaviour in Cyberspace. In their 2015 report (U.N. Doc. A/70/174, July 22, 2015) the UN Governmental Group of Experts proposed 11 voluntary non-binding norms on responsible State behaviour, related to cooperation, mutual assistance, information exchange, respect for Human Rights, integrity of the supply chain, and critical infrastructure protection (para 13). The UN General Assembly called upon Member States to “be guided in their use of information and communications technologies by the 2015 report of the Group of Governmental Experts”, by adopting resolution A/RES/70/237 in December 2015.
This 276-page Commentary is featuring contributors from American, Brazilian, British, Canadian, Chinese, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish German, Italian, Israeli, Korean, Russian, Singaporean, Swiss, and Thai scholars.
Given the accelerating deterioration of international relations, including global cyber relations, it has become most urgent that international norms of responsible state behavior be adopted and adhered to by all states and non-state actors. The above mentioned United Nations GGE report has developed and suggested a very useful set of norms, that should be adopted urgently and universally, to prevent a major escalation of malicious and self-destructive cyber activities by governments and non-state actors.
Kindly see the Foreword by Daniel Stauffacher, President of ICT4Peace.
And the Preface by Dr. Eneken Tikk, Editor in Chief:
“Preface
This commentary is a synthesis of views and perspectives. In an open call for comments, the editors invited scholars, experts and enthusiasts to submit recommendations, comments and guidance for understanding and interpreting the recommendations of the United Nations Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security. Most of the contributors and lead editors have never been exposed to the GGE process and have therefore taken the Group’s recommendations at face value.
More than 40 scholars and experts were involved in drafting this commentary, and these authors contributed their views on all or part of the recommendations in line with their respective areas of expertise, interest and experience. The lead editors then compiled and synthesized the contributions and added a broader contextualization and analysis of each recommendation.
Each chapter follows the same structure, beginning with a section that places one of the recommendations in the broader context of the 2010, 2013 and 2015 GGE reports and applicable national submissions.
In the background section that follows, commentators highlight various elements of the evolution and discussion of the issue(s) addressed in the recommendation in question. An expansion segment offers additional perspectives and approaches, feeding into further analysis. The chapter then concludes with proposals that, in the lead editors’ view, are essential for implementing the recommendation under consideration.
This publication does not claim to be exhaustive or even correct. Rather, it is a compilation of views intended to inform the implementation of the Experts’ brief and laconic guidance. Thus, the commentary presents possible means for the recommendations to be understood, emphasized and discussed. Accordingly, it should be regarded not as an authoritative document, but as an invitation to exchange views and perspectives in pursuit of a more uniform and common understanding of the issues and solutions that the 2014/2015 GGE addressed in its eleven recommendations.
This volume of the Civil Society and Disarmament series was prepared in cooperation with ICT4Peace, a policy and action-oriented international foundation that aims to save lives and protect human dignity through information and communication technology (ICT). Since 2004, ICT4Peace has explored and has championed the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) and new media for peaceful purposes, including for peacebuilding, crisis management and humanitarian operations. Since 2007, ICT4Peace has promoted cybersecurity and a peaceful cyberspace through, inter alia, international negotiations with governments, international organizations, companies and non-state actors.”
Eneken Tikk
Editor-in-Chief”
ICT4Peace has been concerned with Peace and Security in the Cyberspace since its inception in 2004 in the context of the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva and Tunis. In response to rapidly emerging threats and risks for the cyberspace, not only by crime, hackerism and terrorism but also for strategic purposes, in June 2011 ICT4Peace called publicly for a code of conduct or norms for responsible state behavior as well as Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) for a peaceful and secure Cyberspace, and launched the publication: Getting down to business: Realistic goals for the promotion of peace in cyber-space. An overview of the work of ICT4Peace since then can be found here. A list of ICT4Peace Publications can be found here: List of Publications and the description of the ICT4Peace Cybersecurity Capacity Building Program can be found here.
