On July 4, 2019 Dr. Eneken Tikk of ICT4Peace, attended the Expert Dialogue on How International Law Applies in Cyberspace organised by the Swiss Federal Department for Foreign Affairs in Geneva and delivered a 4-hour workshop on Peaceful Settlement of Disputes and International Cybersecurity. The lectures delivered are based on the ICT4Peace International Cybersecurity Capacity Building Program. An outline of this Program can be found here.
Dr Eneken Tikk: “Once a dispute arises between countries, it can be solved by force or by reason. The legal regime of peaceful settlement of international disputes is to make sure that we are prepared to handle differences by reason rather than force”.
Dr Tikk’s lectures on peaceful settlement of international disputes emphasised the open-endedness of methods and means that countries have at their disposal to prevent conflict and avoid escalation of cyber incidents and tensions.
She underscored that peaceful settlement is an ever-emerging area of international law that offers states numerous creative ways to have a proactive, rather than a reactive, approach to their fundamental differences. She recalled the UN Secretary-General’s guidance for noting the potential for broad application of this obligation, and encouraged dealing with disputes and situations at an early stage, ‘well before they can deteriorate to such a point that there is an immediate threat that a breach of the peace will occur’.