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Computer crimes

Global Human Rights Community Alarmed by UN Cybercrime Convention Flaws

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The adoption of the United Nations (UN) convention on cybercrime in August 2024 by the Ad Hoc Committee of the UN General Assembly has sent alarm bells ringing around the world. The global human rights community fears that the draft convention, set to be adopted by the UN General Assembly in the coming months, will legitimize human rights abuses by authoritarian states and provide cover for democratic states to insert repressive measures into domestic laws and frameworks. The draft convention lacks strong protections or safeguards for the rights to privacy and freedom of expression, a critical flaw that opens the door to widespread abuse.

Key Takeaways:

  • The draft UN cybercrime convention fails to address critical flaws, including the absence of strong protections or safeguards for the rights to privacy and freedom of expression.
  • The convention's expansive surveillance powers and broad criminal offence definitions could be misused by governments for repressive purposes.
  • The UN cybercrime convention has been criticized by digital rights actors, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), for lacking robust privacy and human rights safeguards.
  • The Namibian government's delegation in New York supported the final draft of the UN cybercrime treaty, with Namibia not having a cybercrime law on the statute books but having a draft bill in the works for over a decade.
  • The National Cybersecurity Strategy 2022-2027 prioritizes the finalizing of the draft cybercrime bill "in line with international standards," which in a few months will likely include the UN cybercrime treaty.
  • The last version of the bill, circulated for comment in 2021, was flagged for being substantially flawed and human rights-threatening, with a 2021 Legal Assistance Centre assessment finding that it lacks remedies in the case of illegal interception, violating the right to an effective remedy for human rights violations.
  • The draft cybercrime bill reflects the shortcomings of the existing surveillance framework: weak oversight, transparency, and accountability mechanisms; warrantless interception; lack of user notification; lack of privacy and data protection, etc.
  • Sadc countries, where cybercrime laws exist, have been criticized for human rights violations and abuses, with 25 African countries having laws that authorize the interception of communication, and many requiring mandatory SIM card registrations linking reporters' electronic communications to the country's legal entities.
  • Social media has been criminalized in the region, with Sadc member states urged to mitigate the impact of fake news and abuse of social media "especially during elections," as social media was being exploited by subversive and negative forces to destabilize countries.

Statistics:

  • 25 African countries have laws that authorize the interception of communication.
  • A majority of Sadc countries have laws that require mandatory SIM card registrations linking reporters' electronic communications to the country's legal entities.
  • The 2019 Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa and the 2020 SADC Heads of State meeting made recommendations to criminalize social media, citing its exploitation by subversive and negative forces to destabilize countries.
  • A 2023 study mapping the repressive use of cybercrime laws in the SADC region found that the enabling of state surveillance-abuse and/or overreach has become a primary concern, particularly for media freedom advocates in the context of cybersecurity and/or cybercrime law and regulatory crafting and drafting in the Sadc region.

Sources:

  • Just Security, August 2024, "The UN Cybercrime Treaty: A Global Threat to Human Rights"
  • Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), August 2024, "The UN Cybercrime Treaty: A Threat to Human Rights and Online Freedom"
  • Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), 2021, "Assessment of the Namibian Cybercrime Bill"
  • Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), 2022, "Assessment of the Namibian Cybercrime Bill"
  • Intelwatch researchers, 2023, "Mapping the Repressive Use of Cybercrime Laws in the SADC Region"
  • Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa, 2019, "Recommendations to Mitigate the Impact of Fake News and Abuse of Social Media"
  • SADC Heads of State meeting, 2020, "Recommendations to Mitigate the Impact of Fake News and Abuse of Social Media"
  • Sadc member states' laws and regulations, various dates, authorizing the interception of communication and requiring mandatory SIM card registrations

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