UN gives green light to draft treaty to combat cybercrime

UNITED NATIONS: The UN General Assembly approved a resolution Friday that will start the process of drafting a new international treaty to combat cybercrime over objections from the European Union, the United States and other countries.

The Russian-drafted resolution was approved by the 193-member world body by a vote of 79-60 with 33 abstentions.

The resolution establishes an expert committee representing all regions of the world “to elaborate a comprehensive international convention on countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes”.

It says the committee will meet in August 2020 to agree on an outline of its activities.

US deputy ambassador Cherith Norman Chalet told the assembly before the vote that “this resolution will undermine international cooperation to combat cyber-crime at a time when enhanced coordination is essential”.