Overview

Open-ended Working Group on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies

On 31 December 2020, the General Assembly adopted resolution 75/240 establishing an Open-ended Working Group on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies 2021–2025. The Open-ended Working Group will meet for 11 substantive sessions in New York.

13-17
December2021
First substantive session
New York
28-1
March-April2022
Second substantive session
New York
25-29
July2022
Third substantive session
New York
6-10
March2023
Fourth substantive session
New York
24-28
July2023
Fifth substantive session
New York
11-15
December2023
Sixth substantive session
New York
4-8
March2024
Seventh substantive session
New York
8-12
July2024
Eighth substantive session
New York
2-6
December2024
Ninth substantive session
New York

Background

In 2020, the General Assembly through resolution 75/240, established a new five-year open-ended working group on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies 2021–2025. The group is mandated to further develop the rules, norms and principles of responsible behaviour of States; to consider initiatives of States aimed at ensuring security in the use of information and communications technologies; to establish, under the auspices of the United Nations, regular institutional dialogue with the broad participation of States; to continue to study, with a view to promoting common understandings, existing and potential threats in the sphere of information security, inter alia, data security, and possible cooperative measures to prevent and counter such threats, and how international law applies to the use of information and communications technologies by States, as well as confidence-building measures and capacity-building.

Officers

The Chair of the OEWG is H.E. Mr. Burhan Gafoor, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Singapore to the United Nations in New York.

Secretariat

Office for Disarmament Affairs, Ms. Katherine Prizeman

Department for General Assembly and Conference Management, Mr. Alexander Lomaia

Side Events

NINTH SUBSTANTIVE SESSION, 2-6 DECEMBER 2024

  1. 1. Side Event: Cyber Incident Detection, Response and Recovery: Priorities for Capacity Building
  2. Co-host(s): University of Oxford and UK Mission to the UN
  3. Date and time: Monday 2 December, 13.15-14.30
  4. Location: UN Conference Room B
  5. Registration:  Please register online here by Thursday 28 November

  1. 2. Side Event: An Action-Oriented Approach to the Protection of Critical Infrastructure
  2. Co-host(s): European Union and European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS)
  3. Date and time: Monday 2 December, 13.15-14.30
  4. Location: UN Conference Room 7
  5. Registration: Please register online here

  1. 3. Side event: The Cyber-AI Nexus
  2. Co-host(s): Permanent Missions of the Albania, Kenya, the Philippines and the Republic of Korea to the UN
  3. Date and time: Monday 2 December, 13.15-14.30
  4. Location: UN Conference Room 12
  5. Registration:

  1. 4. Side Event: Youth Voices - Empower the Next Generation for a Secure Digital Future
  2. Co-host(s): Youth for Privacy, Reverse the Trend, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Major Group for Children and Youth, Permanent Mission of Kiribati to the United Nations
  3. Date and time: Monday 2 December, 13.15-14.30
  4. Location: Baha'i International Community (860 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017
  5. Registration: RSVP at https://forms.gle/F7DDYppRLouwHHR86
  1. 5. Side Event: Strategic cybersecurity governance is crucial for implementation of CBMs and good cyber resilience, drawing insights from Slovakia’s cyber administration practice
  2. Co-host(s): Permanent Mission of the Slovak Republic to the UN, Consulate General of the Slovak Republic in NY, National Security Authority, Slovak PRO
  3. Date and time: Monday 2 December, 18.30-20.30
  4. Location: Consulate General of the Slovak Republic in NY, 167 E 73rd St, NY 10017
  5. Registration: RSVP at your earliest convenience at us-ny@nbu.gov.sk. Seating and capacity are limited.

  1. 6. Side Event: Breakfast Meeting on Addressing the Human Impacts of Cyber Incidents: A Ransomware Case
  2. Co-host(s): Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ghana, Global Partners Digital and Freedom Online Coalition
  3. Date and time: Tuesday 3 December, 08.15-09.45
  4. Location: Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the UN, 666 Third Avenue, 18 Floor, New York 10017
  5. Registration: Please register here by Wednesday 27 November

  1. 7. Side Event: Mates in Cyberspace: Australia-ASEAN Cooperation on Advancing the UN Cyber Norms
  2. Co-host(s): Australia and Australian Strategic Policy Institute
  3. Date and time: Tuesday 3 December, 13.15-14.30
  4. Location: UN Conference Room B
  5. Registration: Please RSVP to gatrapriyandita@aspi.org.au by Friday 29 November  

  1. 8. Side Event: Vulnerability Disclosure: Guiding Governments from Norm to Action
  2. Co-host(s): Germany, Center for Cybersecurity Policy and Law, interface
  3. Date and time: Tuesday 3 December, 13.15–14.45
  4. Location: German House, 871-873 1st Ave, New York, NY 10017
  5. Registration: Please RSVP to pol-s5-vn@newy.auswaertiges-amt.de by Thursday 28 November

  1. 9. Side Event: Workshop-style Side Event: International Law as an Effective Toolkit
  2. Co-host(s): Australia, the Philippines and Uruguay
  3. Date and time: Wednesday, 4 December, 07:45-09:30
  4. Location: Permanent Mission of Australia, 150 East 42nd Street, Floor 34, NY, NY 10017
  5. Registration: Please RSVP online here.

  1. 10. Side Event: Open Dialogue: Enabling Stakeholders to Add Value to State-led Discussions on the future UN Mechanism for Security in Cyberspace
  2. Speakers will engage on modalities for stakeholder participation in the Future UN Mechanism on Cybersecurity, including but not limited to elements identified in the related Non-Paper by Canada and Chile
  3. Co-host(s): Canada and Chile
  4. Date and time: Thursday 5 December, 13.15-14.45 (light lunch will be available alongside the Vienna Café from 13.00-13.15)
  5. Location: UN Conference Room 9
  6. Registration: Not required

  1. 11. Side Event: Gender Perspectives on Cyber Capacity Building at the OEWG and Beyond
  2. Co-host(s): Australia, Germany
  3. Date and time: Thursday 5 December, 13.15–14.45
  4. Location: German House, 871-873 1st Ave, New York, NY 10017
  5. Registration: Please RSVP to pol-s5-vn@newy.auswaertiges-amt.de by Thursday 28 November

  1. 12. Side Event: Unpacking the AI-Cyber Nexus in Malicious ICT Activities
  2. Co-host(s): UNIDIR
  3. Date and time: Thursday, 5 December, 13.15-14.30
  4. Location: UN Conference Room 8 and hybrid
  5. Registration: Please register online here

  1. 13. Side Event: Multistakeholder Dialogue on Cloud Computing Governance and International Security
  2. Co-host(s): UNIDIR
  3. Date and time: Friday 6 December, 08.30-09.45
  4. Location: Microsoft UN Affairs Office, 885 Second Avenue, 34th floor, and hybrid
  5. Registration: Please register online here

  1. 14. Side Event: Declaration by the EU and its Member States on a Common Understanding of the Application of International Law to Cyberspace
  2. Co-hosts(s): European Union and European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS)
  3. Date and time: Thursday 5 December, 18.15-20.00
  4. Location: Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations in New York, 666 Third Avenue, 31st Floor, New York, NY 10017
  5. Registration: Please register online here

  1. 15. Side Event: The Role of Non-Profits in Cybersecurity
  2. Co-host(s): Chile and Global Cyber Alliance
  3. Date and time: Friday 6 December, 13.15-14.30
  4. Location: UN Conference Room 7
  5. Registration: Please register online here

Information for Participants

The Open-Ended Working Group has reached agreement to apply the modalities for participation of non-governmental entities (stakeholders) as set out in the Chair's proposal contained in his letter of 22 April 2022.

Agreed modalities for the participation of stakeholders

Member States of the OEWG are committed to engaging with stakeholders in a systematic, sustained, and substantive manner.

Relevant non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council in accordance with resolution 1996/31 would inform the Secretariat of the OEWG of their interest to participate in the work of the OEWG.

Other interested non-governmental organizations relevant and competent to the scope and purpose of the OEWG should also inform the Secretariat of their interest in participating by submitting information on the organization’s purpose, programmes and activities in areas relevant to the scope of the OEWG. These organizations would accordingly be invited to participate, on a non-objection basis, as observers in the formal sessions of the OEWG.

Accredited stakeholders will be able to attend formal meetings of the OEWG, make oral statements during a dedicated stakeholder session, and submit written inputs to be posted on the webpage of the OEWG.

Encourage Member States to utilize the non-objection mechanism judiciously, bearing in mind the spirit of inclusivity.

Where there is an objection to a non-governmental organization, the objecting Member State will make known its objection to the Chair of the OEWG and, on a voluntary basis, make known to the Chair of the OEWG the general basis of its objections. The Chair will share any information received with any Member State upon its request.

The Chair of the OEWG will organize informal consultative meetings with stakeholders during the inter-sessional period, building on the practice of the previous OEWG.

The OEWG is an inter-governmental process in which negotiation and decision making are exclusive prerogatives of Member States.

The modalities for this OEWG shall in no way create a precedent for any other UN process.

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