The reconvened concluding session of the United Nations (UN) Ad Hoc Committee (AHC), meeting in New York, on 8 August 2024 reached agreement on the “Draft United Nations convention against cybercrime; strengthening international cooperation for combating certain crimes committed by means of information and communications technology systems and for the sharing of evidence in electronic form of serious crimes”.

The draft text of the treaty will soon be submitted to the UN General Assembly for formal adoption.

Reaching agreement on this complex matter is an important achievement.

The Council of Europe – through its Cybercrime Programmes Office (C-PROC) – supported this treaty process from 2022 in order to ensure consistency with the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention) and the inclusion of a minimum of necessary human rights and rule of law safeguards. Key provisions of the Budapest Convention have been reproduced in the draft treaty but concerns remain regarding safeguards given positions expressed by some States.

During the AHC process, numerous countries became Parties or sought accession to the Budapest Convention. This is an indication of good prospects for synergies and benefits that States may draw from both treaties.

 United Nations: Reconvened concluding session of the Ad Hoc Committee

 Council of Europe: Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention) (dedicated webpage)

 Council of Europe: Details of the Convention (ETS No. 185) (Treaty Office webpage)

 Council of Europe: Cybercrime Programmes Office (C-PROC)

 Council of Europe:The “Budapest” Convention on Cybercrime and the draft United Nations treaty: links