The UN Convention against Cybercrime: A Platform to Safeguard Sovereignty and Strengthen Multilateralism

The UN Convention against Cybercrime: A Platform to Safeguard Sovereignty and Strengthen Multilateralism

Time: 45 minutes, 14:00 – 14:45, 26 October 2025

Venue: Room R313, National Convention Center, Hanoi, Viet Nam

Language: English (interpretation TBC)

Background

The 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, was adopted by the General Assembly in resolution 79/243, of 24 December 2024. The Convention is the first United Nations criminal justice treaty to be adopted in over 20 years as well as the first global treaty on cybercrime and the exchange of electronic evidence for serious crimes. Its nine chapters address comprehensively the prevention and combating of the global problem of cybercrime.

The Convention is a major victory for multilateralism, having been negotiated over five years with input from UN Member States, civil society, academia, and the private sector, making it a truly inclusive process. It creates an unprecedented platform for collaboration, enabling countries to work together on prevention, investigation, and prosecution of cybercrime while upholding human rights.

While the Convention upholds national sovereignty by allowing states to define cybercrime within their own legal frameworks, it also enables international cooperation through cross-border evidence sharing mechanism and mutual legal assistance. These mechanisms are only activated when the requested action is also considered a crime in the assisting country, preserving each state’s legal autonomy.

This roundtable, convened alongside the Convention’s signing, brings together high-level speakers to deepen collaboration, align strategic priorities, and explore actionable models for partnership in the fight against cybercrime.

Objectives

The roundtable aims to foster strategic dialogue between senior law enforcement leaders and private sector executives to:

– Understand how the UN Convention against Cybercrime can serve as a foundation to enhance collaboration among states while ensuring sovereignty in cyber space.

• – Define priority areas for policy alignment and cooperation in the implementation phase of the Convention.

Methodology

The roundtable will feature an open dialogue among high-level invited speakers. Following brief opening remarks to set the context, the discussion will unfold through moderated, conversational panels focused on topics such as cross-border collaboration, domestic legal frameworks and policy alignment, and the role of the UN Convention against Cybercrime in facilitating joint efforts.