The Cybercrime Convention – With and for youth

The Cybercrime Convention – With and for youth

Room: R343

Time: 11:00 to 12:00, 26 October 2025

Organizer: UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Viet Nam

Opening Remarks by Ms. Pauline Tamesis, UN Resident Coordinator in Viet Nam

Moderator:

Ms. Le Nguyen Bao Ngoc, Director, Gen Zero

Panel:

Mr. Frédéric Margotton, First Secretary (Cyber & Digital) High Commission of Canada in Singapore

Mr. Jordi Martin, Cybercrime Prevention Specialist, UNODC

Mr. Nguyễn Quốc Anh, CEO, Executive board member of IT’S T TIME Gender consulting, training and initiative development company Ltd. – a young local expert from Viet Nam who is writing the first aid for the young transgender people against cybercrime with UNFPA Viet Nam.

Mr. Huỳnh Duy Thông, Student at the RMIT University – Winner of the IOM Youth-led Initiative Contest & Co-founder of ‘MigPedia’ – a youth-led, AI-powered app that promotes safe migration and prevent human trafficking and online scams.

ICTs transform societies. They drive development yet create new challenges, including crimes by means of ICTs. The UN Convention against Cybercrime provides a framework to prevent and combat such crimes, strengthen international cooperation, technical assistance, and capacity-building. Its implementation must be consistent with international human rights law include safeguards to ensure respect for privacy, freedom of expression, and due process.

The Global Digital Compact (GDC) complements the Convention by promoting inclusivity, accountability, and equitable access to technology. It calls for multisectoral cooperation and rights-based, collaborative approaches that address online gender-based violence and protect civic space.

Half of the world’s population is under 30 – the largest youth generation in history. Youth, including LGBTIQ+, migrants, indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and others in vulnerable situations, are major users of digital platforms. This makes them highly exposed to cybercrime but also powerful agents of change, advancing advocacy, awareness, and innovation for online safety. Ensuring their meaningful participation in shaping cybercrime responses is essential.

This event will explore youth exposure to cybercrime and related prevention (Art. 53) and protection measures, focusing on crimes under the Convention impacting youth – illegal access (Art. 7), data interference (Art. 9), theft and fraud (Art. 13), and intimate-image abuse (Art. 16). Centering youth perspectives, it aims to advance the Convention and the GDC toward a safer, more inclusive cyberspace.

Objectives

-Raise awareness of ICT crimes affecting youth and advocate for implementing the Convention and GDC.

-Explore prevention and protection policies and technologies that uphold equality and non-discrimination.

-Empower youth as digital citizens and agents of change – showcasing their contributions while ensuring safe and inclusive participation.