New UN Permanent Mechanism on Cybersecurity is Saddled with Old Controversies
How the global mechanisms indicated in the 2021-2025 open-ended working group (OEWG)’s final report fall short — and why that hampers meaningful progress within the forum dedicated to this in the UN.
Introduction
The UN open-ended working group (OEWG) on security of and in the use of information and communication technologies concluded in July its five-year mandate, issuing a consensus final report that, among other things, set up a new, permanent discussion forum under the auspices of the UN – the so-called ‘global mechanism’.
Though the OEWG was successful in reaching consensus and in keeping international cybersecurity discussions going through challenging geopolitical circumstances, the group ultimately failed to resolve key controversies among states that have characterised negotiations for more than two decades. These issues – new cyber norms, international law and its application, and the participation of stakeholders – will carry over to the global mechanism. Given the incremental progress that has been made thus far, it remains doubtful whether any substantive breakthroughs can be produced in this new forum.