Plenary session on CBMs and capacity building

6 Jun 2024 14:00h - 15:00h

Table of contents

Disclaimer: This is not an official record of the session. The DiploAI system automatically generates these resources from the audiovisual recording. Resources are presented in their original format, as provided by the AI (e.g. including any spelling mistakes). The accuracy of these resources cannot be guaranteed.

Full session report

Multilateral meeting advances cybersecurity cooperation with focus on inclusivity and capacity building

During a multilateral meeting focused on cybersecurity and capacity building, the Chair initiated discussions by highlighting the importance of protecting critical infrastructure through cooperation and information sharing. The Chair emphasised that capacity-building measures should be effective over a sustained period and should be clear, results-oriented, and respect state sovereignty, with voluntary participation.

Team Blue addressed the gender disparity in cybersecurity, advocating for the inclusion of women in capacity-building efforts and stressing that cybersecurity jobs should be accessible to everyone. They called for increased support for developing countries, particularly in the West African sub-region, to benefit from UN programmes for women in cyberspace.

The meeting’s agenda became a contentious issue when Team Orange sought to add regular institutional dialogue as an agenda item, with support from Team Grey and Team Purple. However, Team Yellow and Team Purple highlighted the importance of adhering to the pre-agreed agenda, suggesting that any new proposals should be carefully considered.

Team Pink highlighted the need for African norms to be considered in international law, arguing that they are often overlooked, which limits Africa’s ability to benefit from international decisions. They called for a more inclusive dialogue that takes into account Africa’s needs and weaknesses.

Civil Society proposed the establishment of a UN trust fund for cyber capacity building to assist developing countries. This proposal was supported by Team Blue and Team Yellow, with the latter suggesting that existing models like the World Bank trust fund could be studied and replicated.

The private sector representative pointed out that capacity building is not a one-size-fits-all solution and called for clear guidance from governments on different levels of capacity building. They also urged that funding for such initiatives should come from governments’ normal sources, without imposing additional taxes or licenses on the private sector.

The Chair commended the delegates for their constructive approach and focus on finding common ground. The meeting concluded with an agreement to continue discussions the following day, with the Bureau and Secretariat tasked with preparing a draft document based on the discussions. The Chair acknowledged civil society’s proposal for a trust fund and indicated that state delegation support would be needed to advance it.

The meeting underscored the collaborative spirit among the delegates, despite differences in opinion regarding the agenda. The Chair played a pivotal role in facilitating the discussions, ensuring that the focus remained on areas of agreement and convergence. The meeting highlighted the importance of inclusivity and support for developing countries in the realm of cybersecurity, as well as the need for a coordinated international approach to capacity building.

Session transcript

Chair:
protecting critical infrastructure. That would take a lot of stake in the cooperation information sharing. So that’s on CDMs. And on capacity building, similarly, there were a lot of commonalities that the chair heard, starting off with that any capacity building measures should be long enough for them to be effective. Even specific time intervention, that’s something that delegations can answer to, that they’d be clear in purpose and results oriented and so on. Respecting the principle of state sovereignty, this was something that was mentioned in different contexts, but perhaps in capacity building as well. And obviously participation on a voluntary basis. So the list includes the following delegations, please prepare and as I said, try to perhaps answer some of these points and see where we can find those commonality, common understanding that can hopefully bring us to consensus decisions on certain issues. So we have grey, followed by pink, followed by blue. Grey has the floor.

Team Grey:
Yes, you have it. Thank you very much. Hopefully that is something that all the delegations can agree on.

Chair:
That will certainly be a win for us if we run out of active language in any of the areas, but that one in particular perhaps. Pink is next. Does pink still wish to take the floor? Take a bit more time, please. Very well. We have blue then, we’re followed by pink. Blue, you have the floor.

Team Blue:
The majority of the delegations were made up of only men. So, is the issue of capacity building over, then? Has cybersecurity remained a male-dominated area? I think that not only do we ask the delegations to support capacity building, but also to support the capacity building, we would not be able to leave our ladies, our mothers, our sisters in the state of this job, which is a job for everyone, where everyone must be able to make a contribution in this job. So the capacity building must be prioritised in the information on capacity building. The second point I would like to make is that when we talk about capacity building, it is on all levels. On the technical level, on the level of equipment and on the level of human resources. My colleague will elaborate on this point that I have just made. Thank you. So, dear delegates, I would like to add just a little point to what my colleague has just said, in particular the gender sphere in capacity building, especially in developing countries. The blue table reiterates its support, reiterates the call for practical support to the efforts aimed at establishing programmes and mobilising resources in order to provide greater access for developing countries. The blue table would like the countries in the West African sub-region to be able to benefit in a slightly larger way from the UN programme for women in the cyber space, when women and cyber solution don’t set their own regard to governments.

Chair:
Thank you very much, Blue, for both of the interventions. Next on the list is Orange, and at the moment that is the last speaker. Please, if any other delegates wish to speak before we lift up their hand, it’s Orange you have.

Team Orange:
Thank you, Mr Chair. The Orange group would like to support Grey and Purple to move to the next agenda item. Also, we would like to emphasise that we would like to have a discussion on regular institutional dialogue, although it’s not stated in the agenda, if that can be made possible.

Chair:
If there is specific language in specific areas that you wish to look at, the Chair can try to put it on the floor and see what kind of response it gets. But the focus will have been on these four issues during this meeting, so if we see that it is going into turbulent water, the Chair reserves the possibility of ending that conversation. So, let’s see how it goes. If you have specific language or specific ideas, please do so now. Come back to it. We’ll come back to that.

Team Yellow:
Mr Chair, thank you very much. This is a rule-based mechanism, and the rule of meeting starts with examination of agenda. Once adopted, it’s adopted. Now, Orange will have done her own work very well, but my delegation has no such brief on what she is proposing to place on the agenda. So, my delegation will say we should carefully consider the stance of that proposal. Thank you.

Chair:
Thank you very much. We have Purple to take the floor, and then I’ll come back to Yellow for thoughts on this. So, Purple, yeah.

Team Purple:
Thank you very much, Mr Chair. My delegation would like to support the idea developed by Yellow earlier, that the points of discussion were notified to the delegation before the session, and that the adoption of the Work Programme has already been done, that the modification requested by Orange risks putting the States in an uncomfortable situation and restarting a debate that could not be contained in time. Thank you.

Chair:
Thank you very much, Purple. I think I’ll ask for the floor, and then I’ll come back to Orange.

Team Pink:
Once again, let me say thanks, Mr Chair, for affording me the privilege and our group to interact. I think one important point as it relates to the third round of discussion, I think we need to take into consideration the African norms. So, one of the major obstacles, I think, has been a barrier in penetrating some major decisions as it relates to international laws, and therefore, the benefits. Many times, it has been like our African norms have been overlooked. It has been overlooked. And when you take into consideration, like in the cybersecurity space, African have the will to do things. They are limited. They are limited as it comes to capacity building. And when you look at the UN norms, as it relates to the OEWG, I think we have to fight for it. I have a more inclusive discussion with Africans, knowing what they want, but not international partners just giving out what they think. I think we have a roundtable discussion, knowing what Africa wants, what are their weaknesses, and what they can improve upon. Thank you.

Chair:
Thank you very much. Orange, we come back to your point. There have been several delegations that have expressed reservations on this. And given that the agenda has been agreed, it is not questionable whether it is possible, especially, as I said, if turbulent waters present themselves, and that’s the case at the moment. So I’ll give you the floor. But I also ask for your understanding that there seems to be some turbulent waters ahead.

Team Orange:
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think this morning, after you read the agenda, we had an objection, or I would consider an objection. And we indicated that in our opening remarks, we will have stated what our position as it relates to the agenda for the day should consider. And in our opening remarks, we made mention, maybe if I should read that again for the body, that and I will just read the paragraph quickly. Mr. Chair, given the significance of regular dialogue in enhancing effective international cooperation on cyber security related matters, my delegation sees merit in a holistic approach to this discourse. The inclusion of either team one or five on regular institutional dialogue in the agenda. Unfortunately, our point wasn’t considered to be added to the agenda. And we thought that, and our colleague, who is the only female panelist here, or I would say, I mean, thought that we should draw your attention to the sense the body had just returned from lunch. Maybe having re-energized ourselves, the Chair would consider a consideration for discussion, the item number five, which talks about regular institutional dialogue. Unfortunately, it seems that we do not have the support of our colleagues on this. So we would allow this to move on. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Chair:
First of all, really commending the delegation’s readiness to move forward. I think that all other delegations do appreciate the constructive approach. We did go through points and there are some elements where the chair follows the script. There are other elements that are not within that script. I can read the text that was at that time read. Delegations will have received a draft agenda proposed by the chair through the kind help of the secretariat. The chair now moves that we adopt the agenda as proposed. Unless there are any objections, there were none, and it was gathered. So, it is difficult right now, obviously, but you have shown readiness to accept that language in the name of the software’s body, chair, base, programmer. If there are points where we can try to find length to the given agenda as they are, perhaps we can try to do that either in the form that I mentioned somehow, a sentence or two, that can find its way, or perhaps in the preamble part. So, if you can, please approach the chair afterwards or send an email to find a way for you to do that. And we can see if there is a way for you to involve language. And then we see at the end whether that is acceptable or not. So, it’s not necessary to go into a new agenda item. So, again, thank you very much for your understanding and thank you for all delegations as well for theirs.

Team Orange:
Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Chair:
There are delegations that have still to take the floor. Well, it doesn’t seem to be the case, but at the same time, as has been mentioned, the agenda items remain open. We’re not closing them. The work that we’ve done today serves to try to put together a draft for our discussion tomorrow morning. So, the Bureau, the Vice Chair and the Chair, the Secretariat will try to put together a draft that is hopefully acceptable to all. Obviously, we will have a chance to discuss that tomorrow again. That draft will be provided in the morning. In the morning, we start with an informal discussion, multi-stakeholder discussion, where other stakeholder voices will be heard alongside those of delegations. And during that time, it is when we will send, as a Bureau, a draft for our discussion afterwards. And then we take that on. And so, obviously, we will have time to review the draft and then comment on it in the sessions that follow. So, I see that civil society is asking for the floor. We are at the end, and with the understanding of delegations, civil society, you have the floor.

Civil Society:
Thank you, Chair. Thank you for giving me the opportunity. I want to appreciate the great discussions on capacity building coming from civil society, which finds it as one of the main pillars of implementation of current agreements. However, building on previous discussions that we raised also in the panel, I do want to invite delegations to consider establishing a trust fund, which could be a UN trust fund for cyber capacity building or any other. We should drive the financial commitments and contributions from governments to assist capacity building, particularly in developing countries, but not only.

Chair:
This is the proposal for the delegates to consider. Thank you. Thank you, distinguished representatives of civil society. In this informal part, obviously, the voice of civil society is very important, but it is a multilateral setting. And if this proposal is to gain any merit, it would certainly benefit from a voice coming from a state delegation. I see that blue has asked for the floor, so perhaps that voice is coming. Blue , you have the floor.

Team Blue:
Thank you, Mr. President. I would like to support civil society, which has just supported us in our proposal, which aims to strengthen the capacities of countries, especially developing countries. And this fund by civil society would be really useful for these countries to be able to establish a trust fund. This is a very important point that must be noted so that developing countries do not take advantage of other developing countries. Thank you, Mr. President.

Chair:
Thank you very much for your support. Obviously, this is now a proposal on the floor. The chair believes that yellow is next to purple.

Team Yellow:
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We have considered the proposal by civil society. It is not coming from the void. It is a practical initiative to undertake, but also to have predictable funding for this very important sector. There are examples of such. World Bank has a such trust fund on which a member state can replicate or study to know how it goes. So my delegation is very comfortable for us to give a very fine listening here, thinking well of implementing such trust fund. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Chair:
Thank you very much, yellow. Purple? Yes. It seems that purple is so supportive. And given that the chair does not see any opposition, perhaps this seems to be something that can also find its way. Let us start. So, society has a new proposal.

Private sector:
Thank you, chair. I represent the private sector. I wanted to make two points. One of them is that capacity building is not one size fits all. There will be the technical training that supports workers in the technical aspects of cybersecurity. There will be the training needed for policy makers, diplomats and others who are involved in negotiating a safe environment and creating the rules of the road. And there is the capacity building and awareness creation for citizens. The private sector wishes for a clear framework from government, since we also represent many training institutions that are provided by the private sector. And also many governments, when we implement projects, they require us to include a training or capacity building component. It would assist us to plan if governments guide us clearly on the emphasis on these different levels of capacity building. The second point is on the funding. I would plead that there are no plans to impose taxes or licenses on the private sector in order to raise this money. And I suggest strongly that this funding comes directly from the governments who will benefit from the cybersecurity capacity building from normal sources. Thank you.

Chair:
Thank you very much, representative of the private sector. Distinguished delegates, thank you very much for a very active and very constructive discussion. You’ve covered a lot of ground. Your approach has been at every stage to try to find that common understanding, areas of convergence. And the chair and the vice chair here, we’re all very grateful for that type of approach. For not seeking to find ways where there’s disagreement, but on the contrary, to really find areas of agreement and convergence. With that, there’s been a lot of material that has been given to us in terms of your views and your interests, your concerns and your positions. We will do our best to put together a draft that hopefully captures as much of that as possible. Obviously, that’s never always fully possible, but we will do our best to really capture as much of your concerns and interests as that is available. Thank you very much for your inputs. And we will reconvene tomorrow morning at nine o’clock when we continue with an informal discussion. Until then, this meeting is suspended. Thank you.

C

Chair

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137 words per minute

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1348 words

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590 secs

CS

Civil Society

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142 words per minute

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102 words

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43 secs

PS

Private sector

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119 words per minute

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213 words

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107 secs

TB

Team Blue

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117 words per minute

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352 words

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181 secs

TG

Team Grey

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67 words per minute

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21 words

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19 secs

TO

Team Orange

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121 words per minute

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290 words

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144 secs

TP

Team Pink

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153 words per minute

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197 words

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77 secs

TP

Team Purple

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119 words per minute

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76 words

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38 secs

TY

Team Yellow

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170 words

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90 secs