(Jamaica Gleaner) A historic convention has been agreed on by United Nations (UN) member states, including Jamaica, to help tackle the global rise in cybercrime.
The first-ever UN Convention Against Cybercrime was approved by consensus on Thursday after three years of negotiations and a final two-week session in New York City.
It will now go to the UN General Assembly for formal adoption.
The convention faced opposition from human rights groups which warned of possible dangers, such as surveillance of citizens.
Among the notable inclusions is article 16, which provides the first multilateral instrument dealing with revenge porn.
The convention seeks to “promote and strengthen” measures to prevent and combat cybercrime more efficiently and effectively,” according to a draft document obtained by The Gleaner.
It also seeks to promote, facilitate and strengthen international cooperation; capacity-building; and technical assistance to prevent and combat cybercrime.
Jamaica’s delegation was led by Ambassador Brian Wallace, the country’s Permanent Representative to the UN.
Ambassador Wallace described the adoption of the UN Cybercrime Convention as a remarkable achievement given the challenges associated with multilateralism at present.
He said the negotiations leading up to the adoption profited greatly from the constructive and skillful participation and engagement of the CARICOM group “expertly led by Jamaica at the technical and diplomatic levels”.
“The members of the delegation can be justly proud of this outstanding success,” he said.
CARICOM negotiated as a single group, which was led by Jamaica’s senior deputy director of public prosecutions Andrea Martin Swaby.
The Jamaican delegation included representatives from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions; the Ministry of National Security; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade; and the Permanent Mission to the UN.
