Informal intersessional consultative meeting of the OEWG with industry, non-governmental organizations and academia (2-4 December 2019)

The United Nations will be hosting an intersessional multi-stakeholder meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) on ‘Developments in the field of information and communications technology in the context of international security’ from 2-4 December 2019 in New York. As per the OEWG’s mandate contained in General Assembly resolution 73/27, the meeting an opportunity for Member States, industry, non-governmental organizations and academia to share views on the issues within the OEWG’s mandate. Singapore will chair the multi-stakeholder meeting at the request the Chair of the Group, Ambassador Jürg Lauber of Switzerland.  

When and where?

Date: 

2 to 4 December 2019

Opening meeting: Monday, 2 December at 10:00 am;

Place: 

Conference Room 1

United Nations Headquarters

New York

Watch the event live

Why is it important?

Few technologies have been as powerful as ICTs in reshaping societies, economies and international relations. Today, digital technologies touch every aspect of our lives. The critical infrastructure we rely on — such as electric grids and financial systems — has become increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks. ICT incidents have an increasingly destabilizing effects and undermine trust between States. They may indeed pose a risk to international peace and security.

While States have a primary responsibility in this area, non-governmental stakeholders also have an important role to play. Many of them have shown great interest in and taken initiatives to promote the peaceful use of ICTs. This multi-stakeholder meeting therefore aims to promote common understandings between the different stakeholders from across the world and build synergies between different efforts to create an open, secure, stable, accessible and peaceful ICT environment. 

What will be discussed?

Through interactive discussions, the meeting would address questions such as the following: What are the norms of responsible behaviour that should be promoted in cyberspace? How does international law apply to the use of digital technologies? And how should we cooperate to build a more resilient cyberspace?

Documents of the informal intersessional consultative meeting of the OEWG with industry, non-governmental organizations and academia (2-4 December 2019)

Submissions and contributions to the informal intersessional consultative meeting:

Statements made during the meeting are available on Papersmart

Overview of capacity-building efforts by stakeholders:

Useful resources: