Second Substantive Session of OEWG Ends After Discussions take place in Informal Mode
Between 28 March and 1 April 2022, the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies, held its Second Substantive session. As participating member states have yet to agree on organizational matters and disagreements over the participation of members of the multistakeholder community continue to stall formal negotiations, the session was held in informal mode. Due to this lack of agreement on the programme of work, the informal sessions focused on: the existing and potential threats in the ICT sphere and data security; rules, norms, and principles of responsible behaviour of states in cyberspace; how international law applies to the use of ICTs by states; confidence-building measures; and capacity building.
Three virtual meetings were held in addition to the official OEWG sessions: on 18 March the Chair, Ambassador Burhan Gafoor, Permanent Representative of Singapore to the United Nations in New York, held an open-ended informal preparatory meeting. On 25 March, an informal dialogue open to all stakeholders, ahead of the Second Substantive session was also held. Finally, on 31 March, the Chair held an informal open-ended meeting where member states and stakeholders from industry, civil society and non-governmental organisations could participate. The Chair has scheduled more tentative dates for informal consultative meetings with stakeholders, which can be found here. The next informal will be held on 21 July 2022. The OEWG is encouraging all interested members of the multistakeholder community to submit their positions.
The Third Substantive Session of the OEWG will be held between 25-29 July 2022. All updated information can be found on UNODA’s Meeting platform here.