Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu. Photo: VNA

On this occasion, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu answered reporters' questions. Dear Permanent Deputy Minister, could you please share about the negotiation process of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime? The negotiation to draft the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime is one of the most notable negotiation processes at the United Nations in recent times, with the direct participation and contribution of over 150 countries. There are several main reasons why this process has received such attention and support. Firstly, the issue of cyberspace security is currently attracting the attention of the international community due to the strong explosion of information and communication technology. Along with the development and great benefits that cyberspace brings, cybercrime activities have also increased at an alarming rate. Cyber ​​attacks are developing rapidly in both form and scale, seriously affecting the economic, political and social stability of countries, threatening sovereignty and eroding trust between countries due to their cross-border and anonymous nature in cyberspace. Meanwhile, the United Nations lacks a common legal framework for countries to cooperate in sharing information, coordinating investigations, collecting evidence... related to cybercrime, so the development and early signing of a United Nations Convention on Cybercrime Prevention and Control is very necessary. Second, the draft Convention is expected to create a legal framework to help enhance the effectiveness of international cooperation in preventing and combating cybercrime. The draft Convention affirms the sovereignty and responsibility of each country in preventing and combating cybercrime along with ensuring basic human rights in cyberspace; criminalizing 11 typical and most painful types of cybercrime; unifying regulations on 6 specific professional measures; establish a 24/7 cooperation mechanism between law enforcement agencies of countries, meeting the requirements for timely and effective mutual legal assistance; encourage a coordination mechanism with the expert community, associations and technology enterprises to prevent and suppress cybercrime; allow early discussion to develop an additional Protocol to respond to the rapid development of technology and new types of crime. Third, when entering into force, the Convention will become the first international legal document of global nature governing cyberspace, affirming the role and importance of the United Nations in promoting international law to establish a global cooperation framework to respond to issues in cyberspace. The Convention will also further consolidate and perfect the system of international legal documents of the United Nations in crime prevention such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC). The consensus of countries on the draft Convention has continued to affirm the value and contribution of multilateralism at the United Nations in solving common problems of the international community. The draft Convention is the result of a process of negotiation and compromise around different viewpoints, interests and national practices, even conflicting ones on the scope of application of the Convention, principles in law enforcement and international cooperation, technology transfer, etc. Therefore, the success of the negotiation of the draft Convention is very encouraging, especially for developing countries, contributing to narrowing the gap in digital capacity between countries. Mr. Permanent Deputy Minister, what does the adoption of the draft Convention mean for Vietnam? Vietnam is one of the countries with the highest Internet penetration in the world, with 78.44 million Internet users as of early 2024, equivalent to 79.1% of the population. According to statistics from the authorities, in 2023, nearly 16,000 reports were recorded on online fraud alone, causing losses of VND 390,000 billion, an increase of 64.78% compared to 2022. Since the beginning of 2023, there have been more than 13,750 cyber attacks on information systems in Vietnam, causing serious incidents. Recognizing the increasingly serious threat from cybercrime and the need to strengthen cooperation with countries and international organizations in preventing cybercrime, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security have joined Vietnamese authorities in discussing and negotiating the document right from the first stage in 2022. Consistently supporting the establishment of a negotiation mechanism and actively participating throughout the 8 meetings of the Specialized Committee has affirmed a strong message that Vietnam is an active and responsible member of the international community, joining hands with countries to solve global issues, contributing to an environment of international peace and stability. For Vietnam, the adoption of the draft Convention has many important meanings. Firstly, the draft Convention sets out a specific and comprehensive legal framework for Vietnamese authorities to establish and enhance effective cooperation with law enforcement forces of other countries. Due to the borderless nature of cybercrime, international cooperation plays a very important role, helping Vietnamese authorities promptly investigate, collect information and evidence on cybercrime to serve the prosecution and trial of criminals.

Second, in the context of the still existing gap in science and technology level and digital infrastructure among countries, the draft Convention opens up opportunities for developing countries, including Vietnam, to participate and receive technical assistance, capacity building and technology transfer mechanisms. These mechanisms will contribute to improving the ability to prevent and respond to cybercrime in developing countries, playing a very important role in helping to build a healthier and safer global cyberspace environment. Third, Vietnam participated in the negotiation process from the beginning and made substantial contributions to the contents related to law enforcement, capacity building, technology transfer as well as participating in coordinating regulations on professional measures. In particular, with the interdisciplinary delegation mechanism, Vietnam closely follows, participates closely, effectively and comprehensively in the contents of the Convention in terms of diplomacy, law and technology. This contributes to the task of proactively and actively contributing to enhancing Vietnam's role in building and shaping multilateral institutions and international political and economic order stated in the Political Report of the 13th National Party Congress, implementing the policy of striving to play a core and leading role at multilateral forums of strategic importance to the country stated in Directive 25 of the Secretariat on promoting and enhancing multilateral diplomacy until 2030. So, what is the next task to be done after the draft Convention is approved by the Specialized Committee, Mr. Deputy Minister? After the Specialized Committee agrees on the draft Convention, this document will be submitted to the United Nations General Assembly for official approval by the 193 member countries as soon as possible. On that basis, the Convention will be open for signing by participating countries until December 31, 2026. In the coming time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security and relevant agencies of Vietnam need to continue to study the official adoption, signing and ratification of the Convention; review, evaluate and complete Vietnam's specialized legal documents to ensure effective and efficient implementation of the provisions of the Convention, taking into account the specific characteristics of cybercrime; pay attention to investing in infrastructure and technological capacity to meet the requirements of the Convention; discuss with the United Nations and international partners in developing appropriate technical assistance programs to meet the needs of Vietnamese authorities. The adoption of the Convention is only the first step and there is still a lot of work ahead and requires the active and proactive participation of relevant ministries and branches. Sincerely thank the Permanent Deputy Minister.