Digital-rights groups warn UN Cybercrime Convention risks weak oversight and limited civil-society participation
A coalition of digital-rights organisations, including Global Partners Digital, Fundación Karisma and Access Now, has issued an open letter raising concerns about the draft Rules of Procedure for the Conference of States Parties to the UN Cybercrime Convention. They argue that the emerging oversight mechanism risks weakening transparency and restricting civil-society participation, departing from the more inclusive standards set during the Ad Hoc Committee negotiations. The letter urges member states to replicate the AHC’s open accreditation model, avoid restrictive practices seen under UNTOC and UNCAC, and ensure strong mechanisms for independent monitoring and public access to documentation.
A coalition of digital-rights organisations has issued an open letter warning that the emerging oversight system for the UN Cybercrime Convention risks weakening transparency, civil-society participation and independent monitoring. Global Partners Digital, Fundación Karisma, Access Now and independent expert Tanja Fachathaler argue that the draft Rules of Procedure for the Convention’s Conference of States Parties, which will govern implementation and review, provide insufficient safeguards for meaningful non-governmental engagement. They note that while the Ad Hoc Committee (AHC) negotiations set a widely praised precedent for openness, predictability and inclusive participation, the current trajectory for the oversight mechanism appears to depart from these standards.
The signatories express concern that the model being considered draws heavily from the rules used under UNTOC and UNCAC, frameworks known for enabling arbitrary restrictions on civil-society participation. They point to procedural provisions that allow states to object to NGO participation without clear justification, placing human-rights organisations and technical experts at heightened risk of exclusion. They recommend replicating the AHC’s list-based accreditation system, introducing a grandfather clause to ensure continuity for stakeholders previously accredited under the AHC process, and adopting modalities that allow civil society to intervene in plenaries, submit written contributions at each stage of implementation review and participate with fewer discretionary barriers.
The letter stresses that effective monitoring of the Cybercrime Convention requires transparency mechanisms comparable to those used during the negotiations, including a publicly accessible online platform cataloguing submissions, interventions and meeting materials. Without such measures, the oversight body may struggle to ensure that the Convention is implemented consistently with its safeguards and human-rights provisions. The authors conclude that strengthening these rules now is essential to prevent a review system that can be selectively closed, unevenly applied or used to sideline independent scrutiny at a moment when global cybercrime governance demands openness and accountability.
