UN First Committee Processes on Responsible State Behaviour in Cyberspace: An Explainer

In late 2018, the UN First Committee established two parallel processes to discuss responsible state behaviour in cyberspace – the UN Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) and the Open Ended Working Group (OEWG). The outcomes of these processes may end up having a significant influence on trends and policies in cybersecurity globally, with implications for human rights. This explainer offers human rights defenders all the information they need to start engaging with the GGE and OEWG, from a rundown of the key issues on the GGE and OEWG agendas, to guidance on how the processes work, and when and where human rights defenders can get involved.