Statement by Representative of the Russian Federation Andrey Belousov at the plenary meeting of the First Committee of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly on agenda item “Developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security”
Distinguished Mr. Chairman,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today, the First Committee is considering a Russia-US draft resolution on ensuring security in the use of ICTs. We are a step away from taking a historic decision and adopting a draft UNGA resolution that consolidates the reestablished atmosphere of consensus in the global discussion on international information security under the UN auspices.
2021 has been marked by significant diplomatic achievements in this area, in particular, the adoption of the final reports of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) and of the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE). The global community managed to prove in practice its ability to reach agreements and to elaborate mutually acceptable solutions, when it comes to dealing with fundamental issues of national and international security.
Russia’s initiative to adopt a single resolution on international information security this year is a logical development of the constructive and pragmatic participation of all UN member states in these discussions. We are grateful to the American side for our joint efforts to agree upon a common text and readiness to promote it on behalf of our two countries as main sponsors. We are also pleased to see that 104 states have already joined our initial agreement as cosponsors.
The Russia-US draft resolution is crafted in a unifying and objective manner. It fixes the positive outcomes of the OEWG and the GGE and recommends its final reports as guidance for all UN member states in their use of ICTs. Thus, the document actually draws a line under the “dual-track” period of negotiations on ICT-security in the UN and allows to fulfill the aspiration of the global community to channel the discussion back to a single format.
The draft resolution lays a strategic basis for continuing the negotiation process: it expresses support for the OEWG on security of and in the use of ICTs 2021-2025 and also reaffirms its mandate, as set forth in UNGA resolution 75/240.
The document also reflects such indisputable principles of ensuring international information security as promoting peaceful use of ICTs, preventing their use for criminal and terrorist purposes, and preventing conflicts in information space. The possibility of developing additional rules, norms and principles of responsible behavior of States, including additional binding obligations, was confirmed.
We believe that the adoption of the Russia-US draft resolution will become a meaningful contribution to strengthening international peace and security in the use of ICTs.
We call on all the UN Member States to support consensus on document L.13.
