Ahead of the United Nation’s second Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on the security of and in the use of information and communications technologies starting on 13 December 2021, more than 140 members of the multistakeholder community including states, civil society organisations, members of academia and the private sector have signed a letter to Ambassador Burhan Gafoor, Chair of the UN OEWG, proposing modalities to engage all stakeholders in the negotiations.
Given that non-governmental actors play a key role in the implementation of the measures that will be agreed upon during the process, the participation of all stakeholders is essential to the success of the OEWG. For this reason, the letter outlines five principles that would ensure the engagement of all stakeholders during the negotiations:
1. ensure participation of stakeholders without existing consultative status with the UN;
2. ensure transparency regarding objection from a Member State to accreditation requests;
3. create channels for participation for stakeholders that are denied accreditation to formal OEWG sessions stakeholders;
4. allow sufficient time for multistakeholder input and meaningful discussion of their views;
5. ensure all stakeholders can participate remotely through a hybrid session.
The document responds to a previous letter from the Chair dated 15 November 2021 setting out modalities for multistakeholder participation. The proposed modalities were identical to the ones of the previous OEWG.
Read the letter
