The event held on October 25 under the chair of Vietnam’s State President Luong Cuong, with the participation of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and leaders and high-level representatives of about 110 countries and many international organizations.

The Signing Ceremony and the High-Level Conference of the
United Nations Convention against Cybercrime (Hanoi Convention) opened in Hanoi
on October 25 morning with the theme “Countering Cybercrime – Sharing
Responsibility – Securing our Future.”

The host country’s State President Luong Cuong chaired the
ceremony with the participation of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres and leaders and high-level representatives of about 110 countries and
many international organizations, including UN agencies, regional organizations,
financial institutions, and many experts and scholars in the field of
cybersecurity and international law.

President Cuong and UN Secretary-General Guterres will
deliver opening speeches and then representatives of 60 countries will
participate in signing the Hanoi Convention at an official ceremony run by the
United Nations Office for Legal Affairs (OLA).

The United Nations Convention against Cybercrime was
initiated by the United Nations in 2019, stemming from the urgent need to build
a comprehensive legal framework to address global challenges in non-traditional
security, climate change and sustainable development. After five years of
negotiations, the United Nations General Assembly officially approved the
convention by consensus on December 24, 2024.

The convention, consisting of nine chapters and 71 articles,
provides a comprehensive approach to preventing and combating the global
scourge of cybercrime and upholding human rights principles. It addresses
technical and legal challenges by adapting traditional criminal investigation
methods to the information and communications technology environment, while
enhancing international cooperation.

Throughout the drafting process of the convention, Vietnam
has played an active and proactive role, demonstrated by hosting numerous
international workshops that brought together experts from the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). These discussions helped
shape the convention’s content, focusing on key areas such as cybersecurity,
environmental protection and poverty reduction.

Vietnam’s initiatives, including the proposal of a support
mechanism for least developed countries and the integration of climate change
considerations, received strong backing from the international community,
contributing significantly to the development of a globally relevant document.

The UN’s decision to select Hanoi as the venue for the
convention signing ceremony marks a historic milestone in Vietnam’s
multilateral diplomacy and nearly five decades of the Vietnam–UN partnership.
This is the first time a location in Vietnam has been associated with a global
multilateral treaty addressing an issue of profound international concern.

The selection underscores the country’s rising international
stature and credibility as a proactive advocate of multilateralism, a
participant in shaping global digital governance frameworks, and a defender of
cybersecurity and national sovereignty in cyberspace. It also lays the
groundwork for Vietnam’s successful implementation of its digital
transformation strategy, paving the way for a new era of Vietnam – an era of
prosperity and development.

Within the framework of the Signing Ceremony and the
High-level Conference of the UN Convention against Cybercrime, a plenary
session co-chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and UN Secretary-General
António Guterres will take place.

The program will also include a series of high-level
bilateral meetings and side events on topics such as protecting citizens in the
digital transformation era, global cooperation against online scams,
implementing the UN Convention against Cybercrime with capacity building as a
pillar of global cooperation, and sharing experience in investigating and
collecting electronic evidence in cases involving virtual assets and money
laundering, among others. – (VNA)

VNA-