31.03.2020 - Austria proposes to include a reference to States’ obligations stemming from IHL: “IHL obliges States to ensure that lives of innocent civilians are spared, even with respect to ICT incidents” (as was stated by Austria at the 2nd OEWG substantive session in February 2020). 3. Principle of sovereignty Paras 23 of the Pre-Draft read as follows: “23. Specific principles of the UN Charter highlighted include sovereign equality; the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice are not endangered; refraining in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations; respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; and nonintervention in the internal affairs of other States.” - Austria notes that para. 23 of the Pre-Draft includes a general statement on the principle of sovereignty that should be further elaborated. As Austria had highlighted in the 2 nd OEWG substantive session, a violation of the principle of State sovereignty constitutes an internationally wrongful act – if attributable to a State – for which a target State may seek reparation under the law of State responsibility. A target State may also react through proportionate countermeasures. It is clear, however, that references to State sovereignty must not be abused to justify human rights violations within a State’s borders. In other words, State sovereignty must not serve as a pretext for tightening control over a State’s citizens, which undermines their basic human rights such as the right to privacy and the freedom of expression. - Given the need to increase accountability for malicious cyber activities, Austria would welcome further discussions regarding attribution at the UN level. 4. Human rights - As Austria stated before, activities in the cyber context (such as e.g. the disconnecting of infrastructure on a State’s territory from the internet and/or the blocking of access to cyberspace) may have an impact on the enjoyment of human rights of individuals within a State’s borders. Such restrictive activities cannot be justified merely by references to the principle of State sovereignty. - On the contrary, sovereignty entails rights and obligations for States, in particular with regard to the observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including on data protection and privacy, freedom of expression, and freedom of information.