Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Ministerial Council
Hamburg 2016
MC.DEC/5/16
9 December 2016
Original: ENGLISH
Second day of the Twenty-Third Meeting
MC(23) Journal No. 2, Agenda item 7
DECISION No. 5/16
OSCE EFFORTS RELATED TO REDUCING THE RISKS OF
CONFLICT STEMMING FROM THE USE OF INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES
The Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe,
Reaffirming that efforts by OSCE participating States to reduce the risks of conflict
stemming from the use of information and communication technologies will be consistent
with: international law, including, inter alia, the UN Charter and the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights; the Helsinki Final Act; and their responsibilities to respect
human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Welcoming UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/70/237, and stressing the
relevance to OSCE efforts to reduce the risks of conflict stemming from the use of
information and communication technologies of the 2010, 2013 and 2015 reports of the
United Nations Group of Governmental Experts on Developments in the Field of Information
and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security,
Emphasizing the importance of OSCE confidence-building measures to reduce the
risks of conflict stemming from the use of information and communication technologies to
complement existing global, regional and subregional efforts in this field;
Emphasizing the importance of communication at all levels of authority to reduce the
risks of conflict stemming from the use of information and communication technologies,
Recalling Permanent Council Decision No. 1039 of 26 April 2012, which established
the OSCE framework for the development of CBMs designed to enhance inter-State
co-operation, transparency, predictability, and stability, and to reduce the risks of
misperception, escalation, and conflict that might stem from the use of information and
communication technologies, and welcoming the work of the informal working group
established pursuant to Permanent Council Decision No. 1039,
Building upon Permanent Council Decision No. 1106 of 3 December 2013 on an
initial set of OSCE confidence-building measures to reduce the risks of conflict stemming
from the use of information and communication technologies,
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