CONSIDERATIONS ON THE INITIAL PRE-DRAFT OF THE OPEN-ENDED
WORKING GROUP (OEWG) ON DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIELD OF
INFORMATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
First and foremost, we would like to thank, Ambassador Jürg Lauber,
chair of the United Nations Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on
developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the
context of international security, for this initial pre-draft. We believe that
it can be constructively improved, and to that end, Cuba would like to
submit its considerations to this, the starting point of the OEWG report,
which is to be consensually approved in the future.
We noted with satisfaction that the pre-draft includes the concerns
raised about the gaps in resilience and high level of vulnerability,
including critical infrastructure that many countries face. On the issue
of existing and potential threats, we were equally pleased to note that
the report presents a tech-neutral approach and that in this sense, it
focuses on State behavior, rather than technologies. However, we
underline the need to include as another major threat to the
development of a peaceful ICT environment, the current and
insufficient regulation of private sector activities in the field of ICTs. In
this regard, we would like to further stress the central role that the
United Nations and its specialized agencies must play in the regulation
of the use of these new technologies.
It is also our belief that there should be specific recognition of the fact
that malicious use of ICTs could have a detrimental impact on Member
State’s critical infrastructure, national security, social affairs, and
systems, as well as the economy.
We noted with grave concern that the initial pre-draft recognizes, in
multiple instances, the automatic applicability of the United Nations
Charter in its entirety. It is our belief that, while the principles and
purposes enshrined in the Charter are indeed applicable to the ICTs’
security dimension; article 51 of the Charter, which legitimizes the right
of self-defense, cannot be automatically applied in the event of a
cybersecurity incident, nor be used to justify a conventional attack in
response. The recognition of the applicability of the "right to selfdefense" under Article 51 and the rules for participation in military