I take the floor again today firstly to align ourselves with Friday’s
EU statement. Secondly, I wish to flag our availability to
postpone our last substantial session, This postponement would
allow us to meet in person as well as additional time to increase
the momentum of our discussions, deepen our common
understanding, maximize convergences and ultimately aim for a
more ambitious set of OEWG recommendations. As some
colleagues already pointed out, not being able to deliver a Report
might also cast doubts on the ability of a new OEWG to carry out
its mandate.
The more time we have at our disposal, the greater are the chances
of adopting a meaningful consensual report. Less time will
probably mean that we might need to sacrifice part of the text
because of lack of consensus, which would not be our preferred
way forward. Precisely because we share Russian and other
colleagues’ views that common threats of malicious use of ICTs
are pressing, we wish our report to be as incisive and relevant as
possible.
On content, I promised a set of more specific remarks on the draft
report:
Introduction
Para 11 – we are happy with this paragraph, for it highlights the
connection, albeit a distant one at times, that exists between
digital divides and security. It is never good when large segments
of the world population are left behind on any given development
or situation and we hope that our recommendations will
contribute to bridge that gap.
Para 13 – International law is not – in our opinion – a framework
for State actions, rather one could define international law as the
legal discipline of State actions. I think this should be better
reflected in the text.