UN to draft new international treaty on cyber crime

News:The United Nations has approved a new resolution in order to draft an international treaty to combat cyber crime.

Facts:

About the international treaty:

• The UN General Assembly has established an expert committee.The committee was made after Russia had drafted a resolution which was approved by 193 member countries.
• The committee will elaborate a comprehensive international convention on countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes.
• The United States had suggested that the world should expand the accord on existing 2001 Budapest Convention.

About Budapest Convention:

• The Council of Europe’s(CoE) Cybercrime Convention is also known as the Budapest Convention.It was open for signature in 2001 and came into force in 2004.
• The convention is the sole legally binding international multilateral treaty on cybercrime. 
• The convention coordinates cybercrime investigations between nation-states and criminalizes certain cybercrime conduct.
• It serves as a guideline for any country developing comprehensive national legislation against Cybercrime and as a framework for international cooperation between state parties to this treaty.
• The countries like India and Brazil have not adopted the convention on the grounds that they did not participate in its drafting.

Additional information:

About Council of Europe:

• The Council of Europe is Europe’s oldest political body.It aims to uphold human rights,democracy and the rule of law across the continent.
• The council was founded in 1949 and it has 47 member states,28 of which are members of European Union(EU).However,the organisation is distinct from the EU.
• The council oversees and enforces rulings made by the European Court of Human Rights which considers cases brought by individuals and groups against the signatories to the convention.The Council of Europe is also an official United Nations Observer.