- Final -

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the EU and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the potential candidate country Georgia, and the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Monaco and San Marino align themselves with this statement.

1. States’ efforts to determine how international law applies in cyberspace are today concentrated on two sets of activities.

2. The first involves consideration of the issue at the multilateral level. Successive United Nations Groups of Governmental Experts (GGEs) and the Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) have both repeatedly affirmed the applicability of international law to cyberspace. Member states should engage in alignment with the mandate of the current OEWG, which is to continue to study how international law applies to the use of information and communications technologies by states.

3. Second, states are considering the matter by developing their national positions on how they interpret existing legal rules and principles in the cyber context and exchanging upon this in various settings, including in the EU but also in bilateral dialogues and broader events.

4. An increasing number of states have publicly shared their views, whether by reporting on the issue to the UN Secretary General, as part of their national cyber security strategies, as standalone oral or written statements, or in other formats. When made publicly available, the statements contribute to common understandings on how international law applies to the use of ICTs by states, increase transparency and reaffirm commitments to adhere to the framework of international law in the cyber context.

5. The multilateral and national processes should be viewed as complementary, with the latter being a prerequisite to success in the former. Indeed, it is only when states have considered the matter internally and determined how the law can best achieve its objective and purpose in the cyber context, and protect the values it was created to safeguard, that states can meaningfully engage with other states and stakeholders on the multilateral level. Both processes are essential for finding common understanding how international law applies to the use of ICTs by states.  

6. From the perspective of international peace and security, continuing the discussions on the multilateral level is necessary. International law is designed to regulate relations between states, including in cyberspace, and finding a common understanding on how the existing international legal framework applies can only be the result of a joint multilateral effort of states. The rules are already there, and are first and foremost stipulated in the UN Charter. Since it is States who interpret and apply international law, it is both a privilege and responsibility of every single state to take ownership of this process with a view to clarify definitions and thresholds for state conduct in the cyber domain.

7. That said, we recognise that only a few countries have been involved in these discussions from the outset and numerous states are joining them only now. This reality emphasizes the need for capacity building in the field, including through trainings and exercises, to improve our understanding of the application of international law in the cyber domain.

8. Capacity building, if delivered in a neutral and objective manner, can make a tangible difference in states’ ability to develop their own positions and defend their national interests in the OEWG, as well as to ensure we do not inadvertently further the digital divide by having only a small number of states meaningfully participate in the discussions.

9. It is crucial that the OEWG continues to study how international law applies to states’ use of information and communications technologies. International law is the foundation of a rules-based international order. For cyberspace to fall within that order; international law must be upheld and enforced also in this domain. We call upon all States to avoid and refrain from taking any measures not in accordance with international law.

10. That said, the OEWG should as a next step focus on those branches, rules and principles of international law that are of most relevance from the perspective of safeguarding international peace and security, and that seeks to minimize human suffering as a result of hostile cyber activities.

11. That is why the EU and its Member States appreciate the opportunity to start the discussions on the UN Charter today. We also like to express our appreciation to UNIDIR for organizing the conference, which served as an excellent platform for sharing preliminary views on this important topic.

12. The EU and its Member States reiterate their support for the paper by Canada and Switzerland and the proposal that the international law discussions should start with addressing how international humanitarian law, the UN Charter, the obligation to peacefully settle disputes, and the law of State responsibility apply in the cyber context. Preferably, other international law topics agreed as applicable to the use of ICTs by States identified in our consensus reports should also be discussed, in order to build a solid common understanding of the application of the law.

13. As reiterated by the UN Member States before, and most recently in the OEWG Annual Progress Report in 2022, international humanitarian law applies in situations of armed conflict. There is a need for further study on how and when the principles of humanity, necessity, proportionality and distinction apply to the use of ICTs by States. Importantly, EU underlines that recalling these principles by no means legitimizes or encourages conflict but aim to prevent harm to civilians.

14. We also propose to have a dedicated session on international law in the near future. A dedicated session would give us an opportunity to get our international law advisers involved and therefore have more in-depth discussions on this important topic.