EU Statement – UN Global Mechanism on ICTs in international security: First Substantive Session Key EU messages for Agenda item on International Law

As outlined also during our statement on threats, malicious behaviour in cyberspace from both State and non-State actors is increasing in scale, severity, sophistication and impact.

The increasing number of cyber threats poses a major challenge to the functioning of our societies, economies, and our way of life. Cyber threat actors target our critical infrastructure and attempt to hamper the efforts of States to fully grasp the economic and social benefits of digitalisation.

With cyber tools also increasingly playing a central role in conflicts, respect for and adherence to the entire UN framework of responsible State behaviour in cyberspace is essential to maintaining international peace and security.

The EU and its Member States reaffirm their full commitment to the application of international law, in particular the UN Charter, international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and the law on state responsibility, in cyberspace.

We underscore that respect for international law should be at the core of the efforts of the international community. To this end, we should continue to work, including in the DTGs, to further enhance our common understanding on how international law applies, and build global capacities to this end.

A better global common understanding of how international law applies to cyberspace is necessary to contribute to enhanced global cyber resilience and further transparency and predictability of, and accountability for, States' conduct in cyberspace.

In that vein, the EU and its Member States continue to support third countries through training and capacity building on the implementation of the UN framework of responsible State behaviour in cyberspace, including on how to develop a national position on the application of international law to cyberspace.

We acknowledge that an increasing number of States have already developed and put forward their national and regional positions on the application of international law to cyberspace.

To support finding further common understanding, the EU and its Member States have in 2024 presented their common understanding of a non-exhaustive set of legal elements on the application of international law to cyberspace.

In conjunction with the European Union's declaration on a common understanding of the application of international law to cyberspace, as well as the African Union's Common Position on the Application of International Law in Cyberspace, over 100 states have now individually or collectively published their positions on international law.

This increasing understanding shows that international law is fit for purpose in this digital age. The application of and compliance with fundamental principles and rules of international law to cyberspace, such as State sovereignty, the principle of non-intervention,the prohibition of the threat or use of force, and due diligence, as well as international human rights law and international humanitarian law are essential to ensure security and stability. We underscore that recognising the application of international humanitarian law in cyberspace does not lead to or encourage the militarization of cyberspace, nor does it legitimise cyber warfare.

The EU and Member States will continue to further develop, extend, update and share our understanding of the application of international law to cyberspace, at national, regional and international level, and encourage all UN Member States to do the same.

The OEWG confirmed this common understanding - even though the result of the hard work of several cross-regional groups and the reference to the resolution of 34^th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent were not included in the final OEWG report. Future efforts of the Global Mechanism should build on previous discussions and achievements.

States have recognized the application of the law of state responsibility, international human rights law, and, in situations of armed conflict, international humanitarian law. The EU and Member States see the Global Mechanism and its DTGs as a new opportunity to reflect and articulate clearly the progress made, and to continue to make progress on our common understanding of the application of international law, in particular by reflecting on its practical application in real-world scenarios.

We also welcome the continued efforts by the cross-regional groups on the application of international law and look forward to incorporating this work in our discussions under the Global Mechanism, including in the DTGs.