France supports a free world wide web – free of government interest and control of

any kind, anonymous, borderless and fully international.

A/RES/73/27 - FRANCE votes NO Meeting A/73/PV.45

A/RES/73/266 - FRANCE votes YES Meeting A/73/PV.65

A/RES/74/28 – FRANCE votes YES Meeting A/74/PV.46

A/RES/74/29 – FRANCE votes Abstention Meeting A/74/PV.46

A/RES/75/32 - FRANCE votes YES Meeting A/75/PV.37

A/RES/75/240 - FRANCE votes NO Meeting A/75/PV.48

Notes:

73rd has one report for both

Meeting A/74/PV. 17 is additional

Meeting A/74/PV.46 is for both resolutions

74th has one report for both

75th has one report for both

А/68/98 Report of Group of Governmental Experts on Developments in the Field

of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security
24. “States should encourage the private sector and civil society to play an
appropriate role to improve security of and in the use of ICTs, including supply
chain security for ICT products and services.”

Supporting this recommendation, France would be happy to see a greater effort

from countries to organize informational campaigns and ensure that civil
organizations and structures of the private sector are as aware as possible of the
risks and responsibilities they face as part of being active in the cyberspace.

29. “…the Group recommends regular institutional dialogue with broad

participation under the auspices of the United Nations, as well as regular dialogue
through bilateral, regional and multilateral forums, and other international
organizations.”

France holds the view that there is insufficient bilateral dialogue in terms of
achieving a common methodology of dealing with the issues of cybercrime and the
development of technologies that could be used in the cyberspace for antisocial,
terrorist or warfare purposes. France would give the Indo-French roadmap on
Cybersecurity and Digital Technology as an example of active efforts in support of
free but safe Internet space not only for the citizens of India and France, but also
for countries that are partners with the two sides of this bilateral project in other
organizations (such as the EU in France’s case).

31. In this regard, States working with international organizations, including

United Nations agencies and the private sector, should consider how best to
provide technical and other assistance to build capacities in ICT security and their
use in countries requiring assistance, particularly developing countries.

France is concerned that the issue of cybersecurity is discussed primarily within

socio-economically developed countries, which leaves developing countries like
many African ones prone to exploitation in the realms of cyberspace. For this
reason, France would suggest that the African Union develop a report on the
issues their Country Members are facing regarding digital security and that such a
report be discussed by the appropriate organs of the UN which would propose a
draft resolution to be voted on in the General Assembly in the next UN session
А/70/174 Report of Group of Governmental Experts on Developments in the
Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International
Security

13(i) “States should take reasonable steps to ensure the integrity of the supply
chain so that end users can have confidence in the security of ICT products. States
should seek to prevent the proliferation of malicious ICT tools and techniques and
the use of harmful hidden functions”

France sees the rapid development of quantum computers and artificial

intelligence (AI) as threats to the ability of end users to have trust in ICT products.
For this reason, it would be useful if a multilateral meeting was organized between
the most technologically developed countries in all geographical regions so as to
create a clear set of ethical and technical boundaries for the usage of quantum
computers and AI by States; the recommendations of this group could be the basis
of a discussion of an international law regarding this topic as well as actions by
the UN Institution for Disarmament research

13(g) “States should take appropriate measures to protect their critical

infrastructure from ICT threats…”

France is highly concerned that the pandemic of COVID-19, the extraordinary

situation the world finds itself in and the digitalization of healthcare in general
(having in mind the COVID-19 vaccination certificates and cyber/infrastructure in
particular) could result in devastating results for citizens if a database/digital
infrastructure of a healthcare institution falls victim to a cyberattack. Therefore, it
would be reasonable to discuss a hypothetical multilateral agreement that each
State should spend a set percentage of its national budget on educational meeting
for staff of healthcare institutions as well as on strengthening or even creating
separate cyberclouds for state-owned healthcare institutions

16(c) “Encouraging, on a voluntary basis, transparency at the bilateral,

subregional, regional and multilateral levels, as appropriate, to increase confidence
and inform future work. This could include the voluntary sharing of national views
and information on various aspects of national and transnational threats to and in
the use of ICTs; vulnerabilities and identified harmful hidden functions in ICT
products; best practices for ICT security; confidence-building measures developed
in regional and multilateral forums; and national organizations, strategies, policies
and programmes relevant to ICT security;

France has noticed that as a result of the increasing tension between the State of
the Russian federation and members of NATO, the use and development of ICTs
has become an alarmingly secretive topic which is not being discussed openly
between countries. Acknowledging that in many cases the matter is regarding
national security. Our country proposes that a meeting between the most
technologically developed countries (especially the United States and the Russian
Federation) as well as subregional representatives takes place in the time period
2022-2023 so as to create a draft resolution which shall be discussed on the 77th or
78th session of plenary meeting of the General Assembly of the UN; the draft
resolution could be of advisory or provisional character.

17 (а) “Strengthen cooperative mechanisms between relevant agencies to address ICT security
incidents and develop additional technical, legal and diplomatic mechanisms to address ICT
infrastructure-related requests, including the consideration of exchanges of personnel in areas such as
incident response and law enforcement, as appropriate, and encouraging exchanges between research
and academic institutions;”

It would be a pleasure for France and French academic institutions to participate

in a series of highly professional seminars between States willing to create a
network of regional international academic institutions specializing in cybercrime,
cybersecurity and ICT development.

21 (g) Prioritize ICT security awareness and capacity-building in national plans and budgets, and assign
it appropriate weight in development and assistance planning. This could include ICT security awareness
programmes designed to educate and inform institutions and individual citizens. Such programmes
could be carried out in conjunction with efforts by international organizations, including the United
Nations and its agencies, the private sector, academia and civil society organizations;

France proposes the creation of an “Open cyber day” in schools in States of

developing (and developed) countries so as to increase awareness of the topic from
an early age and spark interests in the next generation which either way has
become accustomed to spending time on the Internet

Statement 02/2021 on new draft provisions of the second additional protocol to the Council of Europe
Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention)

 An update to the measures against information leaks of personal data in the

contest of the digitalization of national administration
 The conditions under which requests for domain name registration
information and for expedited disclosure of stored computer data in
emergency cases may be declined must be provided by law
 The rights of national institutions to hold and use disclosed data after the
completion of the action the data was provided for are not limited by law

Group of Governmental Experts on Advancing Responsible State Behaviour in Cyberspace in the

Context of International Security (76th session)

 Norm 13 (b) In case of ICT incidents, States should consider all relevant information,
including the larger context of the event, the challenges of attribution in the ICT
environment, and the nature and extent of the consequences.
 30 (b) A State that is aware of but lacks the capacity to address internationally
wrongful acts conducted using ICTs in its territory may consider seeking assistan ce from
other States or the private sector in a manner consistent with international and domestic
law. The establishment of corresponding structures and mechanisms to formulate and
 respond to requests for assistance may support implementation of this norm. States should
act in good faith and in accordance with international law when providing assistance and
not use the opportunity to conduct malicious activities against the State that is seeking the
assistance or against a third State.
 40 While recognizing the importance of technological innovation to all States, new
and emerging technologies may also have important human rights and ICT security
implications. To address this, States may consider investing in and advancing technical and
legal measures to guide the development and use of ICTs in a manner that is more inclusive
and accessible and does not negatively impact members of individual communities or
groups.
 43 This norm also points to the fundamental importance of critical infrastructure as
a national asset since these infrastructures form the backbone of a society’s vital functions,
services and activities.
 45 The COVID-19 pandemic heightened awareness of the critical importance of
protecting health care and medical infrastructure and facilities, including through the
implementation of the norms addressing critical infrastructure (such as this norm and
A/76/135 21-04030 13/26 norms (g) and (h)). Other examples of critical infrastructure
sectors that provide essential services to the public can include energy, power generation,
water and sanitation, education, commercial and financial services, transportation,
telecommunications and electoral processes. Critical infrastructure may also refer to those
infrastructu res that provide services across several States such as the technical
infrastructure essential to the general availability or integrity of the Internet.
 52 Upon receiving a request for assistance, States should offer any assistance they have the
capacity and resources to provide, and that is reasonably available and practicable in the
circumstances. A State may choose to seek assistance bilaterally, or through regional or
international arrangements. States may also seek the services o f the private sector to assist
in responding to requests for assistance.
 91 In advancing international cooperation and assistance in ICT security and
capacity-building, the Group underscores the voluntary, politically neutral, mutually
beneficial and reciprocal nature of capacity-building.
 95(a) Increased cooperation at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels to
foster common understandings on existing and emerging threats and the potential risks to
international peace and security posed by the malicious use of ICTs, and on the security of
ICT-enabled infrastructure.
 (b) Further sharing and exchanging of views on norms, rules and principles for
responsible State behaviour and national and regional practices in norm and CBM
implementation; and on how international law applies to the use of ICTs by States, including
by identifying specific topics of international law for further in-depth discussion.
 (c) Further strengthening international cooperation and capacity-building on the
assessments and recommendations in this report in order to ensure all States can contribute
 to the maintenance of international peace and security, taking into consideration paragraph
90 above.
