Cybercrime knows no borders. Increasingly, state and non-state actors deploy cyber technologies to commit crimes that pose threats to national and international security and economic stability, and to the lives and livelihoods of individuals and communities around the world. Cybercrime, and policies developed to counter cybercrime, have serious implications for human rights, too. It is clear that to counter cybercrime effectively, a whole-of-society approach is needed, supported by strong channels of international cooperation.
As the UN prepares to negotiate a new convention on cybercrime, it is urgent and important that a diverse group of stakeholders are involved in the process. These stakeholders must be representative of the communities around the world that are most adversely affected by cybercrime and cybercrime policies - including women and marginalised groups - and well informed of the key cybercrime issues and recent developments.
To this end, the Journal of Cyber Policy is launching a special issue on cybercrime focusing on strengthening effective and inclusive cybercrime policies as part of a multi-year project run by Chatham House’s International Security Programme and funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC). The project aims at strengthening effective and inclusive cybercrime policies – in particular, the ones at the UN level.
The purpose of this special issue is to provide an open-ended platform for exploring inclusive and effective cybercrime policymaking from a diversity of regional, sectoral and thematic perspectives. The issue will encourage informed and proactive discussion on how international policies and responses for combating cybercrime and reducing cybercrime impunity can be made more inclusive and effective at offering protection to people using and impacted by the internet, in particular, vulnerable and minority groups. Thematically, this special issue will amplify under-represented testimonies and innovative approaches, in addition to providing a fresh focus on gender and human rights in the context of cybercrime. To this end, the editorial team of Journal of Cyber Policy enthusiastically calls for papers on strengthening inclusive and effective cybercrime policy making. Authors might consider sending articles revolving around the following themes, although the editorial team is open to considering other articles tackling other relevant themes.
- Cybercrime capacity-building across borders: equipping under-represented communities and stakeholders with the tools to understand, engage with, and counter cybercrime;
- Fragmentation and harmonization between international efforts and national cybercrime legislative frameworks;
- Human rights implications of cybercrime policies;
- Role of non-state stakeholders in UN cybercrime policymaking and fighting cybercrime; public-private partnerships;
- Amplification and imposition of gender norms and biases in cybercrime incidents, responses and frameworks;
- Lessons from other UN processes for the upcoming cybercrime process (e.g. UNTOC, UNCAC, First Committee);
- National experiences of cybercrime policymaking and implications for international and regional processes.
In order to amplify a diversity of voices, experiences and perspectives, the Journal’s editorial team is committed to a diversity in the authorship of papers. This special issue invites work from technical, academic and policy backgrounds, and strongly encourages authors from a wide range of demographics, communities, and countries.
