Hanoi Convention - A global milestone on cybersecurity and human rights

Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang signed the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime. (Photo: THUY NGUYEN)

Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang signed the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime. (Photo: THUY NGUYEN)

The line between “protecting security” and “ensuring freedom” has never been so fragile. Cyberspace – where people connect, communicate and create – is gradually becoming a new “living space” for humanity, but also a “battlefield” of invisible conflicts over information, data and control.

The Hanoi Convention is therefore not only an international legal document, but also a strong message about human rights , ethics and global digital order, reflecting the aspiration to build a safe, humane and fair cyberspace - where technology serves people, not dominates them.

The foundation of the digital order

Cybersecurity is not just about protecting devices, systems or digital data, but more broadly, it is about protecting national sovereignty , economic security, cultural identity and human identity in the digital environment.

In the context of strong digital transformation, all activities of life - from state management, economy , education, healthcare to communication - rely on technology platforms. Therefore, cyber security becomes a "shield" to protect order, stability and sustainable development of the country in the digital space.

From the Hanoi Convention - looking back at cyber security and human rights in the digital age is not only a reminder of a legal milestone, but also a declaration of Vietnam to the world on a humane, proactive and responsible approach to cyberspace governance. In the context of technology expanding human rights but at the same time making those rights more fragile than ever, the Hanoi Convention appears as an inevitable step - to establish a new digital order based on the principles of respect for human beings, digital sovereignty and the common security of the international community.

The Hanoi Convention - in the spirit of international cooperation on cyberspace - has contributed to shaping a new set of international standards for data protection, information security and combating transnational cybercrime. The Convention affirms the shared responsibility of countries, international organizations, technology corporations and users in building a "safe, transparent and human-friendly cyberspace".

Specifically, the Hanoi Convention emphasizes three fundamental pillars: (i) Data security and information authentication: All systems and organizations are responsible for ensuring the integrity and security of personal information, avoiding the misuse of data for commercial or political purposes. (ii) Prevention and combating transnational cybercrime: Promoting international cooperation in investigating, prosecuting and sharing cyber intelligence, to effectively handle cross-border violations. (iii) Responsibility of technology entities and governments: Establishing the principle of “dual responsibility” - both promoting innovation and ensuring that no harm is caused to the legitimate rights and interests of people in cyberspace.

In particular, our Party's policy is: Promoting digital transformation associated with ensuring security and safety is an objective necessity for Vietnam to make a breakthrough in the new era. The Party's 13th National Congress documents clearly stated: It is necessary to proactively adapt to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, build a digital economy and digital society, in parallel with ensuring network safety and security as a prerequisite for national digital sovereignty.

Cybersecurity is the foundation of a digital order where technology serves not only development, but also people, human rights and social stability. Ensuring cybersecurity is therefore not a “barrier” to freedom, but a condition for freedom to be exercised safely, responsibly and sustainably.

Human rights - the central norm of digital transformation

In recent years, privacy invasion, excessive surveillance, abuse of facial recognition technology, analysis of user behavior data... are becoming global problems.

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) and content recommendation algorithms creates the ability to guide users' thinking, beliefs, and even emotions.

Cyberspace - which is expected to be a free and equal environment - is becoming a "mirror" reflecting both the bright and dark sides of humanity, where a malicious comment or a piece of false information can destroy a person's honor, dignity and life.

More worryingly, fake news, hate speech, and cyberbullying have been seriously violating human rights, especially for vulnerable groups such as women, children, people with disabilities, and ethnic minorities. In the digital environment, victims often have no effective self-protection mechanisms, while technology platforms put business interests and traffic above social responsibility.

This situation requires a legal framework and global ethical standards in cyberspace. This humanistic ideology is completely similar to the viewpoint of President Ho Chi Minh - who always put people at the center of all policies.

Right from the first days of the country's founding, President Ho Chi Minh affirmed: If the country is independent but the people do not enjoy freedom and happiness, then independence is meaningless. He always considered human rights a sacred value, the foundation of all political and legal institutions.

The first Constitution in the history of our nation, drafted by him directly as Head of the Drafting Committee, was passed by the National Assembly on November 9, 1946, in which it was determined that: Ensuring the people's freedom and democracy is one of the basic principles of the Constitution.

That ideology has become a guiding light for the process of constitution-making, legislation and national governance over the past nearly 80 years. Today, that spirit is continued and elevated in the Hanoi Convention, when Vietnam and the international community affirm a new truth in the digital age: Protecting cyber security must go hand in hand with protecting human rights.

Thus, looking from Ho Chi Minh's thought to the spirit of the Hanoi Convention today, we can see the unity in the perspective of human development - for the people - and by the people. Human rights in the digital age can only be guaranteed when technology is guided by ethics, law and humanity. Only then will digital transformation truly have humanistic meaning and cyberspace will become an environment for human development, not a place where people become products of technology.

Creating new values in cyberspace

In the vibrant flow of the digital age, Vietnam has emerged not only as an actively integrating country, but also as a subject that creates new values in cyberspace governance. From the promulgation of the Cybersecurity Law in 2018, the Personal Data Protection Law in 2024, to the implementation of the National Digital Transformation Strategy to 2030, vision 2045, Vietnam is gradually building a unified, modern and humane legal corridor, to ensure both core values: National security and human rights in the digital environment.

Ensuring human rights is always linked to national interests, with the principle: Security is a condition of freedom, freedom is a measure of security. Recognizing the role of human rights in the Vietnamese revolution, inheriting the human rights ideology of President Ho Chi Minh, our Party always determines: All for people, all for freedom, happiness and rich and comprehensive development for each person in a harmonious relationship between individuals and communities, between society and nature.

This is a viewpoint that is both philosophical and humanistic, and reflects the reality of sustainable development in the technological era. Our Party's policy is: Promoting digital transformation associated with ensuring security and safety is an objective necessity for Vietnam to make a breakthrough in the new era, showing a deep awareness that there can be no real freedom in a risky, chaotic and lawless cyberspace.

In terms of building and perfecting institutions and laws, the Party and State constantly issue policies and strategies to promote socialist democracy and ensure the implementation of people's mastery.

Human rights, basic rights and obligations of citizens are more clearly defined in the 2013 Constitution and specified in legal documents, from the Law on Access to Information, the Law on Children, the Law on Gender Equality, to new regulations on personal data protection and network information security, in line with the development requirements of the digital age and Vietnam's international commitments.

In this process, Vietnam not only protects its own interests but also contributes responsibly to the global cyber order. Vietnam's proposal and promotion of the formation of the "Hanoi Convention" on cyber security and human rights is a regional and international step forward, demonstrating the pioneering role of a developing country with strategic thinking and the capacity to coordinate new international standards.

The “Hanoi Convention” is seen as an effort to build an international cooperation framework for a green - clean - humane cyberspace, where technology serves people, promoting transparency, trust and fairness.

Our Party's policy is: Promoting digital transformation associated with ensuring security and safety is an objective necessity for Vietnam to make a breakthrough in the new era. The Party's 13th National Congress documents clearly stated: we must proactively adapt to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, build a digital economy and digital society, in parallel with ensuring network safety and security as a prerequisite for national digital sovereignty. Network security is the foundation of the digital order - where technology not only serves development, but also serves people, human rights and social stability. Ensuring network security is therefore not a "barrier" to freedom, but a condition for freedom to be exercised safely, responsibly and sustainably.

With the vision that digital transformation must go hand in hand with cognitive transformation, and technological development must be closely linked to human development, Vietnam has been demonstrating its capacity to create standards, coordinate values and balance global interests in this new and complex field.

From the policy of “all for people”, to the concretization through the legal system, policies and international cooperation initiatives, Vietnam not only protects national interests but also contributes to shaping an Asian-Vietnamese approach to digital human rights, where people are placed at the center of development, and technology is a tool to serve freedom and happiness.

The Hanoi Convention therefore not only has international legal significance, but also demonstrates the ideological stature, mettle and aspiration of a Vietnam that is deeply integrated, sustainably developed and globally responsible.

In a rapidly changing world order, maintaining the balance between cyber security and human rights means maintaining the character of an independent, sovereign, civilized and humane nation. That is the path that the Party, State and people of Vietnam steadfastly pursue - the path: Putting people at the center of progress, using progress to serve people.

TRAN TUAN THIEN

Source: https://nhandan.vn/cong-uoc-ha-noi-dau-moc-toan-cau-ve-an-ninh-mang-va-quyen-con-nguoi-post918275.html