Opening Ceremony of the Hanoi Convention

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, along with leaders and high-ranking representatives from approximately 110 countries and numerous international organizations, attended the Opening Ceremony and Summit Conference of the Hanoi Convention.

On the morning of October 25th, the signing ceremony and high-level conference of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime ( Hanoi Convention) were solemnly held at the National Convention Center with the theme "Combating Cybercrime, Sharing Responsibility, Towards the Future".

President Luong Cuong presided over the ceremony. Also in attendance were United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and leaders and high-ranking representatives from approximately 110 countries and numerous international organizations, including agencies within the UN system, regional organizations, financial institutions, and a large number of experts and scholars in the fields of cybersecurity and international law.

President Luong Cuong and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres (Photo: Manh Quan).

Prior to the opening session, President Luong Cuong presided over the official welcoming ceremony and took a group photo with the heads of delegations attending the signing ceremony and the High-Level Conference of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime.

President Luong Cuong and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will deliver opening speeches. Following this, representatives from 60 countries will sign the Hanoi Convention in an official ceremony conducted by the United Nations Legal Office (OLA).

The United Nations Convention against Cybercrime was initiated by the United Nations in 2019, stemming from the urgent need to build a comprehensive legal framework to address global challenges related to non-traditional security, climate change, and sustainable development.

After five years of negotiations, the United Nations General Assembly officially agreed to adopt it on December 24, 2024.

President Luong Cuong and General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith (Photo: Manh Quan).

The Convention comprises nine chapters and 71 articles, offering a comprehensive approach to preventing and combating global cybercrime while ensuring the principles of human rights.

This document addresses technical and legal challenges by adapting traditional criminal investigation methods to suit the information and communication technology environment, while also strengthening international cooperation.

Throughout the convention's development process, Vietnam played a proactive role, demonstrated by organizing numerous international workshops that brought together experts from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to shape the convention's content, focusing on areas such as cybersecurity, environmental protection, and poverty reduction.

Vietnam's proposed initiatives, such as mechanisms to support least developed countries and the integration of climate change content, received strong support from the international community, contributing to the formation of a global document.

Delegates pose for a group photo (Photo: Manh Quan).

The United Nations' choice of Hanoi as the venue for the opening ceremony of the Hanoi Convention is a significant milestone in Vietnam's multilateral foreign policy history and in nearly 50 years of the Vietnam-UN partnership.

For the first time, a location in Vietnam has been listed and associated with a global multilateral convention related to a field of great interest to the international community.

This choice reflects the country's increasingly high international standing and prestige in actively promoting multilateralism, participating in leading the process of building and shaping global digital governance frameworks, and ensuring cybersecurity and national sovereignty in cyberspace.

Within the framework of the signing ceremony and the High-Level Conference on the Hanoi Convention, there will be a plenary discussion co-chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

This was accompanied by high-level bilateral contacts and a series of sideline discussions on topics such as "Protecting citizens in the digital transformation era"; "Global cooperation in combating online fraud"; "Implementing the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime: Enhancing capacity as a pillar of global cooperation"; "Sharing experiences in investigating and collecting electronic evidence in cases related to virtual assets and money laundering" and many other activities.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/thoi-su/khai-mac-le-mo-ky-cong-uoc-ha-noi-20251025094537779.htm