Opening Ceremony of the Hanoi Convention

On the morning of October 25, the signing ceremony and the High-level Conference of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime ( Hanoi Convention) were solemnly held at the National Convention Center with the theme "Fighting cybercrime, sharing responsibility, looking towards the future".

President Luong Cuong chaired the ceremony. Also attending were UN Secretary-General António Guterres and leaders and high-level representatives from about 110 countries and many international organizations, including agencies of the UN system, regional organizations, financial institutions, and numerous experts and scholars in the fields of cybersecurity and international law.

Khai mạc Lễ mở ký Công ước Hà Nội - 1 — President Luong Cuong and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres (Photo: Manh Quan).

Before the opening session, President Luong Cuong chaired the official welcoming ceremony and took a group photo with the Heads of Delegations attending the Signing Ceremony and High-Level Conference of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime.

President Luong Cuong and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will deliver opening remarks, followed by representatives of 60 countries signing the Hanoi Convention at an official ceremony hosted by the UN Office for Legal Affairs (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 of non-traditional security, climate change and sustainable development.

After 5 years of negotiations, the United Nations General Assembly officially approved it by consensus on December 24, 2024.

The Convention, consisting of nine chapters and 71 articles, provides a comprehensive approach to preventing and combating the global problem of cybercrime and ensuring human rights principles.

This document addresses technical and legal challenges by adapting traditional criminal investigation methods to the information and communications technology environment, while enhancing international cooperation.

Throughout the process of building the convention, Vietnam has played a proactive role, demonstrated through the organization of many international workshops, gathering 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 content of the convention, focusing on areas such as cyber security, environmental protection and hunger eradication and poverty reduction.

Vietnam's proposed initiatives such as support mechanisms for underdeveloped countries and the integration of climate change content have received strong support from the international community, contributing to the formation of global documents.

The United Nations' selection of Hanoi as the venue for the signing ceremony of the Hanoi Convention is an important milestone in Vietnam's history of multilateral diplomacy and nearly 50 years of Vietnam-United Nations partnership.

For the first time, a Vietnamese location has been listed and associated with a global multilateral convention related to an area of great concern to the international community.

This choice reflects the country's growing international position and prestige in actively promoting multilateralism, participating in leading the process of building and shaping global digital governance frameworks, 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 UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Along with that are high-level bilateral contacts, a series of sideline discussion events on the topics of "Protecting citizens in the digital transformation era"; "Global cooperation to prevent and combat online fraud"; "Implementing the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime: Capacity building is 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