Dozens to Sign UN Cybercrime Treaty Amid Rights Concerns

Representatives from about 60 countries are signing the UN Convention Against Cybercrime in Hanoi on Oct. 25–26, a treaty designed to strengthen international cooperation against offences ranging from phishing and ransomware to online trafficking. The pact will enter into force after 40 ratifications, and Vietnam said roughly 60 countries were registered to sign; the U.N. Secretary‑General will attend and the EU and Canada plan to sign, while the U.S. has not confirmed. Supporters say the treaty will speed cross‑border investigations and information‑sharing, but human‑rights groups, tech firms and the U.N. human‑rights office warn its broad language could enable abusive surveillance, compel data sharing, or be used to criminalize journalists, activists and LGBTQ people. A coalition of organizations has urged states to refrain from signing without stronger safeguards and oversight. The signing comes amid a surge in organized scam centres across Southeast Asia — including large seizures allegedly linked to Cambodian networks worth about $15 billion in bitcoin and waves of repatriations, kidnapping and forced labour — which officials say underscores the need for coordinated action. Negotiators and states now face the central task of balancing faster international cooperation with explicit human‑rights protections, oversight and technical safeguards to avoid enabling cross‑border repression.