Sri Lanka signs UN Convention Against Cybercrime

• Assures fullest cooperation to global community

 Sri Lanka last week joined the global community in combatting cybercrime by signing the historic UN Convention Against Cybercrime (UNCC) in Ha Noi, Viet Nam.

The move follows a recent Cabinet decision pioneered by the Digital Economy Ministry, along with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism and Justice and National Integration.

The signing ceremony was graced by the participation of UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Viet Nam President Luong Cuong. 

Sri Lanka...

A total of 72 UN Member States and the EU signed the Convention, the first-ever UN Convention of this nature, marking a historic milestone in international cooperation to ensure a safer, more secure, and trustworthy digital environment for all. 

UN Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) Executive Director Ghada Fathi Waly, Ministers, officials and delegates representing 111 UN Member States attended the ceremony.

Digital Economy Ministry Acting Secretary and Head of the Delegation Waruna Sri Dhanapala signed the UNCC on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka and Maldives are the only South Asian countries that joined the UNCC (full title: United Nations Convention against Cybercrime: Strengthening International Cooperation for Combatting Certain Crimes Committed by Means of Information and Communications Technology Systems and for the Sharing of Evidence in Electronic Form of Serious Crimes).

The two-day signing ceremony and the high-level UN ceremony, along with four high-level side events and an exhibition, were organised jointly by the Government of Viet Nam and the UNODC, along with other UN agencies. Sri Lankan Ambassador to Viet Nam Poshitha Perera, Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SL-CERT) Acting CEO Dr. Kanishka Karunasena, and Embassy of Sri Lanka in Vietnam Minister Kethma Yapa Perera also attended the ceremony and the conference.

Addressing the plenary session on 26 October, Dhanapala reiterated Sri Lanka’s fullest cooperation to the global community and readiness to collaborate with the UN system in implementing the UNCC supported by a strong domestic level mechanism aligning with the Digital Economy Blueprint and the National Cyber Protection Strategy of Sri Lanka (2025 2029). 

Sri Lanka gained significant know-how after becoming the first State party in South Asia to join the Budapest Cybercrime Convention in 2015, which was accompanied by several capacity-building programs. This new engagement under the auspices of the UN will broaden its opportunities for active engagement in multiple tracks to combat cybercrimes and to arrange resilient mechanisms, he added.

According to the Cabinet directive, the Digital Economy Ministry will initiate an inter-Ministerial mechanism with Ministries in charge of Justice, Foreign Affairs, Public Security, Defence, and other related institutions to prepare arrangements towards the ratification of this Convention within three months’ time, with special attention on legal and technical readiness as well as capacity building. 

The Sri Lanka CERT is designated as the national focal point on this landmark UN Convention, which was unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly by its Resolution No.. 79/243 at its 55th plenary meeting in December 2024, after a series of negotiations throughout the past five years.

Sri Lanka’s signing of the UNCC marks a major step forward in global and national cybersecurity cooperation. This milestone underscores Sri Lanka’s commitment to international cooperation, digital trust, and a secure cyberspace.