On December 13-14, 2022, the Observer Research Foundation America (ORF America), in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, and the Centre for Information Technology Law Studies (CEDI), held a meeting in Santiago, Chile as part of its Global Cyber Policy Dialogues series. The event, which built on discussions from a January 2022 virtual dialogue, focused on improving the security and stability of cyberspace and digital transformation in the region, with a focus toward the United Nations processes. The meeting considered the UN normative framework for cyber stability, international cooperation to combat cybercrime, the intersections between those two areas and UN processes, and how digital transformation in Latin America can be enabled by an open, free, stable and secure cyberspace. The dialogue brought together 45 delegates from across the region, representing government, civil society, academia, multilateral institutions and the private sector.
The two-day meeting began with a reception hosted at the Dutch Ambassador’s residence, followed by four working sessions conducted in roundtable format so as to maximize participation and diversity of viewpoints. The roundtable was opened by Felipe Cousiño, Head of the International and Human Security Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile; Maartje Peters, Head of the Taskforce International Cyber Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, and Daniel Álvarez Valenzuela, National Cybersecurity Coordinator at the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security of Chile; and Director at the Centre for Information Technology Law Studies (CEDI).
The full agenda for the event is available here.
Several themes emerged in the discussion, including the prospects for further international agreement and cooperation on the UN normative framework, the need to better connect digital transformation with cybersecurity, the challenges countries in the region face to counter cybercrime and the goals of the international process to negotiate a cybercrime treaty.
This event was part of a larger Global Cyber Policy Dialogue Series organized by ORF America and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands which seeks to convene regional dialogues to address key cyber challenges, strengthen multistakeholder networks, and increase coordination of regional capacity building initiatives. These meetings are intended to complement ongoing international-level cyber norms processes, such as the United Nations Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) and the Ad Hoc Committee on Cyber Crime.
