UAE Parliamentary Division participates in 35th Session of IPU's Forum of Women Parliamentarians in Bahrain

Manama [Bahrain], March 12: The UAE Parliamentary Division participated today in the 35th Session of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians which took place on the sidelines of the 146th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and related meetings in Bahrain.
Sarah Falaknaz, Rapporteur of the Standing Committee on Peace and International Security at IPU, presented a draft resolution titled "Cyberattacks and cybercrimes: The new risks to the global security" for discussion.
Parliaments are aware of the risk of this situation for their citizens. To that end, the draft resolution aims to protect people from a hostile cyberspace and to raise awareness in
the international community of the need to address cybercrime and cyberattacks, by cooperating and sharing a common vision to act effectively against criminals and hackers who know no boundaries nor borders. The purpose of the resolution is also to examine the challenges involved in combating cybercrime and cyberattacks, strengthening the role of parliaments in facing the associated risks, and contributing to international efforts in this regard.
Falaknaz expressed the IPU's condemnation of all forms of cybercrime and cyberattacks and its reaffirmation of the need to combat such acts through international cooperation and the development of effective legal frameworks. It also recognised the need to build trust between countries in response to cybercriminals, who recognise neither boundaries nor borders.
''The response to cybercrime, whether large-scale cyberattacks perpetrated by organised groups or minor online offences perpetrated by individuals, can only be based on
international cooperation, with countries pooling intelligence and knowledge of the tactics,techniques and procedures of these hackers,'' she stressed.
''As technologies have advanced and our dependency on them has increased, cybercrime and cyberattacks, against citizens, vulnerable groups, institutions, governments or States, have also increased, along with the need to ensure our safety and security,'' she noted.
''The COVID-19 pandemic, with waves of lockdowns in all countries, prompted the purchase and use of electronic devices to facilitate people's connection with the outside world. This process of forced digitalization led to a sharp increase in crimes in the digital world.''
The draft resolution calls upon parliaments to enact new legislation and develop new international cooperative efforts to fight cybercrime and cyberattacks considering the ongoing increase in such acts against citizens, vulnerable groups, institutions, governments or States, their links with fundamental freedoms such as privacy and freedom of expression, the fact that they must not infringe upon or diminish the ability of citizens to enjoy these freedoms, and their implications on international peace and security and global economic stability.
It encourages parliaments to support the efforts of the United Nations to enact a new convention on cybercrime and to use it as a means of strengthening national legislation and increasing international cooperation against cybercrime and cyberattacks; and calls on parliaments to make the most of their oversight tools to ensure that governments control the rapid increase in cybercrime while taking into account the privacy of cyberspace users. It also also calls on the IPU Secretariat to play an important role in helping parliaments building their capacities by holding specialised seminars, workshops and conferences that can contribute to the understanding and countering of the complex and rapidly evolving nature of cybercrime and cyberattacks.
Participants will also discuss the draft resolution from a gender perspective and issue recommendations on gender-related amendments.
Source: Emirates News Agency