Gendering the New International Convention on Cybercrimes and New Norms on Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies

Abstract

A flurry of landmark international digital rules is soon to make its debut in the international law arena. At the Summit of the Future, in September 2024, the Secretary General plans to announce the Digital Global Compact 2023, an ambitious vision to close the various digital divides and to fast track progress toward the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals.  In March of 2024, the UN General Assembly adopted the first ever UN General Assembly Resolution on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Sustainable Development.  Five months later, in August of 2024, the United Nations approved the draft of a global cybercrimes treaty; this historic draft agreement, coined the United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime, will go before the UN General Assembly in this upcoming fall.  

Last year, ahead of the 2023 Summit of the Future, the Secretary General introduced his Agenda for Peace, committing to “Transforming the gendered power dynamics in peace and security.”  In line with his vision, together, these new and evolving frameworks provide the first history-making normative landscape for new technologies at the global level. This Article critically examines the role of gender in these burgeoning frameworks as pivotal to elements in a rapidly changing digital ecosystem. While the current normative foci overlook important aspects of gender equality, they also elide the rise of ChatGPT and other Generative AI and their impact on gender. The primacy of gender equal participation in digital and cybersecurity governance should be a pillar of the new global digital order. 

Keywords: international digital rules, international law, digital divides, global cybercrimes treaty, UN General Assembly, Global Digital Compact, gender equality, emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, AI