UNSC Meeting of Digital Technologies in Maintaining International Peace and Security

Madam President,
At the outset, I would like to thank the United States for convening this briefing on “The use of Digital Technologies for maintaining International Peace and Security”. I also thank USG Rosemary DiCarlo for her insightful briefing, as well as Nanjala Nyabola, Director of the Digital Rights Project of Global Voices and Dirk Druet, Adjunct Professor at McGill Universities Center for International Peace and Security Studies for their additional perspectives. In recognition of the pervasive nature of digital technologies globally, Ghana shares the view that such technologies can play an important role in maintaining international peace and must therefore be leveraged to enhance our collective security.

We believe that cognisant of the demands of national sovereignty and territorial integrity, digital technologies, which overcome territorial barriers, can be used in strengthening preventive diplomacy objectives through enhanced situational awareness, in activating early warning of emerging threats, and in bridging societal differences as disparate views and positions are mobilised into a constructive and coherent whole for reinforcing peace objectives.
 
In situations of conflict management, we also see the benefits that digital technologies can bring in analysing risks, improving lead time required for protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure, and the rigour it provides in better defending the mandates of peace support operations and in enhancing the safety and security of uniformed and other personnel. Digital technologies can also strongly support peacebuilding efforts and the rebuilding of societies fractured by war.
 
Madam President,
Ghana however believes that the immeasurable benefits that digital technologies can provide in strengthening efforts for the maintenance of international peace and security can better accrue only if there is a common understanding of the normative framework that underpin such an enhanced and complementary approach in leveraging the available modern tools in pacifying our world. Indeed, we are aware that despite the benign nature of digital technologies, it can also exacerbate global insecurity if not used responsibly. It can deepen mistrust if perceptions persist in strained and fragile societies that exogenous forces are manipulating the will of a population towards values that may be foreign to those societies.
 
We also note the malicious manner in which digital technologies have been used in some instances by State and non-State actors to misinform and deceive populations; threaten and harass individual activists and journalists: and fuel discrimination in ways that subvert national unity and coherence. Its use in the recruitment of people into terrorist groups and in financing terrorist activities is also of great concern.  Against the backdrop of the great potential of digital technologies in reinforcing the available tools for the maintenance of international peace and security, but mindful of its negative consequences, we would highlight a few additional points:
 
As previously indicated, the use of digital technologies for the maintenance of international peace and security must proceed from a point of convergence and on the basis of principles that respect national sovereignty and promote universal values. In this regard, we believe that the United Nations has an indispensable role to play in enhancing the positive impact of digital technologies on global peace. For instance, building upon the commitments in the Secretary-General’s Digital Transformation Strategy for United Nations Peacekeeping, which aims to embrace the opportunities offered by digital technologies, will enable missions to adapt to changing conflict dynamics and take advantage of increased efficiencies. Also, lessons learnt by the DPPA in mediation efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, using digital technologies, can offer an acceptable path in constructing enduring frameworks for such engagements with wider populations for the cause of peace.
 
Second, at the heart of developing a robust framework for the use of digital technologies should be the capacity of national governments to enhance their cyber-security space. The malicious use of digital technologies by terrorists and extremist groups and the trends towards cyberwarfare, require that vulnerable countries such as some of those in Africa, where fragilities exist, should obtain the required support to strengthen their digital capacity in line with the AU’s Digital Transformation Strategy. Such capacity building efforts should include the gathering, processing, use, and analysis of new technologies and their impact on security. The supportive role of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), in this regard is commendable and we welcome more of such efforts.
 
Third, States also have a critical role to play in enacting policies that prevent the misuse of cyber-space with elements that, among others, encourage investments in critical national infrastructure, promotes responsible media content, and facilitates early detection, investigation and prosecution of offenders. States ought to make good their commitment to the UN Charter by respecting international human rights law in a manner that ensures that personal data collected, stored, processed, used, transferred and disclosed upholds and protects the privacy of individuals. Furthermore, we welcome measures that encourage companies to uphold international human rights law and business standards, based on the United Nations Guiding Principles.
 
Fourth, and cognisant of the effectiveness of regional arrangements in preventing conflicts through early warning mechanisms and in building peace in post-conflict settings, we strongly urge the strengthening of digital technologies partnerships between global multilateral systems and regional bodies. We encourage support for the implementation of existing treaties such as the Budapest Convention and the African Union (AU) Convention on Cybercrime and Personal Data Protection (the Malabo Convention) and believe that early warning mechanisms such as those of ECOWAS and the African Union can be further deepened through strong global support.
 
Also, support for regional platforms for intelligence and information sharing such as the Accra Initiative could further enhance the early detection of the expansionist agenda of terrorist networks in West Africa, including their online activities. Additionally, action to cut off terrorism financing must be sustained and enhanced, including in the spaced-out economy, where cryptocurrencies have become a medium of choice for financing terrorist activities. While the Intergovernmental Group of Action against Money Laundering in West Africa’s (GIABA’s) collaboration with national financial intelligence centers have produced significant outcomes, its actions would continue to require deepening.
 
Before concluding, I would like to mention Ghana’s commitment to enhancing the use of technologies for peaceful purposes including through actions that have been undertaken to strengthen the domestic ICT eco-system. In addition to the institutionalisation of a “National Cyber Security Awareness Month” (NCSAM) aimed at elevating the whole-of-society awareness of cyber threats, the operationalization of Sectoral Computer Emergency Response Teams in key institutions such as the National Communication Authority, the Central Bank and the National Information Technology Agency have enhanced the resilience of the cyber ecosystem across online services, the financial sector and government business.
 
We therefore advocate a whole-of-Society approach in the peace and security nexus including partnerships with the Private Sector, Civil Society Organisations’ (CSOs) and the tech giants whose increasing role have to be made to serve the public good. Also, women and the youth are critical agents of change and will remain crucial to enhancing the positive impact of technologies on global security. With a commitment to the collective objective of enhancing all available tools, Ghana believes that multilateral and regional initiatives can effectively harness technologies for objectives of global peace and security.
 
I thank you for your kind attention.