Promoting Norms of Responsible Behavior in Cyberspace​

Description: 

Global security and prosperity depend on a secure and stable cyberspace. A myriad of factors threaten equilibrium including: cyberspace's continued militarization, growing activism by non-state actors, sector based risks that require specialized knowledge and persistent asymmetries in capability. These considerations create the need for an international forum that seeks to deepen consensus on the topic of cyber norms. 

The Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace (GCSC) was formally launched at the Munich Security Conference in February 2017 with the support of the Government of the Netherlands. The GCSC serves as a multi-party institution to generate, evaluate and recommend various state and non-state norms of behavior in cyberspace and propose policy initiatives for inclusion in wider dialogue. The GCSC will meet throughout an initial three-year period to formulate policy recommendations for action—applicable to both government and private sector led initiatives. Detailed recommendations will be published and advocated in capitals, corporate headquarters, and with the general public worldwide. At the Global Cyberspace Cooperation Summit, this breakthrough group discussed multi-party norms-building processes, as well as the particular challenges that remain in bridging normative divides. 

Accomplishments: 

In December 2015, EWI advocated for the establishment of a forum to help deepen consensus around emerging cyber norms and bridging remaining substantial divides on normative issues. EWI, in cooperation with The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, is supporting the operation of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace.

The Commission was officially launched by the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders at a press conference and panel session at the Munich Security Conference in February. Commissioners convened their first official meeting following the conference, and met informally on the sidelines of the Global Cyberspace Cooperation Summit VII.