This Saturday (25), Brazil became a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime. Adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN), the treaty establishes the basis for international cooperation against digital crimes.
The adoption of the convention by Brazil was signed by the director general of the Federal Police (PF), Andrei Rodrigues, in Hanoi, Vietnam. Rodrigues is part of the delegation accompanying President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who travels through Southeast Asia in search of political rapprochement with countries in the region and the possibility of expand Brazilian trade.
Another 59 countries signed the pact at the same ceremony. At least in the Brazilian case, signing is a political act that expresses Brazil’s intention to become part of the convention, but definitive adherence, which generates legal obligations, depends on the approval of the National Congress.
According to the PF, the Convention Against Cybercrime provides for the classification of cybercrimes, including digital child sexual abuse.
“By allowing the exchange of electronic evidence, the convention will constitute an important instrument of international cooperation to strengthen the fight against crimes and the protection of victims”, informed the PF, in a note.
Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly since December 2024, the text also includes security provisions and guarantees to protect human rights that should guide activities to combat cybercrime.
In a statement, the UN classified the convention as a “historic treaty for the new digital era”. Present at the signing ceremony, the entity’s secretary general, António Guterres, highlighted the importance of the initiative to face the “growing threats” that the world faces in cyberspace.
Guterres also recalled the unprecedented scope of digital crime and computer attacks, capable of “stealing livelihoods, financing trafficking and spreading child abuse material”.
