Official website of the President of Russia

We, the Leaders of the Member States of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), gathered in Astana for the Sixth CICA Summit on 12–13 October 2022,

Recognizing the unprecedented progress in the development and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and their increasing influence, including due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on everyday life and on the political, economic, humanitarian and other components of national and international security and stability that shape the global information space,

Expressing concern about the use of ICTs for purposes that are inconsistent with the objectives of maintaining international peace, security and stability, as well as about the increasing risks in the sphere of data security,

Considering it necessary to promote the prevention of the use of ICTs for terrorism and other criminal purposes,

Noting the risks and consequences of division of the Internet,

Reaffirming that voluntary, non-binding norms of responsible State behaviour can reduce risks to international peace, security and stability, and do not seek to limit or prohibit action that is otherwise consistent with international law but nonetheless to set standards for responsible State behaviour, while also reaffirming that, given the unique attributes of information and communications technologies, additional norms could be developed over time and, separately, noting the possibility of future elaboration of additional binding obligations, if appropriate;

Emphasizing that while States bear primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, all other interested parties, including business, NGOs and academia, have responsibility to use ICTs in a manner that does not endanger peace and security.

Considering that it is necessary to ensure the responsibility of the private sector and platforms with extra territorial impact in ICTs domain.

Recognizing also that capacity building is important for countering common threats in the field of security of and in the use of ICTs,

declare the following:

1. We decide to stand in solidarity and support further strengthening of cooperation among the CICA Member States in ensuring security of and in the use of ICTs with equal emphasis on development and security.

2. We stand for preventing interstate conflicts that may arise from the unlawful use of ICTs, including through reducing the risk of misunderstandings between the CICA Member States and increasing confidence, in order to ensure national, regional and international security.

3. We reaffirm the commonality of approaches to ensuring security of and in the use of ICTs and declare that the development and use of ICTs in international cooperation based on universally recognized principles of international law, primarily the UN Charter, are of paramount importance for shaping an open, secure, stable, accessible and peaceful ICT environment.

4. We recognize the importance of the global discussion on security of and in the use of ICTs and welcome the launch of the UN Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) on Security of and in the Use of ICTs 2021–2025. In this regard, we reaffirm our commitment to active participation in the OEWG’s deliberations and engagement between CICA Member States within the OEWG. We are also ready to consider initiatives of CICA Member States aimed at ensuring security in the use of ICTs.

5. We recognize the importance of active participation in the work of the Open-ended Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Committee of experts, under the auspices of the UN, to elaborate a comprehensive international convention on countering the use of ICTs for criminal purposes and the need to further strengthen international cooperation in this area. We support voluntary exchange of views, approaches and best practices in the field of countering the use of ICTs for criminal purposes.

6. We reaffirm the need to assist developing CICA Member States in building capacity in the area of information security and bridging the ‘digital divide’ in order to ensure security and sustainability of the global information space.

7. We reaffirm the importance of exchanging views and approaches between CICA Member States on Internet governance issues based on the decisions of the Tunis Agenda of the 2005 World Summit on the Information Society.