An abridged version of this statement was delivered during the virtual informal dialogue with the chair of the Global Mechanism on 17 July 2026 by Verónica Ferrari, Global Policy Advocacy Lead, Association for Progressive Communications (APC).
Madame Chair, distinguished delegates, colleagues,
I speak on behalf of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), an international civil society organisation and a network of members dedicated to peace, human rights, development and protection of the environment through the strategic use of information and communications technologies (ICTs). APC welcomes the opportunity to engage in this informal dialogue.
APC has been following and contributing to the UN OEWG since the inception of the group and now to the UN Global Mechanism. Colleagues on this call will also be part of our delegation during the plenary session next week.
On the topic of cyber capacity building, APC’s position has been to focus on a human rights-based and gender-responsive approach to cybersecurity capacity building within the UN cyber processes – earlier the OEWG, and now the Global Mechanism. I will briefly go through some ways in which civil society organisations can play the role of implementation partners for the agreed framework:
Guidance on norms implementation
Organisations such as APC have been developing guidance on human rights and gender-responsive implementation of the norms for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace, for example, through research supported and funded by the Organization of American States (OAS) and the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR). Civil society can collaborate with states in developing checklists for further understanding of key terms, and contextualising the norms in their national and local contexts.
Civil society organisations such as APC can, for example, support the integration of such perspectives into national ICT and cybersecurity strategies, key instruments for norms implementation at the national level, as well as the development of questionnaires to identify needs and gaps in this area.
Building on its research and advocacy work, APC develops tools to support the work of different stakeholders in cybersecurity policy. Currently, APC is developing a new guide to provide support to those who draft, implement and evaluate cyber strategies to mainstream human rights and intersectional perspectives in the content of policies, action plans and evaluations.
This guidance overall can strengthen norms implementation and, as a result, the security and stability of international cyberspace.
Research and evidence on differentiated impacts of cyber threats on vulnerable communities
State-led and multilateral system capacity building programmes must address the disproportionate impacts of cyber threats faced by vulnerable communities, including women, LGBTQIA+ people and human rights defenders.
The unique threats that different communities in the Global South face are often unrecognised – or even unrecorded – and therefore not catered for in these discussions and processes.
Civil society can help address this by providing evidence to better understand and mitigate the differentiated effects of cyber threats. Civil society and academic research has provided empirical evidence of the human impacts of operations such as ransomware attacks that provoke personal data breaches, which in turn affect privacy, health rights, dignity and self-development. Other examples include disinformation campaigns against women politicians and journalists, internet shutdowns, surveillance and hacking that targets human rights defenders.
Monitoring and documentation of threats and digital security
We support and work with women human rights defenders (WHRDs) through different support services and resources that supplement or complement their safety-related work and needs. We develop and implement training to support defenders and activists to use the internet safely, creatively and strategically, including training activists in emergency response.
Building capacity to engage in cybersecurity governance
APC and partners have been organising training activities to equip stakeholders with the capacities needed to engage in global cybersecurity policy discussions.
Civil society organisations have been supporting women’s, LGBTQIA+ and other human rights organisations and marginalised communities to develop the capacity to independently participate in cybersecurity governance processes. It is important to note that this process needs to be a safe space to engage for civil society and vulnerable communities.
There is also a need to sustain, fund and strengthen technical and policy capacity building efforts directed specifically towards supporting women and people of diverse gender identities, expressions and sexualities to access cyber careers, informed by the OEWG’s principles-based approach to capacity building.
Thank you again for this opportunity and we remain available to support the work of the Global Mechanism.