As this is our first time taking the floor in this intersessional meeting, allow me to extend my delegation’s profound gratitude to you, Chair, and your team, for convening this meeting, including holding expert briefings throughout this week. We have listened carefully in these discussions and we hope that this would guide us in having more in-depth discussion in the next substantive session in July and pave the way for the adoption of the 3rd Annual Progress Report.
Having said that Mr. Chair, today’s discussion is quite different because we do not have expert briefings but instead, a whole 3-hour session dedicated solely for each Member State to discuss views on the future of this OEWG and how we see it moving forward. This only means that the future of this Group solely depends on the political will and utmost flexibility of each Member State.
On this note, the Philippines would like to convey our appreciation for circulating the revised Chair’s “Draft Elements for the Open-Ended Action-Oriented Permanent Mechanism on ICT Security in the context of international security.” We see the Chair’s effort to maintain a delicate balance between the two proposals put forward on this important topic. The Philippines see that the revised text captures the common and complementing elements of the two proposals and we see it as a positive sign.
Mr. Chair,
On a more specific note, on a dedicated thematic capacity-building – we support convening the global roundtable on a regular basis. We would also take this opportunity to inform delegations that the ASEAN has submitted a working paper on cyber capacity building catalog. We hope that this Group’s future mechanism could take into consideration the practical merits of maintaining a cyber capacity building catalog which can serve as a – we repository of information on cyber capacity building programs and can be taken advantage of both providers and recipients. We welcome feedback and inputs to enrich this working paper to serve the interest of all Member States especially developing states who rely on capacity-building programs to achieve cyber resilience and help bridge the digital divide.
On the structure, while we are flexible and see the value of dedicated thematic groups, we hope that future substantive sessions, dedicated intersessional meetings, and meeting of any dedicate thematic groups not only be held in parallel, but also take into consideration the overall disarmament, non-proliferation, and arms control calendar of the First Committee.
To conclude, Mr. Chair, the Philippines again thank you for this revised draft text. We are of the view that through further refinement in the upcoming session, we can achieve a more solid document that garners consensus and help us avoid the complication of competing resolutions during the Main Committee session this fall.
Thank you, Chair.