The UN Group of Governmental Experts on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security (commonly "GGE on ICT" or "UN GGE") is a closed-format expert process established under the UN General Assembly First Committee. Successive GGEs have been convened since 2004 under resolutions tabled primarily by the Russian Federation, with members nominated by states and selected on the basis of equitable geographic distribution. Each GGE typically comprises 15 to 25 experts who serve in their personal capacity but are nominated by their governments.
The GGE's central contribution has been articulating that international law, and in particular the UN Charter, applies to state conduct in cyberspace. The 2013 report affirmed the applicability of international law; the 2015 report set out a list of voluntary, non-binding norms of responsible state behavior, including not knowingly allowing one's territory to be used for internationally wrongful acts using ICTs, not attacking another state's critical infrastructure, and cooperating on CERT-to-CERT requests. The 2016–2017 GGE failed to reach consensus, reportedly over disagreement on how international humanitarian law, the right of self-defense, and countermeasures apply in cyberspace.
A subsequent GGE delivered a consensus report in 2021, running in parallel with the more inclusive Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) established in 2018 under a competing Russian-led resolution. The two tracks reflect a longstanding split: Western states historically preferred the smaller GGE format, while Russia, China and many developing states pushed for the universal OEWG. Since 2021 the OEWG has become the principal forum, but the GGE reports remain the doctrinal baseline cited in national cyber strategies and at the First Committee.
Key outputs include the 11 voluntary norms from the 2015 report, frequently invoked by delegates when debating cyber sovereignty, attribution, and protection of critical infrastructure.
Example
In its 2021 consensus report, the sixth UN GGE on ICT reaffirmed the 11 voluntary norms originally agreed in 2015 and elaborated further on how international law applies to state use of ICTs.
Frequently asked questions
The GGE is a closed group of 15–25 state-nominated experts, while the OEWG is open to all UN member states. Both address ICT security but emerged from competing General Assembly resolutions in 2018.
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