OSCE holds course on the international law of cyber operations in Skopje

The OSCE Transnational Threats Department, in co-operation with the Netherlands and Cyber Law International, organized an executive course on the international law of cyber operations. This course took place between 13 and 17 February 2023 in Skopje, North Macedonia.

“We are firmly convinced that international law is of critical importance when dealing with opportunities and risks related to the use of information and communication technologies in the international context. As a main pillar of the rules-based international order, international law as it stands provides binding guidance on States’ use and regulation of information and communication technologies and their defense against malicious cyber operations,” said Vladimir Anchev, State Secretary at the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of North Macedonia in his opening remarks.

Twenty-eight delegates from North Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Serbia, and Türkiye participated in the interactive course. Participants examined the law applicable to cyber operations during peacetime and discussed specialized regimes of international law as relevant for the cyber context. Two practical exercises enabled them to apply the legal principles and rules that were discussed to fictional scenarios.

“We are not starting from scratch. There is already broad recognition that international law applies in cyberspace. But there is much debate concerning how it applies. And this is exactly the debate that we need to advance,” said Dirk Jan Kop, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to North Macedonia.

“We therefore applaud the devotion of the OSCE Chairpersonship of North Macedonia to recognize cybersecurity as a key security challenge. And we welcome this opportunity to bring together cybersecurity experts from the region, here in Skopje” he added.

The training course was delivered as part of the “Activities and customized support for the implementation of OSCE cyber/ICT security Confidence-Building Measures” project, which is funded by Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Korea.