Sri Lanka has officially signed the United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime (UNCC) in Hanoi, Viet Nam—joining the global community’s collective effort to combat cybercrime and promote a safer digital environment.
The signing, approved by Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers, followed a joint proposal from the Ministry of Digital Economy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Employment & Tourism, and the Ministry of Justice and National Integration. The ceremony was attended by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, and representatives from 111 UN Member States.
A total of 72 UN Member States and the European Union signed the groundbreaking convention—the first of its kind—marking a historic milestone in strengthening international cooperation on cybersecurity. Waruna Sri Dhanapala, Acting Secretary of the Ministry of Digital Economy, signed the UNCC on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka. Notably, Sri Lanka and the Maldives are the only South Asian nations to join the convention.
Speaking at the Plenary Session on October 26, Dhanapala reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s full commitment to working with the UN system in implementing the UNCC, aligned with the country’s Digital Economy Blueprint and National Cyber Protection Strategy (2025–2029). He highlighted that Sri Lanka’s experience as the first South Asian nation to join the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime in 2015 has strengthened its institutional capacity to address cyber threats.
Under Cabinet directives, the Ministry of Digital Economy will now establish an inter-ministerial mechanism—including the Ministries of Justice, Foreign Affairs, Public Security, and Defence—to prepare for the convention’s ratification within three months, focusing on legal, technical, and capacity-building aspects. Sri Lanka CERT has been designated as the national focal point for the convention, which was unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2024 (Resolution 79/243).
The Ministry of Digital Economy emphasized that Sri Lanka’s participation in the UNCC marks a major leap forward in international and national cybersecurity cooperation, reinforcing the nation’s commitment to digital trust, resilience, and a secure cyberspace for all.
