London Process Explained

The London Process is a series of multistakeholder meetings held biennially since 2011 under the name Global Conference on Cyberspace or GCCS. In each GCCS meeting, governments, the private sector and civil society gather to discuss and promote practical cooperation in cyberspace, to enhance cyber capacity building, and to discuss norms for responsible behavior in cyberspace.^[1] The London Process was proposed by British Foreign Secretary William Hague at the 2011 Munich Security Conference.^[2]

History

First conference

The first GCCS conference was held in London on November 23-24, 2011, under the auspices of the British Foreign Office. The location of the first meeting inspired the name "London Process" for the series of meetings which followed. At this first meeting a set of principles “for governing behavior in cyberspace” were established through discussion amongst the 700 participants.

Second conference

The second GCCS conference was held on October 4-5th, 2012 in Budapest. The main subject and focus that has been discussed was the relationship between internet rights and internet security. Even though very few civil society organisations were invited to speak, the networking was valuable, and had more longer term impact than the Chair’s statement which represents the outcome of the event.

Third conference

The third event held on 17–18 October 2013 in Seoul. The conference had grown to approximately 1,600 attendees with greater representation from countries in the global south. The principle outcome of the third GCCS was the Seoul Framework for and Commitment to Open and Secure Cyberspace, which highlights the importance of universal Internet access, emphasizes that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, and reinforces a UN principle that international law is applicable online and is essential to maintaining peace and stability and promoting an open, secure, peaceful and accessible ICT environment.

Fourth conference

The fourth GCCS conference was held at the World Forum from 16 to 17 April 2015 in The Hague, under the auspices of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Fifth conference

The fifth GCCS conference held from 23 to 24 November 2017 in New Delhi, India, and had 3,500 participants.^[3] Theme of GCCS 2017 is “Cyber4All: A Secure and Inclusive Cyberspace for Sustainable Development”. However it could further be divided into following four sections: Cyber4Growth – share ideas and insights to foster growth and development with growing importance of the cyber space to individuals, small businesses, large companies etc.Cyber4DigitalInclusion–drawroadmapforinclusive.society by sharing best practices for digital identity, idea ofopen and free Internet for all, digital technologies forenabling differently abled etc.Cyber4Security –framework for comprehensive cyber.security protocols for organisations and nations.

Cyber4Diplomacy –explore various facets of cyber security.suchasinterstatecooperationforpreventingCyberWarfare and Cyber Diplomacy for Global Order.

References

1. Web site: Van Horenbeeck . Maarten . FIRST at the Global Conference on Cyberspace . FIRST . 8 July 2021 . 8 January 2018 . On November 23rd and 24th, 2017, FIRST participated in the Global Conference on Cyberspace (GCCS), an Internet policy event which is part of the 'London Process', conferences where governments and the wider Internet community gather to 'discuss and promote practical cooperation in cyberspace, to enhance cyber capacity building and to discuss norms for responsible behavior in cyberspace'. The first GCCS was organized in London by the UK Foreign Office and the Delhi event marked the fifth iteration. These conferences have grown in participation from 700 in London in 2011, to 3500 in India. The conference includes governments, civil society and the technical community. The GCCS originally developed to build on the existing World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) process. In the GCCS process, each country coordinates a Chair’s statement, which does not reflect consensus, but reflects at a high level the discussion that took place over the duration of the conference. Notably, the GCCS does not develop treaties, or binding agreements, between states. Instead, the goal is to discuss sensitive and challenging topics and allow participants to develop consensus. Some GCCS have also led to more tangible outcomes. In 2015, the Netherlands launched the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE), which has become a central body for governments and other stakeholders to work on cyber capacity building. The GFCE is a membership-based organization of 38 states, 11 inter-governmental organizations such as the African Union, Council of Europe and OSCE and 9 private sector enterprises..
2. Web site: Bavisi . Jay . Jay Bavisi Among the Moderators at the 5th Annual Global Conference of Cyber Space . EC Council . 8 July 2021 . The London Process began as a conference on cyberspace hosted by the British Foreign Office following a proposal by the country's Foreign Secretary William Hague at the Munich Security conference in 2011 for an international meeting to discuss 'rules of the road' in cyberspace. The deliberation and emphasis of the London Process was to provide a cyberspace that was 'open, global, safe and secure', the specifics of which were to be developed through consensus on various principles and norms amongst the various stakeholders..
3. Web site: Cyber4All: A Secure and Inclusive Cyberspace for Sustainable Development. 20 March 2018.

^{[4] [5]}