Estonia’s positions at the international CyCon conference
At a formal conference in 2019, President Kersti Kaljulaid presented Estonia’s official positions on the application of international law in cyberspace. In 2021, Estonia’s expert presented legal positions under the UN Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) for inclusion in the appendix of the official consensus report. The application of international law in cyberspace is among the most important topics of global cyber policy discussions. States agreed at the level of the UN General Assembly that international law and cyber norms are applicable. At the UN, states have developed and agreed the framework for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. Its implementation is a priority. The framework is the result of the long-standing efforts of the UN and in addition to international law, it includes norms and confidence-building measures for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.
In global terms, Estonia is also associated with the Tallinn Manual. It is an independent academic analysis by internationally recognised experts of how international law applies in cyberspace. Professor Michael Schmitt from the US Naval War College has led the work of the international group of experts. The Tallinn Manual considers the applicability of international humanitarian law during armed conflict and covers the spectrum of international law dealing with cyber operations during peacetime.
Tallinn Workshops on International Law and Cyber Operations
With the aim to support the discourse on international law, the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the Estonian Ministry of Defence and in coordination with the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE), initiated in 2022 an informal process called the Tallinn Workshops on International Law and Cyber Operations. The main objective of these topic- and scenario-based workshops has been to create a forum for informal discussions between NATO CCDCOE members and partners as well as contributes to building an understanding on how existing international law applies in cyberspace. You can read the report of the workshops here:
United Nations Groups of Governmental Experts on Cyber Issues
meeting on cyber stability.
It also contributes to regional cooperation – for example, the OSCE’s confidence-building measures for cyberspace have been composed based on 2013 and 2015 GGE reports. In 2021, the most recent GGE agreed on a substantial report not only confirming previous achievements but also adding an extra layer for understanding and implementing the existing framework, including the 11 voluntary cyber norms established with the 2015 report.
Estonia was one of the most active members of the 2019-2021 UN Open-ended Working Group (OEWG). The work of this group also concluded with an important report, by which all UN member states reiterated the validity of the existing framework. These feats pave the way for further discussions at the First Committee of the UN.
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Estonia also raised awareness of cybersecurity as an elected member of the UN Security Council in 2020-2021.
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In March 2020, Estonia, alongside the United States and the United Kingdom, raised a malicious cyber incident against Georgia at a formal meeting of the Security Council. It was the first time the Security Council formally discussed specific cyber operations.
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For the first time in history, the UN Security Council officially discussed cybersecurity at an open debate during Estonia’s second presidency in June 2021.
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We were also pioneers with our informal virtual meeting on 22 May 2020: the stability of cyberspace had never been discussed as a separate topic at the Security Council.
Last updated: 18.06.2025
