UNITED NATIONS - Permanent Representatives of China, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to the United Nations jointly sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon here Monday, requesting him to circulate the International Code of Conduct for Information Security as a formal UN document of the 66th session of the General Assembly.  

The four ambassadors called on in the letter all countries to conduct further discussions on the Code, drafted by the four countries, under the UN framework in a bid to reach consensus on international norms and rules that regulate states' conduct for information and cyber activities at an early date.

The Code is the first of its kind to put forward comprehensive and systematic proposals on international information security rules.

According to the Code, its purpose is to identify states' rights and responsibilities in information space, promote their constructive and responsible behaviors, and enhance their cooperation in addressing the common threats and challenges in information space, so as to ensure the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) including networks to be solely used to the benefit of social and economic development and people's well-being, and consistent with the objective of maintaining international stability and security.

The Code requests states voluntarily subscribing to it to pledge not to use ICTs including networks to carry out hostile activities or acts of aggression and pose threats to international peace and security; not to proliferate information weapons and related technologies.

It also calls on states to cooperate in combating criminal and terrorist activities which use ICTs, to fully respect the rights and freedom in information space and to promote the establishment of a multilateral, transparent and democratic international management of the Internet.

The Code is open to all states and adherence to this Code is voluntary.