Highlight 17/2026: Fighting Online Scam Operations through Geneva Diplomacy: Building a Human Rights-based Response
Pichmony Hao, 1 June 2026
More than a criminal issue – online scam is also a matter of human rights, international cooperation and diplomacy. As a global hub for multilateralism, Geneva hosts international organisations that can shape norms, mobilise stakeholders, document abuses, and promote the legal and policy frameworks needed to tackle these digital frauds. Their roles are especially imperative in Southeast Asia where online scam operations have become entangled with trafficking and criminal exploitation with an estimate of over 300,000 people from 66 countries having been tricked into such operations. Even after their release, regrettably, these victims face risks of being penalised for forced criminality while already sustaining mental trauma.
This is why a human-rights-based response is needed and it begins with a change in perspective – people trapped in scam compounds should be recognised first as victims of trafficking and abuse, not simply as offenders. This is where Geneva-based international organisations can contribute meaningfully; the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has already offered the basis for policy: states should prioritise victim identification, safe repatriation, access to remedies, and accountability for those who run abusive scam centres. The goal is to shift the response from sole punishment to protection grounded in human dignity.
The second element is international cooperation built on trust and shared norms. The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) convenes states and experts through initiatives such as the Cyber Stability Conference where cyber governance, responsible state behaviour, and resilience are discussed in practical terms; its broader efforts to strengthen cyber resilience also matter because institutions need to be capable of execution and adaptation. Partnership is essential because scam networks operate across borders, exploit legal gaps, and target victims in many jurisdictions at once.
The final element is justice and enforcement that is aligned with human rights. In its Global Fraud Summit 2026, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) frames fraud as a form of transnational organised crime requiring a stronger collective response and greater integration of the human rights dimension. This platform helps states cooperate against criminal networks while recognising that not all people inside scam systems are equally responsible. A human-rights-based approach, therefore, should instead target masterminds and organisers while protecting trafficked persons and ensuring due process.
Related institutions such as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) have supported anti-fraud prevention through tools such as its 2025 manual on consumer information, protection and rights, which describes common forms of online fraud and prevention strategies. UNCTAD, for its part, has created a Cyberlaw Tracker and continues to map cybercrime legislation worldwide, creating peer pressure for states to improve the legal foundations for trust, consumer protection, and cross-border enforcement.
For countries affected by scam networks, especially those in Southeast Asia, this creates a diplomatic space for constructive engagement. Diplomatic actors like the Permanent Missions are well-positioned to utilise this architecture to advance cooperation that protects victims, improves legal frameworks, and strengthens accountability. In that sense, Geneva’s most important contribution is not simply condemning online scam, but helping build a human-rights-based diplomatic response to it.
Pichmony Hao, Highlight 17/2026: Fighting Online Scam Operations through Geneva Diplomacy: Building a Human Rights-based Response, 1 June 2026, available at www.meig.ch
The views expressed in the MEIG Highlights are personal to the authors and neither reflect the positions of the MEIG Programme nor those of the University of Geneva