Africa championing cybersecurity and digital transformation
United Nations
The Ad Hoc Committee established by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to negotiate a new Convention on cybercrime have agreed on a draft which will be presented for adoption.
The Committee formed to Elaborate a Comprehensive International Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes was chaired by Algeria, an African Union (AU) Member State and currently one of the A3 (African Three) Member States representing the continent in the UN Security Council.
The adoption of this important international instrument echoes the vision of the AU on the need to develop a legal framework on cybersecurity at a global level.
The future impact of emerging techologies on Africa, and the need to ensure that these are anchored on regulatory frameworks on cybersecurity and personal data protection that ensure the rights of citizens, has been carefully considered.
To this effect, the organisation adopted the AU Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection on 27 June 2014, and cybersecurity was adopted as one of the Flagship Projects of Africa’s Agenda 2063.
That Convention was underpinned by fundamental texts of domestic law and protected by international human rights Conventions and Treaties, particularly the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Several related instruments and frameworks have been adopted by the AU, including the African Common Position on the Application of International Law to the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Cyberspace – which was adopted by the AU Peace and Security Council in January 2024 and endorsed by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government – and the Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy and the African Digital Compact which were endorsed in June 2024 by the AU’s Specialised Technical Committee (STC) on Communication and ICT.
The Strategy and the Compact constitute Africa’s contribution to the Global Digital Compact and the UN Summit of the Future in September 2024. Both are anchored on the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa.
African initiatives demonstrate the forward thinking that has been in place as relates to its developing legal instruments and strategies on matters ICT
The agreement on the UN Convention on Cybercrime drafted while being chaired by an AU Member State is a reflection of actions being taken to ensure that Africa’s voice and common position is heard at a global level.
