DataGuidance.com
Updated : May 17, 2012
North Africa: Privacy harmonisation discussed at cybercrime conference
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) held – on 9-11 May 2012 in Rabat, Morocco – a conference for North African countries to ‘define agreed guidelines for the implementation of a harmonised cybersecurity legal framework’ in association with the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA). Topics discussed included the protection of personal data, and the security of commercial and financial transactions, among others.
Representatives and IT experts from Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia will make recommendations for an adequate legal framework, and proposals for follow-up actions will be released in the future. In a press release dated 2 May 2012, UNECA stated: ‘E-government, e-commerce and e-learning are all practices that are beginning to penetrate economic life. In this context, it has become essential to reinforce existing legal instruments and to adapt them to this rapidly evolving sector in order to boost confidence in this knowledge-based economy’. UNECA organised a similar meeting for South African countries in Balaclava, Mauritius on 16-17 April 2012 with the South African Development Community (SADC). In a press release dated 24 April 2012, UNECA said that the report adopted by the representatives will be submitted to ICT Ministers in May 2012. The report recommended the enactment of harmonised legal and regulatory frameworks in e-transactions, cybercrime, personal data protection and consumer protection in the banking sector in recognition of the need to keep abreast with the developments and benefits of e-commerce. ‘ Alex Bryantalex.bryant
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