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Praia, 16 October 2008
 Ministers
in charge of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
from West Africa adopted on 16th October 2008 in Praia, the
capital of Cape Verde important legal texts on cyber crime
and personal data protection in ECOWAS Member States.
According to Press Release N°: 095/2008
of the ECOWAS Secretariat, “The Supplementary Act on
Cyber Crime within ECOWAS seeks to bridge the legal gap relating
to cyber crime repression through the adoption of new offences
specific to the use of ICT as well as adapt traditional offences
to ICT offences, sanctions and the punishment regime in force
in Member States to the new technological environment. The
text relating to personal data protection within ECOWAS aims
at filling the legal gap relating to personal data protection.
It is also projected at establishing in each Member State
a mechanism against privacy through personal data collection,
processing, transmission, storage and use”.
In addition to those two texts, the ministers
adopted a legislative Act on e-commerce in the ECOWAS space
and an Act on a model ICT framework.
 The
ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure expressed optimism
that the new texts would complement existing Community laws
on ICT so that “our Community can be endowed with an
appropriate legal tool for the creation of an environment
of trust for users; in other words, these stakeholders should
be assured that the services at their disposal present maximum
security and reliability”. He further said that the
Acts would ensure investments in the sector, the establishment
of national and regional broadband communication networks
as well as the provision of secure, reliable and quality ICT
services at affordable prices for the citizens of West Africa.
The Acts, which translate the Vision of the African Information
Society Initiative (AISI) and the principles of the African
Regional Action Plan on the Knowledge Economy (ARAPKE) were
developed by ECA in response to a request made by ECOWAS and
the West African Monetary Union (UEMOA). The Acts are aimed
at modernizing the instruments for promoting e-commerce, preserving
personal data and curbing cyber crime through the necessary
sub-regional and national legislation.
While adopting the texts, the ministers appealed
to ECA and the International telecommunications Union (ITU)
to provide support to Member States to translate the regional
Acts into national laws and to establish national cyber crime
surveillance centres. In this context the Ministries of Justice
and those of ICT in ECOWAS Member States will meet in January
2009 in Banjul to submit the four Acts to the ECOWAS Parliament.
ECA in cooperation with the African Union
and ITU is expected to move forward to translate these sub-regional
acts into a harmonized regional legislation for use by other
Regional Economic Communities.
Background:
ECOWAS and ECA signed in 2004, a Memorandum of Understanding
that includes collaboration on the development of an ECOWAS
strategic medium term plan on the Information Society. In
this context, ECA commissioned two studies on a harmonized
legal framework for e-commerce; and on a harmonized legal
framework on ICTs in general with emphasis on cyber crime,
personal data protection and e-commerce. The studies were
funded by the Canada Fund for Africa and the Government of
Finland.
For more information, please contact: mfaye@uneca.org.
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