Mauritius, only African state party to Budapest Convention on Cybercrime

Exclusive@ITRealms:

The East African country of Mauritius is the only nation from the continent that has acceded and is a state party to the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, reports ITRealms.

For any country to be a state party to an international convention or treaty, such a country or members state must have completed the laid down accession processes.

Accession, experts told ITRealms, is an act by which a State signifies agreement to be legally bound by the terms of a particular treaty. It has the same legal effect as ratification, but is not preceded by an act of signature. The formal procedure for accession varies according to the national legislative requirements of the State.

The instrument of accession, ITRealms gathered, is a formal sealed letter referring to the decision and signed by the State’s responsible authority, is prepared and deposited with the United Nations Secretary-General in New York or its equivalent of such a convention.

The Convention on Cybercrime, also known as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, ITRealms gathered, is the first international treaty seeking to address Internet and computer crime by harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques, and increasing cooperation among nations.

It was drawn up by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France since 2001 with the active participation of the Council of Europe's observer states Canada, Japan, South Africa and the United States.

The Convention, ITRealms reports, entered enforcement phase on 1 July 2004 and as of March 2016, had 49 states which have ratified the convention, while a further six states had signed the convention but not ratified it.

Head, Cybercrime Division, Council of Europe, Mr. Alexander Seger confirmed this to ITRealms in an exclusive chat, declaring that “Mauritius has acceded and is a Party.”

He also said Mauritius, an Indian Ocean island nation, stands out among equal for this remarkable position on cybercrime.

Mr. Seger, who doubles as the Executive Secretary, Cybercrime Convention Committee (T-CY) told ITRealms that invitation has been extended to three countries in Africa, including Senegal, Ghana and Morroco to accede to the convention on cybercrime.

“Senegal, Ghana and Morocco have been invited to accede but have not yet completed the accession process and are thus not Parties yet,” he declared.

Mr. Seger acknowledged that South Africa participated in the negotiation of the treaty and has signed the Convention and its Protocol on Xenophobia and Racism but has not yet ratified these. South Africa, hence is not yet a Party.

He disclosed that given the commitment of these States to implement the Budapest Convention they are also priority countries for capacity building.

Remmy Nweke/ED,Ops

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Nigeria promises active participation @ITU Telecom World ‘15

ITRealms:

The Nigeria’s participation in the forthcoming International Telecommunications Union (ITU) organised Telecom World 2015 in Budapest, Hungary later this year has been promised to be very active, reports ITRealms.

The three-day event slate for October 12-15, 2015, ITRealms gathered that Nigerian delegation would stand out, as the Federal Government through its agencies has set up a Local Organising Committee (LOC) to raise awareness and encourage participation of the country, with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) coming on focus.

Confirming this plans, the Chairman, Media and Publicity Sub- Committee and Director, Public Affairs NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, said a Committee has been constituted and made up of officials of Ministry of Communications, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Galaxy Backbone, Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd (NigComSat), Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), and Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) among others to put together plans for Nigeria’s participation.

According to Ojobo, Nigeria wants to make a big statement in this year’s participation when a large number of SMEs will be on ground to dwell around the theme of this year’s event: Innovation To make Lives Better and Faster.

He also said that Nigeria’s participation will build on the reality that regulatory robustness has led to a spiral growth in voice telephony and look beyond that by coming out with innovative products to improve the lives of the citizens.

ITU, he said, on its part has listed five key reasons why countries, individuals, corporate organisations should participate in the Hungary event.

Besides exceptional knowledge sharing, opportunities, he explained that ITU Telecom World 2015 under the Chief Host  Mr. Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary General, will focus on accelerating innovation and growth of SMEs and innovative networking opportunities. Of particular interest is the role SMEs play in driving national economies.

“One of the key concerns of the Hungarian government is to provide a balanced and predictable business environment where SMEs can easily find support or exploit business opportunities. This is what the country wants to share with participants in Budapest,” he said.

Nigeria, Ojobo said, will showcase at ITU Telecom World this year, the SME ecosystem guided by the experience.

He pointed out that the event will focus on the crucial role of innovation and entrepreneurship in the fast growing ICT ecosystem, covering a broad-based international audience with specific outreach to SMEs and startups from across the world, as well as leading global ICT players, policy makers, regulators, industry experts and investors.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) 
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Pix: Tony Ojobo