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Togo and UNECA sign MOU to establish the African Centre for Coordination and Research in Cybersecurity

On 16 August 2022, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Digital Transformation of the Republic of Togo signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) to establish the African Centre for Coordination and Research in Cybersecurity (the Centre).

The Centre will be based in Lomé, Togo and will act as a regional cybersecurity information and intelligence hub. The Centre will aim to provide independent and objective expertise on the promotion of cyber security and cybercrime investigation.

The Centre’s purpose will be to:

  • Build the capacity of and support the establishment of cybersecurity agencies in African countries;
  • Collaborate with African governments, policy makers, law enforcement and security experts with the aim of creating effective frameworks for assessing and mitigating cyberthreats and promoting cybersecurity in the region;
  • Provide highly specialized technical and research capabilities for the promotion of cybersecurity in the region.

The MOU comes in the wake of a cybersecurity summit held in March 2022 by the government of Togo and UNECA. The Lomé Declaration on Cybersecurity and the Fight against Cybercrime (Lomé Declaration) was adopted by Members of State attending the Summit and commits Member States to sign and ratify the African Union Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection (Malabo Convention). To date, thirteen of the required fifteen Member States have ratified the Malabo Convention, and as such it is not yet in force.

It is hoped that the Centre will support African countries in implementing cybersecurity legal and regulatory frameworks in line with the Malabo Convention.

The joint press release by Togo and the UNECA can be accessed here.

Please note: The information contained in this note is for general guidance on matters of interest, and does not constitute legal advice. For any enquiries, please contact us at [email protected].

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