US State Department, AU Commission Host Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Workshop for African Leaders

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The United States Department of State, in collaboration with the African Union Commission will from June 4 to 6, 2014 host a Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Workshop for key African leaders in Gaborone, Botswana.

The fourth in a series of Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Workshops, it aims to support participating countries’ continued efforts to develop laws and procedures that will improve their ability to ensure the security of cyber and mobile networks. It is also aims to support participating countries continued efforts to investigate and prosecute crimes involving computers and the Internet, and protect fundamental freedoms online.

African countries invited by the US State Department to participate in the workshop include: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Ghana, Kenya, and Senegal.

Other invitee countries include the Council of Europe and various regional economic communities, to include, ECOWAS, South African Development Commission, EAC, ECCAS and ICGLR.

Sessions at the workshop will include a panel discussion during the workshop focused on internet freedom and human rights online at which civil society will be represented to provide multiple viewpoints on this issue and to reflect the multi-stakeholder model that is critical to maintaining and promoting internet freedom. The session aims at helping other participants understand the importance of internet freedom both for the protection and promotion of human rights and for long-term development in the region.