Africa-Press – Mozambique. The government of Mozambique on Monday considered joining the UN Convention on Cybercrime, which it hopes to finalise in October, as a step towards strengthening citizen data protection and combating digital crime.
“It is to improve the country’s operational capacity to protect its citizens’ data and to prevent and combat cybercrime,” said the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Transformation, Nilsa Miquidade, at the opening of the third Portuguese-speaking Internet Governance Forum in Maputo.
Currently, Miquidade pointed out, these attacks originate outside the country, through the facilities of the Internet: “It allows the perpetrators of these negative and criminal practices on the Internet and in digital environments to do so from outside Mozambique’s jurisdiction.”
The Portuguese-speaking Internet Governance Forum, which is being held for the first time in Mozambique, brings together representatives of the member states of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), civil society and international partners for two days, with the aim of promoting cooperation in areas such as digital inclusion, ethics in the use of artificial intelligence, data protection and combating disinformation.
At the same event, the director of the Digital Governance division of the National Institute of Information and Communication Technologies, Eugénio Macumbe, said that adherence to international conventions allows Mozambique to have resources, both technological and in terms of staff training and capacity building, as well as enabling cross-border cooperation in the fight against cybercrime.
“With these instruments, it is possible to call on counterpart entities in other countries to hold perpetrators of these negative and criminal practices accountable,” he said.
He also pointed out that the signing of the convention, scheduled for October in Vietnam, is part of a broader set of reforms underway in the country.
“We also face a major challenge, which is the harmonisation of policies and the legal and regulatory framework in terms of the Portuguese-speaking world, digital inclusion, the adoption of artificial intelligence, not to mention other challenges that are also shared, such as cybersecurity and data protection,” explained Macumbe.
According to the head of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Transformation, the Government of Mozambique has already ratified the Malabo Convention on Data Protection and has been invited to join the Budapest Convention, also known as the Convention on Cybercrime, in 2024.
“These initiatives reinforce the need for international collaboration,” added Nilsa Miquidade, stressing that in an “interconnected world” the challenges facing the sector “know no borders”.
After the final signature, the Convention will need to be ratified by at least 40 member states of the United Nations (UN) to enter into force, a process that involves internal approval and ensuring that national laws are aligned with its requirements.
Cybercrime in Mozambique grew by 16% last year compared to 2023, Deputy Attorney General Amabelia Chuquela warned on June 5, explaining that this was due to insufficient resources and public awareness of the problem.
For More News And Analysis About Mozambique Follow Africa-Press
