AFRICAN UNION CONVENTION ON CYBER SECURITY AND PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION

PREAMBLE
The Member States of the African Union:
Guided by the Constitutive Act of the African Union adopted in 2000;

Considering that this Convention on the Establishment of a Legal Framework for Cyber-security and Personal Data Protection embodies the existing commitments of African Union Member States at sub-regional, regional and international levels to build the Information Society,

Recalling that it aims at defining the objectives and broad orientations of the Information Society in Africa and strengthening existing legislations on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) of Member States and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs);

Reaffirming the commitment of Member States to fundamental freedoms and human and peoples‟ rights contained in the declarations, conventions and other instruments adopted within the framework of the African Union and the United Nations;

Considering that the establishment of a regulatory framework on cyber-security and personal data protection takes into account the requirements of respect for the rights of citizens, guaranteed under the fundamental texts of domestic law and protected by international human rights Conventions and Treaties, particularly the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights;

Mindful of the need to mobilize all public and private actors (States, local communities, private sector enterprises, civil society organizations, the media, training and research
institutions, etc.) for the promotion of cyber security;

Reiterating the principles of the African Information Society Initiative (AISI) and the Regional Action Plan on the Knowledge Economy (ARAPKE); Aware that it is meant to regulate a particularly evolving technological domain, and with a view to meeting the high expectations of many actors with often divergent interests, this convention sets forth the security rules essential for establishing a credible digital space for electronic transactions, personal data protection and combating cybercrime;