Regional Harmonization of Cyber Legislation to Promote the Knowledge
Society in the Arab World
Dr. Nibal IdlebiChief of the ICT Applications Section
UN-ESCWA
Cyber Legislation in the Arab Region
• Cyber legislation is essential for the development of a modern information society.
• Active efforts are required for the establishment of the enabling environment needed for the effective and ethical use of cyberspace.
• Regional integration is important for improving the electronic transaction between the different countries in the region.
• Example: European Union and the Asia Pacific region.
Cyber Legislation in the ESCWA region
• All countries acknowledge the need of Cyber Laws for promoting the Information Society
• Most countries lack a full and homogenous package of cyber law
• There are different gaps in the field of cyber legislation in the Arab region
• Weakness of regional initiatives
• The initiatives launched by the Arab Minister of Justice are not sufficient
ESCWA Objective
• To Improve the status of cyber legislation in the ESCWA and Arab region
• Foster regional integration in this field.
ESCWA Activities in Cyber Legislation• Study on “Models for Cyber Legislation in ESCWA
Member Countries” (2007)
• Template for cyber legislation development (2008)
• Case Studies: comparing the national legislation system to the template of the cyber legislation (2008)
• Workshop on cyber legislation and its implementation (end 2008)
• Special folder on “Review of ICT for Development” on Cyber Legislation (2009)
• Launching the project on “Regional Harmonization of Cyber Legislation” (2009)
Main Topics of Cyber Legislation
• Electronic Com. & Telecom. Laws
• E-Transactions:
– E-Records, E-Signature, E-proof etc.
• E-Commerce:
– E-payment, E-Contracts, Consumer Protection e.g.
• Intellectual Property Rights:
– Copyright, computer programs, patents relating to software, data bases and data, domain names, etc..
Main Topics of Cyber Legislation
• Data Protection and Privacy
• Cyber Crime:
– Internet crimes,
– Computer crimes
• Censorship and Freedom of Expression in Cyberspace.
The study titled “Models for Cyber Legislation in ESCWA Member Countries”
• Reviews the status of cyberspace legislation in the ESCWA region
• Compares the region’s status to the status of other regions and other developed countries in the world
• Proposes set of recommendations for the development of cyberspace legislation.
• European Commission Directives were important references for the preparation of this study
Template for Cyber Legislation Development
• It presents for each Cyber Law (6 areas):
– Definition
– Typical articles and sub-articles that should be covered each area
– Links to related articles in famous regional and international conventions
• The template was applied to evaluate the status of two ESCWA member countries (Bahrain, Syria)
• This template is a tool to evaluate the status of CL in a specific country
Cyber legislation in the ESCWA region (1)
• E-Transaction and e-commerce are more advanced in the region than other areas (UAE, Bahrain, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan, and Morocco)
• There are drafts for cyber laws in many countries, but these laws have not been enacted (Lebanon, Syria, Bahrain, Yemen, Algeria)
• All countries have slow procedures for enacting cyber law. This is due to the involvement of various ministries in such procedures (Ministries of ICT, Economy, Justice, Interior)
Cyber legislation in the ESCWA region (2)
• Only few countries have laws related to Cyber Crime (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Tunisia, Sudan), and some others are preparing Cyber Crime Law (Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Algeria)
• Some countries revised the existing law to include topics related to IPR in cyber space (Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco)
• The protection of personal data (only Morocco, Dubai), privacy and consumer protection (only Tunisia and Lebanon) are still at still lacking in the region.
Cyber legislation in the ESCWA region (3)
• Various topics have not been tackled yet in the Arab region:
– Rights to access information and Freedom of expression
– IPR on issues related to Internet and publishing on Internet as well as data base processing
– Consumer protection in e-contracting
Regional Harmonization of Cyber Legislation
in the Arab World
• A project proposal was prepared and sent to the Development Account at UN in 2008
• Reviewing the proposal according to the DA remarks
• DA adopted the project in mid 2009 and accepted its funding.
• The duration of the project is two years and a half.
Regional Harmonization of Cyber Legislation in the Arab World
• Development of Directives and Models for assisting member countries in the:– Development of complete package of cyber laws– Promotion of the regional harmonization of Cyber Laws
• Contributing to capacity building in the field of cyber legislation development
• Assisting member countries in the deployment and the customization of ESCWA directives at national level.
Regional Harmonization of Cyber Legislation in the Arab World
• Promoting the use of ICT applications in government sector and in economic and social activities
• Enhancing regional and cross-border business and trade
• Bridging the gaps in legal and regulatory framework among Arab countries and between Arab countries and developed countries.
Project Activities (1)
• Reports on the status of the cyber laws in 18 Arab countries (done)
• Framework and guidelines for the harmonization of cyber legislation in the Arab region (in preparation)
• Regional directives promoting the harmonization of cyber legislations in the Arab World (just started)
• Expert Group Meeting for discussing the regional directives
Coherent & Complete package
• Based on the international experience mainly the European Commission Directives, a set of directives :
Comprise text model of cyber laws that may easily be implemented at the national level;
Cover a variety of 6 areas
Include a set of coherent definitions of all legal terms used in the set of directives
Include a detailed introductory statement of the fundamental purposes and guiding principles
Regional directives for the regional harmonization of cyber legislations
Project Activities (2)
• Organizing two regional training workshops on the use of regional directives. Target groups: ICT decision makers, lawyers and judges
• Five advisory services to member countries for the application of ESCWA regional directives at national level.
Project Activities (3)
• Establishment of Virtual Network of experts and organizations for the Promotion of Cyber Legislation development in the Arab World
• Seminar on Legal and Regulatory Requirements for a Sustainable Knowledge Society
Participants in the project implementation
Steering Committee
ESCWA team
Experts in Cyber Legislation from the Arab Region
Various governmental and non-governmental
institutions involved in the Dev of Cyber Legislation
Project’s Beneficiaries
• Decision makers involved in the development of cyber laws
• Ministries concerned by Cyber Laws
– Ministries of ICT, Justice, Interior and Commerce
• Professional association, NGO interested in Information Society development
• Legislators, Judges and Lawyers
• Users of the ICT and users of ICT applications
• Provide the basis for the harmonization of the legal and regulatory frameworks of cyber space in the ESCWA region
• Raise the awareness of policy and decision makers on cyber legislations and the essential role they play in building the Information Society
• Building the capacity of ESCWA member countries to draft, enact and implement said legislations
• Build synergy between various regional and national stakeholders interested in CL development.
Expected Accomplishments
Partners in the Steering Committee
• International Organization with focus on the Arab region• International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
• ECA-NA (CEA)
League of Arab States (LAS) Department of ICT, Department of Justice
• Organizations related to LAS• Arab Administrative Development Organization (ARADO)
• Arab ICT Organization (AICTO)
• Regional Experts
