Preliminary report on the East African Community (EAC) Regional
Stakeholders Consultative Workshops on Cyber Laws and e-Justice, and
Information Security
The East African Community has convened two Stakeholder's
Consultative workshops on Cyber laws and e-Justice and on Information
Security from 25-28 April 2006 at Grand Imperial Hotel. The workshops
are a follow up on the recommendation of the second e-Government
stakeholders meeting held in June 2005 in Nairobi, where cyber laws
and e-Justice were identified as key cross-cutting issues that need
to be in place for the successful implementation of e-Government
applications in East Africa.
The two-in-one workshop aims at creating awareness, sensitization and
advocacy on the significance of cyber laws and e-Justice, and the
impact of their continuing absence in the East African region; and
also to promote development of an appropriate legal and policy
framework for e-government promotion in the region. The second
workshop will specifically look at issues of Information Security for
e-Government and particularly the development of a Public Key
Infrastructure policy framework for the region. The basis of
convening the two workshops is founded on the proposed Regional
e-Government Framework which had identified the creation of an
enabling legal and regulatory environment as a critical enabling
factor for effective implementation of e-government strategies at
national and regional levels. The framework further emphasises that
operational efficiency of any e-government strategy will need a
strong backup support of necessary legislation on data security,
network security, cyber crime, information systems and electronic transactions.
The workshop is organised by the East African Community and supported
by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the
Canadian Government through the Canadian e-Policy Resource Centre.
Local coordination in Uganda was by the National Planning Authority (NPA).
The first workshop on Cyber laws and e-Justice which has concluded
today, April 26, was opened by Hon. Henry Okello Oryem, Minister of
State for Foreign Affairs/International Affairs and was closed by
Hon. Tom Butime, Minister of State for Communications. The workshop
had over eighty participants from the three EAC countries including
representatives from government, civil society, private sector/IT
experts, media, legal officers/experts and civil society. WOUGNET,
I-Network and the East African Youth Society were among the civil
society participants. Dwight Bigala, an IT legal expert, made the
presentation on the status of cyber laws and e-Justice in Uganda.
Regional and International perspectives were also shared, including,
the ECA regional perspective on e-Security and the Canadian
experiences with their legal framework for eGovernment as well as the
Law Enforcement Mandate and Technology Crime Program of the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police.
At the conclusion of the first workshop, three general
recommendations were made:
- The EAC should ensure necessary coordination intended to harmonize
regional and national legal frameworks in order to create an enabling
environment for the successful implementation of the e-Government and
e-Commerce programs
- Uganda and Tanzania should be urged to establish an
Agency/Department to spearhead the e-Government and e-Commerce
initiatives in line with measures taken by Kenya to provide the
necessary setting for policy and program implementation, resource
mobilisation and capacity development. The Agency should preferably
be in the President's Office.
- The EAC in collaboration with Partner States should strengthen the
institutional collaboration with multi-lateral and bi-lateral
agencies including the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the
Canadian e-Policy Resource Centre to support the national and
regional e-Government and e-Commerce initiatives.
A report will be made available of the workshop proceedings.
--
Dorothy Okello
Coordinator, WOUGNET
Plot 53 Kira Road
Tel: +256-41-532035
Fax: +256-41-530474
Web: http://www.wougnet.org
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