Conv 2000
African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection
The African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection serves as a legal framework for cyber-security and personal data protection. It was guided and adopted by the Constitutive Act of the African Union in 2000. The Convention aims to define the objectives and orientations of the Information Society in Africa and to strengthen legislations on Information and Communication Technologies of Member States or regional economic communities. It mobilizes public and private actors for the promotion of cyber security. The Convention sets forth the security rules necessary for establishing a credible digital space for electronic transactions, personal data protection and fighting cybercrime. Its goal is therefore to address the need for legislation in the area of cyber security in Member States of the African Union and to establish a mechanism capable of fighting violations of privacy in each State Party that may be generated by personal data collection, processing, transmission, storage or use. By proposing a type of institutional basis, the Convention guarantees that whatever form of processing is used shall respect the basic freedoms and rights of individuals while taking into account the prerogatives of States, the rights of local communities and the interests of businesses. The Convention entered into force on July 21, 2014.