Session
Roundtable
Duration (minutes): 60
Format description: As we aim to foster interactive discussions with participants and gather their feedback, we think the roundtable is the best-suited room layout to facilitate conversations and establish a balanced setting where speakers and participants have equal opportunities to contribute. The duration of 60 minutes allows enough time for a detailed exploration of the topic of the session through the presentation of key findings of UNICRI’s research report and the interventions of representatives from different stakeholders sharing insights on their countries’ cyber capabilities. Additionally, a 60-minute session guarantees enough time for interactive discussions among participants to provide feedback on the report’s recommendations and identify practical implementation pathways. Dedicated time will be allocated for questions and feedback, fostering meaningful interaction between online and onsite attendees.
The open forum session organised by UNICRI and ALT Advisory aims to present the findings of an upcoming research report on cybercrime and access to justice in Africa and learn from participants’ expertise for the development and implementation of future programmatic activities to fill gaps identified in the report. Through the analysis of selected countries as case studies (Namibia, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Uganda), the report outlines the common trends in cybercrime and online harms, examines the challenges national law enforcement agencies face in conducting investigations, and considers the obstacles victims encounter in reporting cybercrime and online harms and in seeking fair redress. The key focus of the session is to elaborate on practical solutions and brainstorm on their implementations, starting with the recommendations identified in the report. This session also aims to be an opportunity for UNICRI to briefly outline its approach to addressing cybercrime and online harms through action-oriented research on niche thematic areas, capacity-building activities involving technology companies, technical assistance to Member States and policy-making. During the session, UNICRI and ALT Advisory strive to reflect on the report’s recommendations and gather participants’ feedback on their feasibility and relevance, as well as explore collaboratively how some of these recommendations could be implemented at the national and regional levels. Particularly, the session will focus on four main recommendations identified for the key opportunities they represent and the multi-stakeholder approach they require: developing model laws; creating coding systems for cybercrime and practical standard operation procedures; establishing clear reporting processes; and implementing “Know Your Rights” campaign. While the report analysed these recommendations within four selected countries (Namibia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Uganda), the session aims to collect insights from other African countries and globally.
UNICRI
Odhran Mc Carthy, UNICRI, Intergovernmental organization, Intergovernmental organization. Ottavia Galuzzi, UNICRI, Intergovernmental organisation, Intergovernmental organization. Tina Power, ALT Advisory, Private sector, African Group.
Speaker 1: Mr. Michael Ilishebo, Zambia, Government, African Group, onsite speaker
Speaker 2: Ms. Sandra Aceng, Women of Uganda Network, Non-governmental organization, African Group, online speaker
Speaker 3: Ms. Tina Power, ALT Advisory, Private sector, African Group, onsite speaker
5.1
5.b
9.b
16.10
16.3
16.6
16.7
16.a
Targets: UNICRI’s proposal links with diverse targets falling under SDG16, as the proposal’s scope aims to address cybercrime and online harms, and promote the rule of law and ensure equal access to justice for all. The discussion around recommendations and practical solutions will link to the need to strengthen relevant national institutions, promote inclusive decision-making at all levels, ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms. The proposal’s scope intersects heavily with gender dynamics present in different forms within the African continent and encourages the technology development of African countries. For these reasons, the proposal links with SDG5 as the session aims to discuss solutions to prevent and counter cybercrime and online harms targeting women and girls specifically while enhancing their possibilities and uses of digital technologies to be informed and protect themselves from online – and interconnected offline – threats. Finally, the proposal links with SDG9 as improvements cannot be implemented if digital transition and technology development are not accounted for within the African continent.
Report
The open forum session #39 “From Research to Action: Cybercrime & Justice in Africa” was co-organised by UNICRI and ALT Advisory. During this session, UNICRI’s research report “Access to justice in the digital age: Empowering victims of cybercrime in Africa” was launched, and its findings were presented by Tina Power, the main author of the report. Thanks to the solid expertise of the speakers, Michael Ilishebo, Sandra Aceng and Tina Power, participants learnt from about the common trends in cybercrime and online harms targeting African countries, the challenges national law enforcement agencies face in conducting investigations, and the obstacles victims encounter in reporting cybercrime and online harms and in seeking fair redress. The threats posed by the abuse of cryptocurrency services and AI systems were referred to as growing concerns for law enforcement investigations.
The following are the main takeaways of the session:
- Gender-sensitive responses must be embedded in existing and new efforts to tackle cybercrime and online harms targeting women and girls disproportionately within the African continent.
- The right legal framework and legislative instruments to address cybercrime and online harms need to be coupled with transformative training for the criminal justice sector as a whole, from law enforcement personnel to prosecutors and judges.
- Cybercrime and online harms with a personal component, and not merely financial, are as important to prevent and counter as those impacting financial gain, particularly in the support of victims.
Speakers also discussed recommendations and next steps, identifying the following as the main areas of priority:
- A continental approach should be pursued to engage with technology companies and push for accountability mechanisms within the African continent.
- A sustainable and inclusive support for cybercrime and online harms' survivors should be implemented throughout African countries (support in rural areas, multi-language support,...), guaranteeing gender-responsive measures.
- African countries should undergo legislative audits to understand their gaps and needs in terms of legislation, and related capacity-building needs of the criminal justice sector in terms of cybercrime and online harms.
This session represented a unique opportunity for UNICRI to gather the community’s feedback on the challenges to tackle cybercrime and online harms across the African continent, as well as the obstacles for cybercrime victims. The active participation of speakers and participants helped identify priority areas and opportunities for multi-stakeholder collaboration.
This session, the research report presented and future programmatic work fall within UNICRI's workstream on Cybercrime and Online Harms, which aims to explore the interplay of different cyber threats and harmful behaviours, seeking to develop inclusive and rights-based solutions to address the convergence of cybercrime and online harms, including terrorism and violent extremism online, gender-based violence, child abuse and exploitation, and hate speech. UNICRI addresses these threats through action-oriented research on niche thematic areas, capacity-building activities involving technology companies, technical assistance to Member States and policy-making.
For those interested in the report “Access to justice in the digital age: Empowering victims of cybercrime in Africa”, it is accessible here: https://unicri.org/Publication-Access-Justice-Digital-Age-Empowering-Victims-Africa.
