AU holds a workshop on Cyber Diplomacy

Addis Ababa, April 18, 2024 (FBC) – The Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS) Department of the African Union Commission, jointly with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH partnership for strengthening cybersecurity project, held a workshop on Cyber Diplomacy for the embassies and permanent Missions of the AU Member States here in Addis Ababa, at the AU Headquarters from 15 to 16 April 2024.

The AU Member States are increasingly facing cyber threats and challenges. Cognizant of the threat, the Member States developed the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo Convention), which was adopted by the 23rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU in 2014, and entered into force on 8 June 2023.

Additionally, the Assembly endorsed the Common African Position, encouraged Member States to issue national position statements on the application of International Law in the cyberspace & to actively participate in regional& international forums on governance of cyberspace, including at the UN.

Ambassador Calixte Aristide Mbari, Head of AU Democracy, Elections and Constitutionalism unit, while delivering opening remarks on behalf of the PAPS Commissioner Bankole Adeoye, said “We are also witnessing cyberspace increasingly becoming a new ground for geopolitical competition and sometimes attacks against national security.

Therefore, the need to build trust & confidence in cyberspace among states is increasingly becoming pertinent”. Mr Vladimir Radunovic from Diplo-Foundation and Dr. Ferdinand Von Weyhe, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Germany in Addis Ababa, also presented their remarks at the opening of the workshop.

The main objectives of the workshop, according to a press release from AU, are to initiate an entry point for cyber diplomacy efforts at the AU, raise awareness on existing cyber threats and key priorities for cybersecurity, and jumpstart discussions among the diplomatic community on the nature and extent of the threat.

Participants were from Embassies of the AU Member States in Addis Ababa, the Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS) Department, other relevant Departments from the Commission (Infrastructure and Energy, Management and Information Science Directorate), the German Mission in Addis Ababa and GIZ.