Prime Minister of Tonga Lord Tu'ivakanō with Foreign Delegates after the opening of the Cyber-crime Legislation workshop at the Fa'onelua Convention Center.
A regional workshop is underway in Nuku’alofa to address regional and national needs to establish fortified cyber security measures.
A general focus is the development of necessary policies and legislative frameworks to enhance security and combat cybercrimes.
“The growing threat of cybercrime and the attacks experienced by societies around the world underlines the need for countries to put in place a comprehensive set of measures to protect their citizens,” stated Mr Siaosi Sovaleni. Sovaleni is the Suva-based manager of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s ICT Outreach Programme through its Economic Development Division.
A case of study in the workshop is Tonga’s Computer Crimes Act 2001, which encompasses most of the key concepts in international conventions against cybercrime, according to Solicitor General ‘Aminiasi Kefu.
Key points on the agenda include the threat of cybercrime; international standards for cybercrime legislation; criminal and procedural law; cybercrime training for police, judges and prosecutors; and the cooperation between law enforcement agencies and internet service providers.
Lord Tu'ivakano the Prime Minister of Tonga with Tongan Participants and Delegates from the Pacific at the opening of the Cybercrime Legislation Workshop
“Measures include criminal law and criminal justice action. Currently, most island states of the Pacific region are not sufficiently equipped to protect their societies against cybercrime through criminal law, nor are they are in a position to engage in efficient international cooperation in this respect.”
Up to 70 participants from the region’s communications, justice and police departments will attend the three-day summit.
Head of Tonga’s delegation, Secretary for Information and Communications Mr Paula P. Ma’u said the workshop has important implications for Tonga’s future.
Tonga will be implementing the Tonga-Fiji Submarine (fibre-optics) Cable Project within the next months. It only means increased connectivity and rapid electronic exchange of stellar amounts of data.
“Taking on any new ICT technology brings many benefits, but we also need to ensure our citizens are protected from crimes that can be committed through the simple use of a computer and a network.”
The workshop is a follow on effort according to the Tonga Declaration, made after the Pacific Regional Information and Communication Technology (ICT) convention on 18 June 2010. The declaration called for the cooperation between SPC, the Council of Europe and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to develop policy and legislative frameworks to combat cybercrime and promote cyber security in the region.
The Pacific Cyber-crime Legislation Workshop, held by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) in partnership with the Australia’s Attorney-General’s Office and the Council of Europe, convened yesterday running through Friday at the Fa’onelua Convention Centre in Nuku’alofa.
