It is generally accepted that cyberspace and Internet usage in the ESCWA region will not flourish in the absence of a proactive environment. Because cyber legislation is important for the development of a modern information society, active efforts from the public and the private sectors, as well as NGOs, are essential for the establishment of the enabling environment needed for the effective and ethical use of cyberspace. While extensive studies and regional analyses of cyber legislations have already been undertaken in other parts of the world, comparable material is not available for the ESCWA region. In order to narrow this legislative gap and to prevent the illicit and illegal use of cyberspace in a region where the information society is still in its infancy, ESCWA member countries must map out a course of action that will foster the creation of the aforementioned enabling environment. Crafting cyberspace laws, creating guidelines and adopting directives in the legislative, organizational and management domains are amongst the most important steps to take.

Acknowledging the need for regional integration in cyberspace legislation, certain regions in the World have already adopted directives on the regional level, important examples being the European Union and the Asia Pacific region. Taking into account their experience, ESCWA has recently developed a study titled "Models for Cyber Legislation". The study aims at facilitating electronic interactions in the ESCWA region and provides analysis and policy advice that enables member countries to bring their legal structures in line with international cyber legislations. It reviews the status of cyberspace legislation in countries of the ESCWA region, compares the region's status to the status of other regions in the world and proposes a set of directives and guidelines for the creation of cyberspace legislation. ESCWA intends to present this study in a Peer Consultation Meeting that will take place during 4-5 December 2007.

The main objectives of the Peer Consultation Meeting are to present and discuss the "Models for Cyber Legislation in ESCWA Member Countries" study and to create a network of experts and institutions that would be involved in the continuous development, improvement and implementation of cyber legislation in the ESCWA region.

The meeting will also include the presentation and discussion of a template that was created by ESCWA to help with the development of an implementation strategy for cyber legislation in the region. Two case studies will help highlight the applicability at the country level of the template as well as the relevance of the guidelines and recommendations of the study.

Any inquiries should be addressed to:

Ms. Nibal Idlebi,
Team Leader on ICT for Development
ICT Division, ESCWA
P.O. Box 11-8575, Beirut, Lebanon
Email: idlebi@un.org
Tel: +961-1-978540
Fax: +961-1-981510

For further information please refer to the Information note under Event Details.