On 8th June 2015, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and ITU. The objective of this Memorandum of Understanding is to establish a preliminary, non-binding framework for collaboration between the Parties, within the framework of the ITU Global Cybersecurity Agenda and in accordance with the Parties’ commonly agreed goals for a more secure and safer information society and on the basis of mutual benefit.
ECOWAS and ITU will cooperate on mutually agreed questions of common interest in the field of Cybersecurity, in particular:
a) the elaboration of regional Cybersecurity initiatives through ECOWAS;
b) enhancing the Cybersecurity posture of ECOWAS member countries through country specific initiatives as well as regional initiatives including:
- the National CIRT/CERT programme whereby national CIRT/CERT assessments and implementations as well as regional cyberdrills are undertaken;
- enhancing Cybersecurity in ECOWAS Countries project through a customized capacity building initiative and the joint elaboration of a sustainable Cybersecurity roadmap to be implemented in a phased approach;
- the Global Cybersecurity Index whereby the Cybersecurity capabilities of member states are measured to allow them to better address their Cybersecurity needs and to ultimately foster a global culture of Cybersecurity;
- the Child Online Protection initiative whereby an international collaborative network is established for promoting the online protection of children and young people worldwide by providing guidance on safe online behavior;
- the harmonization and enhancement of legislations pertaining to effectively address the prosecution of Cybercriminals;
- the elaboration of national Cybersecurity strategies which entail the formulation and implementation of national frameworks for cybersecurity and critical information infrastructure protection (CIIP) through a comprehensive approach.
ECOWAS will be facilitating the interaction between ITU and ECOWAS member countries to enable more effective cooperation on Cybersecurity initiatives. ECOWAS and ITU intend to engage each other in relevant Cybersecurity conferences or fora that would allow more interaction and cooperation between the Parties.
