Cybercrime: Official adherence of Tunisia to the Budapest Convention

Tunisia officially joined, on Friday, the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime adopted in Budapest, bringing the number of signatory states to 70, as confirmed by the Ministry of Communication Technologies.

The Consul General of Tunisia in Strasbourg, Badreddine Jalidi, deposited Tunisia’s accession document to this Convention in the presence of the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Bjorn Berge, as stated in a press release published on the Council of Europe’s website.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the Ministry specified that Tunisia’s accession to this Convention is part of national efforts and close coordination between the ministries of Communication Technologies, Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Justice, as well as state structures, to combat crimes related to information and communication systems and to protect the national cyberspace and users of information and communication technologies against cyber attacks and attacks that violate information systems or infringe on individuals’ rights, as well as disturb social peace or public order.

The Ministry stated that the Constitutional Law approving the accession of the Republic of Tunisia to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime adopted in Budapest on November 23, 2001, was published in the official gazette on February 6, 2024, after being adopted by the Assembly of the People’s Representatives during a plenary session on the same day.

Tunisia’s accession to this Convention aims to effectively contribute to supporting and coordinating international efforts in combating cybercrime and achieving sufficient effectiveness in protecting individuals’ rights and victims of cybercrime.

The Convention will enable national structures to combat crimes related to information and communication systems to benefit from expertise, training, and legal procedures approved by the Treaty, especially in terms of information exchange between member countries to prevent, detect, and deter these crimes, based on the same source.