Pursuing to share knowledge and experiences on the organisation and functioning of the 24/7 Point of Contact (POC) under the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention), four delegates representing Ecuadorian authorities (Prosecutor Office and National Police) met their counterparts in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, during a study visit conducted between 5-7 November 2024.
Invited to accede to the Budapest Convention in 2022, Ecuador is making further steps towards operating as a full Party of the treaty and complying with such responsibilities, especially the ones mentioned under Article 35. In this endeavour, the country learned from the experience of Dominican Republic, the first state in the Caribbean and Latin America ratifying the Budapest Convention, and actively promoting the accession to it in the region.
The visit facilitated rich exchanges on the establishment, functioning, responsibilities, necessary capacities, and competencies for running a 24/7 POC, helping the representatives of Ecuador to better understand how to treat requests for cooperation while coordinating their work with public or private entities. Topics such as conditions for information sharing, internal legal process for obtaining information and mechanisms for information exchange with Internet Service Providers were extensively addressed.
Dominican Republic, in its role of hub country for GLACY-e activities, witnessed a significative development through a strategic approach focused on dedicated policies, legal framework reform, critical IT infrastructure, as well as national and international cooperation mechanisms. Dominican Republic has also benefited from consistent capacity building actions under the GLACY and GLACY+ projects and is now functioning as a hub country for the GLACY-e project, contributing to a sustainable south-south cooperation in the region.
The support to Ecuador will continue under the GLACY-e project, a joint initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe, through further capacity building activities for fully integration into the international community and developing national capacities for and effective response to cybercrime.
Cybercrime Programme Office of the Council of Europe (C-PROC)
24/7 Points of Contact Network
Dirección de la Policía Cibernética de la República Dominicana (DICATPN)