On 9-10 December 2021, the Council of Europe, through the GLACY+ Project and the Data Protection Unit, and in collaboration with UNDP’s Pacific Office and Vanuatu’s National Task Force/Expert Group, organised an introductory workshop on data protection.
The workshop was the first in a process to support Vanuatu to harmonise its domestic legislation on data protection and privacy with international standards in the area, including Convention 108+ and the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. At the end of the process, it is expected that Vanuatu will be able to present a data protection and privacy bill in line with international standards to the National Assembly, potentially at the November 2022 session. If adopted, it would be the first data protection legal framework in Vanuatu.
The workshop follows a request from the Vanuatu government for the Council of Europe’s support to develop a “robust, effective, and efficient” legal framework on data protection and privacy, in line with international standards in the field.
It marks the latest stage in Vanuatu’s long-standing relationship with the Council of Europe, with the country participating in national capacity building activities on cybercrime and electronic evidence since 2011. Most recently, Vanuatu’s Parliament passed in June 2021 the country’s first Cybercrime Act, following technical assistance received in 2018 from the GLACY+ project to harmonise its national legislation with international standards including the Budapest Convention.
The workshop took place in a hybrid format, with participants in Vanuatu (Members of the Government in Vanuatu, the Data Protection National Task Force/Expert Group, the State Law Office Legal Drafting Team) attending in person and Council of Europe experts and staff joining remotely.
