Data Protection Unit (DPU) contributed to a range of international discussions on data protection and related policy issues on the basis of the Amending Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to the Processing of Personal Data (Convention 108+) and its future implementation.
At the Octopus Conference – held every 12 to 18 months by the Council of Europe, the DPU intervened on data protection safeguards provided for by the Second Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention) and its correlation with Convention 108+. The moderator highlighted at the end of the session that all Parties ratifying one instrument could consider “going the extra mile” in ratifying the other. The 2026 edition of the conference marked the treaty’s 25th anniversary and provided a strategic forum to address emerging challenges, including the impacts of AI on cybercrime, the issue of disinformation, the prosecution of cyber-enabled international crimes and the continued importance of conditions and safeguards to ensure respect for human rights and the rule of law.
The Data Protection Unit also participated on the invitation of the Data Protection Authority of Mauritius in the event on data protection in the Mauritian financial sector launched by the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation of. The DPU intervened online to deliver a speech on the international perspective on data protection in the finance sector and introduced the Guidelines on data protection context of AML/CFT developed by the Committee of Convention 108.
A brief overview of the standard-setting work of the Consultative Committee of Convention 108 was also presented at the 2nd plenary meeting of the Council of Europe Steering Committee for New and Emerging Digital Technologies (CDNET). The DPU spoke about the Committee’s current work on data protection in the context of neuroscience and Large Language Models (LLM) and proposed to develop an active cooperation between the two committees with a view of topics of common interest. It also discussed main deliverables under the Committee’s new Work Programme for 2026-2029 years notably on data transfers and.
The Data Protection Unit was also presented at the international event of the Global Digital Collaboration 2026, where the seconded Policy Advisor, Ana TOKHADZE contributed to the session on: “A Pan-European Trust Framework (PETF): Subsidiarity, Unlinkability, and the Path to Global Interoperability”. The session intended to introduce the Pan-European Trust Framework (PETF) initiative to establish a global digital identity infrastructure. The delivered intervention was developed around the human rights-based approach anchored in the Council of Europe’s legal instruments, in particular, the European Convention on Human Right, the Framework Convention on AI and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, and the Convention 108+.
In October, Ana TOKHADZE also participated in a high-level conference organised by the Greek National Commission for Human Rights to discuss emerging issues and challenges relating to human rights and AI. The Council of Europe’s contribution to the panel discussion included an overview of the legal standards set out in the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law. It also addressed the Convention 108+ standards relevant to the data processing activities in the context of AI systems. The presentation outlined the obligations and fundamental principles established by the AI Framework Convention, remedies and procedural safeguards afforded by the treaty and the risk and impact assessment obligation. The intervention additionally presented the Council of Europe’s risk and impact assessment of AI systems from the point of view of human rights, democracy and the rule of law (HUDERIA) and highlighted its core elements.
