Mexico is the 2nd Latin American country to accede to the Convention for the protection of individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, also known as “Convention 108”, and its Additional Protocol and thus becomes its 53rd Party.
In the presence of Deputy Secretary General Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, HE Santiago OÑATE LABORDE, Permanent Observer of Mexico to the Council of Europe deposited today (28 June 2018) the instruments of accession to the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (ETS 108) and to the Additional Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, regarding supervisory authorities and trans-border data flows (ETS No. 181).
The Convention and its Protocol will enter into force in respect of Mexico on 1 October 2018.
“Convention 108” is the only existing international treaty which grants individuals the right to the protection of their personal data, aiming also to prevent any abuses which may accompany the processing of these data. Being open to signature by any country, it is the only binding standard which has the potential to be applied worldwide, providing legal certainty and predictability in international relations.
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Created in 1981, “Convention 108” has become the backbone of personal data protection legislation in Europe and beyond. It was drafted in a technologically neutral style, which enables its provisions to be fully valid today, regardless of technological developments. The convention establishes a number of principles for states to transpose into their domestic legislation to ensure that data is processed fairly and through procedures established by law, for a specific purpose, that it is stored for no longer than is required for this purpose, and that individuals have a right to have access, rectify or erase their data. An additional protocol requires each party to establish an independent authority to ensure compliance with data protection principles and lays down rules on trans-border data flows.
On 18 may 2018, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted an amending protocol modernising Convention 108 to address the challenges to privacy resulting from the use of new information and communication technologies, and to strengthen the convention’s mechanism to ensure its effective implementation. It provides a robust and flexible multilateral legal framework to facilitate the flow of data across borders while providing effective safeguards when personal data are being used.
