An international conference in Strasbourg on 12 June will discuss the role of the Council of Europe’s modernised data protection convention, “Convention 108+”, in fostering a common legal regime for data protection at global level and the need for states to accede swiftly to this treaty.
Opened for signature in October 2018, “Convention 108+” - which updates the 1981 "Convention 108" already ratified by 55 states - has been signed so far by 28 Council of Europe states, Tunisia and Uruguay.
Organised in co-operation with the French Presidency of the Committee of Ministers, the conference will be opened by Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland and Ambassador Jean-Baptiste Mattei, Permanent Representative of France to the Council of Europe.
The conference will take place on the eve of a plenary meeting of the Committee of “Convention 108”, which will bring together nearly 120 participants from all regions of the world to discuss data protection issues and the development of common policies.
The Committee will define its priorities and the work programme for the next two years. Topics on the agenda include facial recognition, profiling, data processed in the context of educational systems and transborder access to justice by law enforcement. On June 14 the winners of the Stefano Rodotá Award will present their work and receive their prize.
Ahead of the conference, on 11 and 12 June, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy (UNSR), Joseph A. Cannataci, will hold a public consultation on a draft recommendation on the protection and use of health data, organised with the support of the Council of Europe. This event is another step in the co-operation with the UNSR on the right to privacy, who is a strong supporter of Convention 108+ and Council of Europe work in the field of data protection and privacy.
