Co-operation with Ghana on Cybercrime
Ghana acceded to and ratified the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention) in 2019. To reach this millestone, the Council of Europe (CoE), through its Global Action on Cybercrime Extended (GLACY+) project provided support by outlining the necessary steps and modalities needed to enable Ghana to undergo the process. Subsequently, the project assisted Ghana to implement the Convention, ensuring that the country had an effective mechanism for international cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of cross-border cyber offences.
Since ratifying the Budapest Convention, the CoE through the GLACY+, has provided funding and expert support for various training and capacity building activities on cybercrime and the handling of electronic evidence, implemented by the Cyber Security Authority (CSA). These include trainings and workshops mainly focusing on the officials of the criminal justice sector. The trainings and programmes have further contributed to the development of cybersecurity strategies and domestic legislation in line with international standards. Moreover, the skills, , and the knowledge gained by some officials were used to enhance the review of Ghana’s National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy as well as the enactment of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038) aimed at addressing existing cybersecurity gaps. Currently, about 672 officials have been trained with about 120 of them being Judges. .
Knowledge sharing as part of these training programmes ensured that officials of the criminal justice sector were equipped with the necessary knowledge for carrying on investigation, prosecution and adjudication of cybercrime, as well as other criminal investigations involving electronic evidence.
Furthermore, through the implementation of a trainer-of-trainers programme, the GLACY + initiative enabled trained officials to train their peers, providing more Ghanaian law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges with the necessary skills and knowledge needed in handling cybercrime cases. Currently, one of the trainers who has benefitted from the assistance of the GLACY+ programme, Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, extends her expertise beyond Ghana by administering trainings during capacity building programmes to other professionals in Africa as part of the GLACY+ programme. Additionally, training on cybercrime and electronic evidence is currently included in the regular training curriculum of judicial training institutions in Ghana and is mandatory for all trainee judges. Most trial judges, undertake the course either as part of their induction training or continuing judicial training. Project has also become useful in framing the content of the relevant domestic training sessions. Furthermore, Judges who are beneficiaries of this project are currently members of faculty of the Judicial Training Institute. As faculty members, the judges transfer knowledge and skills to other Judges in neighbouring countries who seek to familiarise themselves with how technology aids the administration of justice. It is also worth mentioning that Ghana has benefitted from the International Network of Judicial Trainers which has also improved the knowledge and skills of the judges in the network as trainers and trainees.
Other regional and international training activities, workshops, and conferences organised through the GLACY + project were of benefit for Ghana, such as:Judicial Training Course for English speaking countries of the ECOWAS region, the African Regional Workshop on Cybercrime, National Cybersecurity and Internet Piracy, the International Joint Conference by CoE-Eurojust Online Investigations: Darknet and the Online Sexual Violence Against Children and the INTERPOL-Europol Cybercrime conferences. This has further led to participants developing additional competencies to support their respective institutions and countries in the fight against cybercrime, in addition to being exposed to emerging issues of cybercrime.
The Law Enforcement Liaison Unit (LELU) of the CSA and other law enforcement agencies have equally benefited from the capacity building activities in relation to the 24/7 Points of Contacts (POC) established under the Budapest Convention. Trainings on the POC undertaken through the GLACY + project have equipped the LELU and Law Enforcement officers with the tools needed for the effective management and operationalisation of the POC to ensure that cases are efficiently managed, and requests handled promptly to aid the preservation of admissible evidence for the investigation and prosecution of cybercrime.
In conclusion, the GLACY + project has contributed substantially to Ghana’s efforts to ensure resilience against cybersecurity by reinforcing capacities and capabilities to fight against cybercrime and handle electronic evidence as well as harmonisation of the national policies, strategies, and legislation with the international standards and good practices.
Contributor: Cyber Security Authority of Ghana, 2024