On 17-18 April in Lisbon (Portugal), the Council of Europe and the European Union launched a new joint project called “CyberSouth+. The project aims to enhance co-operation on cybercrime and electronic evidence in the EU’s Southern Neighbourhood.

The event was organized with the support of the Council of Europe’s and brought together representatives of Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia.

With a budget of EUR 3.9 million and a duration of three years, CyberSouth+ will focus on the strengthening of legal frameworks, capacities for investigation, prosecution and adjudication of cybercrime, international co-operation and synergies between criminal justice and cybersecurity institutions.

Addressing the challenges of cybercrime and electronic evidence, and at the same time upholding human rights and the rule of law, has become a priority for many countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The Convention on Cybercrime of the Council of Europe (“Budapest Convention”), backed up by capacity building programmes such as CyberSouth+, provides the countries of this region with a framework to address these challenges.