New York — Angola is participating, since Monday, in the 7th and final session of the Ad Hoc Committee to Elaborate an International Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes.

According to a note from the Permanent Mission of Angola to the United Nations, the 7th and final session of the aforementioned committee will take place until the 9th of February, with the discussion of the drafts of the revised text of the convention and resolution of the General Assembly, as well as the adoption of the final report.

The Angolan delegation to the event, led by the Deputy Attorney General of the Republic, Gilberto Mizalaque, includes senior staff from the Auxiliary Bodies of the Presidency of the Republic and the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, and has participated in the work sessions that began in February 2022, thus contributing important subsidies to the enrichment of the project.

Angola's positioning is focussed on the chapter of the criminalization of computer crimes, which includes new trends in the crime of child sexual abuse or exploitation of child sexual material by computer means, the application of procedural measures, international cooperation, namely technical assistance in sharing electronic evidence, as well as on the need to use electronic evidence for the investigation of serious crimes.

The Ad Hoc Committee was created through General Assembly resolution 74/247 and includes experts representing all nations, to develop a comprehensive international convention on combating the use of ICT for criminal purposes, taking into account the instruments and efforts international agreements existing in each member state.