Angola became the 60th country to sign the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime last weekend, during the official signing ceremony presided over by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, held on the 25th and 26th at the Hanoi International Convention Center, Vietnam.
According to a press release sent to ANGOP, the Angolan delegation in Hanoi was led by the Attorney General, Hélder Fernando Pitta Gróz, while the formal signing on behalf of the Angolan State was carried out by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Angola to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Fernando Miguel.
The United Nations Convention against Cybercrime is the first universal legal instrument to combat cybercrime adopted by the UN in the past 20 years.
The treaty aims to harmonize national legislation on cybercrimes, strengthen international cooperation, and establish modern mechanisms for investigation, as well as the collection and sharing of electronic evidence among member states.
According to the document, the Convention covers not only purely technological crimes but also traditional offenses committed through digital means. It also promotes capacity-building for legal practitioners and the transfer of technology to developing countries, with the goal of effectively addressing an increasingly global and sophisticated criminal phenomenon.
Angola actively participated in drafting the Convention through a multisectoral and multidisciplinary technical group coordinated by the Office of the Attorney General (PGR), under the direction of Deputy Attorney General Gilberto Mizalaque Vunge.
The negotiation process lasted about three years and included working sessions at the United Nations offices in Vienna and New York.
Following the signing, the process will proceed to ratification by the competent Angolan authorities, culminating in the deposit of the instruments of ratification with the United Nations.
According to available information, 72 member states have already signed the Convention, which will enter into force once 40 instruments of ratification have been deposited. The document will remain open for signature until December 31, 2026.
By joining this treaty, Angola gains an important instrument for international cooperation in combating the growing threat of cybercrime, benefiting from technical assistance, specialized training, and standardized legal frameworks to strengthen its national legislation on cybercrimes and mutual legal assistance.
On the sidelines of the ceremony, the Attorney General held working meetings with his counterparts from Vietnam and Russia, focused on strengthening judicial cooperation and exchanging experiences in cybersecurity and criminal investigation.
Source: ANGOP
