ITU Regional Workshop onPolicy Advocacy & Capacity Building in

Child Online Protection for the Arab Region

Muscat (Oman), 30 – 31 October 2011

International Platform for Child Online Protection

ITU Arab Regional Office

Why International Cooperation onChild Online Protection is required• Child online protection is a global challenge, which requires a

global approach.• While many efforts to improve child online protection are already

underway, their reach has been more national or regional than global.

• There are even some difference between Internet usage amongst children in developed and developing countries; i.e., location of access or mode of access.

• Although the strategy for online safety issues amongst children could vary by country, the most research has a developed country focus.

• The world is faced with the challenging task of developing harmonized and comprehensive strategies at the global level and implementing these with the various relevant national, regional, and international stakeholders in the countries.

ITU Arab Regional Office

Why International Cooperation onChild Online Protection is required

(Cont.)• The universal fact, coupled with young people’s particular

vulnerability in an online environment, made a specialized initiative within the larger GCA framework a necessity.

• The international cooperation, based on a multi-stakeholder approach and the belief that every organization – whether online or mobile, educator or legislator, technical expert or industry body – has something to contribute to mitigate the risk.

• Moreover, the online world respects neither boundaries nor borders, so creating a safe cyber-environment requires cooperation.

• By working together with ITU, all interested stakeholders and countries can achieve this critical international collaboration, confronting child online threats with a dynamic and unified coalition

ITU Arab Regional Office

Goal

• A common platform for integrated advocacy, policy and programme action.

• Drawing together an effective package of: – policies and practices;– infrastructure and technology; – Awareness;– Communication.

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Child Online Protection Global Initiative (COP)

• The ITU Child Online Protection Initiative (www.itu.int/cop) represents an international collaborative effort led by ITU within the framework of its Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA). It is a specialized programme aims to consolidate international collaboration to promote the online protection of children worldwide.

• COP has been established as an international collaborative network for action to promote the online protection of children worldwide by providing guidance on safe online behaviour in conjunction with other UN agencies and partners.

• The COP initiative was launched in 2008 and endorsed by UN Secretary‐General, Heads of State, Ministers and heads of international organizations from around the world.

• It aims to promote global awareness on the importance of child safety in the online world, develop practical tools to assist governments, industry and educators and share their experiences in working to ensure a safe and secure online experience for children everywhere. it also aims to address legal, technical, organizational and procedural issues relevant to protecting children online.

ITU Arab Regional Office

COP Objectives

Key Objectives of COP• Identify risks and vulnerabilities to children in

cyberspace;• Create awareness of the risks and issues through

multiple channels;• Develop practical tools to help governments,

organizations and educators minimize risk; and• Share knowledge and experience while facilitating

international strategic partnership to define and implement concrete initiatives

ITU Arab Regional Office

COP Initiative membersCOP has been supported by a wide range of partners from all stakeholder groups (governments, industries, NGOs, and other UN agencies) as well as the UN Secretary-General.

COP Initiative members are:• ITU;• Children’s Charities’ Coalition on Internet Safety;• Child Helpline International;• Cyber Peace Initiative;• ECPAT International;• European Network and Information Security Agency;• European Broadcasting Union;• European Commission Safer Internet Programme;• European NGO Alliance for Child Safety Online;• eWWG;• Family Online Safety Institute;

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COP Initiative members (cont.)• GSM Association;• iKeepSafe;• International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol);• International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children;• Optenet;• Microsoft;• Telecom Italia;• Telefónica;• Save the Children;• United Nations Children’s Fund;• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime;• United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute;• United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research; and• Vodafone Group.

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COP Guidelines The global COP Guidelines, for children, parents, industry and policy-makers,

which were developed by a multistakeholder group of COP partners, are one such example. (Available in 6 UN languages)

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COP Raise Awareness ITU has been actively raising awareness on COP issues through the

organization of workshops, events, strategic dialogues and regional forums, as well as many other occasions. For example, in 2011,

- ITU Regional Seminars for countries in Europe and the CIS, “Integrated aspects of child protection over the Internet child online protection” in Odessa, Ukraine (April 2011)

- Thematic workshops, “New challenges to protect children online in the era of non-stop connectivity ” and “Child Online Protection in Africa” at the WSIS Forum (May 2011)

- COP discussion during the AL C5 Facilitation Meeting, High-Level Panel on Cybersecurity as well as the Fourth Parliamentary Forum on “The Triple Challenge of Cyber-Security: Information, Citizens and Infrastructure” (May 2011)

- ITU COP workshops, “Young People and Their Safeguards in an Increasingly Connected World” and “Framework for International Cooperation on Child Online Protection” at the 6th IGF (September 2011)

1010ITU Arab Regional Office

ITU’s role in Child Online Protection

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At the ITU PP in 2010, ITU Member States adopted a new Resolution concerning ITU’s Role in Child Online Protection (Res. 179, Guadalajara 2010).

This new resolution encourages ITU to continue its COP initiative as a platform to raise awareness and educate stakeholders on this important issue.

Instructs the [ITU] Secretary-General, - to deploy greater efforts to ascertain the activities carried out by other United Nations

organizations in this domain, and to coordinate with them appropriately, with the objective of establishing partnerships to maximize and synergize efforts in this important area;

- to coordinate ITU activities also with other similar initiatives being undertaken at the national, regional and international levels, in order to eliminate possible overlaps;

- to bring this resolution to the attention of other COP members and of the United Nations Secretary-General, with the aim of increasing the engagement of the United Nations system in child online protection;

- to submit a progress report on the results of implementation of this resolution to the next plenipotentiary conference,

ITU Arab Regional Office

New COP Global Initiative

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“ Individual rights without the fulfillment of duties causes cracks in society. Democracy without responsibility undermines freedom.”

H.E. Laura Chinchilla, President of Costa Rica became a Patron of Child Online Protection (COP) in 2010.

In November 2010, ITU Secretary-General, together with H.E. President Chinchilla, announced the launch of a new Global Initiative with high-level deliverables.

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Through this initiative, ITU is taking the next steps to develop a cybersecurity strategy for child online safety, delivering significant national benefits.

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COP Strategy

• The COP Global Initiative aims to shift COP Guidelines, developed by ITU and partners from industry, civil society, governments, UN agencies and other stakeholders, into concrete activities by leveraging the active support from COP members.

• The strategies for achieving these guidelines span five main areas: i) legal measures; ii) technical and procedural measures; iii) organizational structures; iv) capacity building; and v) international cooperation.

• ITU will work with partners to develop cybersecurity strategies across these areas, in order to deliver significant national and societal benefits.

ITU Arab Regional Office

Expected Outcomes• By launching the COP Global Initiative, ITU entered the next

level of the COP: to shift COP Guidelines into concrete activities (high deliverables).

• COP Global Initiative is designed to achieve: – the development of national strategy guide and

legislative toolkits; – the development of industry codes of conduct; the

establishment of national hotlines;– provide training for parents, guardians and educators;

and– harnessing the power of multistakeholder collaboration

through resources such as an online platform for sharing advice and information.

ITU Arab Regional Office

Thank you

Rouda AlAmir AliRouda.alamirali@itu.int

ITU Arab Regional Office