Personal Data Protection and Safeguarding Draft Act June 2019 stipulating that personal data shall be adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed. 20 The Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (usually known as the CoE Convention No. 108)21 was adopted in 1981 and a “modernised” version was adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 18 May 2018. Convention 108 is the only legally binding international instrument in the data protection field with a worldwide scope of application. It is open for signature to member and non-member States of the Council of Europe (CoE) anywhere in the world.22 To date, 55 countries are parties to Convention 108. They include all CoE member states (47 countries); Uruguay, the first non-European country to accede in August 2013; and Mauritius, Senegal, and Tunisia, which acceded in 2016 and 2017. Data protection rights have also been adopted in administrative and legal procedures across the globe by the African Union, Organization of American States, OECD, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, and other international human rights, trade, and standards bodies.23 3. National Developments These international developments have been strongly followed at the national level. As of the writing of this analysis, over 120 countries and independent jurisdictions have adopted comprehensive data protection laws, with another 40 currently considering draft acts or initiatives.24 In the MENA region, there is a growing interest in data protection and many neighbouring countries have already adopted laws, including Algeria, Bahrain, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar, Turkey, and Tunisia as well as the UAE’s Abu Dhabi Global Market and the Dubai International Financial Centre. Similar laws are currently being considered by Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. These laws all implement the international data protection principles, to some extent. B. Balancing Privacy and Freedom of Expression and Information The right to freedom of expression is a fundamental human right recognised in international human rights law. The full enjoyment of this right is central to achieving individual freedoms and to developing democracy. Freedom of expression is a necessary condition for the realisation of the principles of transparency and accountability that are, in turn, essential for the promotion and protection of all human rights. As noted above, privacy and freedom of expression are intertwined rights in human rights law. They appear together in international instruments, national constitutions, and laws. They are mutually reinforcing. Together they ensure the accountability of the state and other powerful actors to citizens. Freedom of expression and freedom of information allow individuals to investigate and challenge human rights abuses, including violations of privacy. Privacy allows EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Art. 5. Council of Europe, Modernised Convention for the Protection of Individuals with Regard to the Processing of Personal Data, Amending protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with Regard to the Processing of Personal Data, adopted by the Committee of Ministers at its 128th Session in Elsinore on 18 May 2018: https://www.coe.int/en/web/data-protection/convention108-and-protocol. 22 Council of Europe, Modernised Convention for the Protection of Individuals with Regard to the Processing of Personal Data, Amending protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with Regard to the Processing of Personal Data, adopted by the Committee of Ministers at its 128th Session in Elsinore on 18 May 2018. 23 See African Union Convention on Cyber-security and Personal Data Protection; ECOWAS Supplementary Act A/SA.1/01/10 on Personal Data Protection, OAS Principles on Privacy and Personal Data Protection in the Americas; OECD Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data (1980, updated 2013); APEC Privacy Framework, 2005; The Madrid Privacy Declaration, Global Privacy Standards for a Global World, 3 November 2009. 24 See Greenleaf, Graham, Global Tables of Data Privacy Laws and Bills (6th Ed January 2019) (February 9, 2019). (2019) Supplement to 157 Privacy Laws & Business International Report (PLBIR) 16 pgs. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3380794; Banisar, David, National Comprehensive Data Protection/Privacy Laws and Bills 2018 (September 4, 2018). Available at https://ssrn.com/abstract=1951416 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1951416. 20 21 ARTICLE 19 – Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Rd, London EC1R 3GA – www.article19.org – +44 20 7324 2500 Page 10 of 58