Support to Belize National Cyber Security Strategy

Summary

Belize developed its first national cybersecurity strategy with support from the OAS/CICTE Cybersecurity Program and Global Partners Digital. The process involved several instances of stakeholder consultation to ensure local buy-in and support, as well as capacity building efforts to increase the engagement of civil society groups in the process. The final strategy reflects an inclusive and rights-respecting approach to cybersecurity.  

Details

Aim 

The aim of this project was to support the Government of Belize in developing their first National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS).  

Context

OAS/CICTE provided the Government of Belize with technical and strategy support to develop the NCS with stakeholder engagement. GPD supported the process by developing and delivering a capacity building program for civil society in Belize to increase their awareness and understanding of cyber policy issues and encourage their engagement in the NCSS development process. This process also demonstrated a mechanism where two implementers were able to use their resources complimentarily for the benefit of stakeholders and direct beneficiaries. 

Outcomes

The Government of Belize launched its first National Cybersecurity Strategy 2020 – 2023 in November 2020. The Strategy emphasizes cybersecurity as a shared responsibility requiring comprehensive stakeholder cooperation and recognizes that human rights and cybersecurity are mutually reinforcing.  

Outputs

• With support from OAS/CICTE and GPD, the Belize Government produced a NCS development roadmap including a holistic stakeholder engagement plan. 

Activities

• The establishment of a multi-stakeholder NCS task force, set up under the leadership on the Government’s National Security Council Secretariat and tasked with drafting the strategy. It comprised 15 different entities, ranging from governmental stakeholders and the private sector to civil society and academia. The Task Force held around ten different meetings during the process. 
• A capacity building training, aimed at increasing awareness and building capacity of civil society actors to engage more effectively in the NCS development process. 
• Once a first draft was developed by the dedicated multi-stakeholder task force, an open online consultation was undertaken by the Government with the aim to gather stakeholder feedback on the text. The text of the first draft was published online on the Belize Crime Observatory Website. The draft was open for comments, suggestions and edits from stakeholders for three weeks. In addition to this, the government shared the strategy draft via email, inviting specific stakeholders to input. 
• A multi-stakeholder workshop aimed at presenting the NCSS draft and gathering input and feedback from stakeholders, as well as to kick off discussions around implementation of the strategy. 

Other website links

• Podcast episode “NCSS unpacked: Belize”, hosted by GPD in conversation with Ambassador Nestor Mendez, the 9th Assistant Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS); Daniel Gutierrez, Ambassador of Belize to the USA and Permanent Representative to the OAS; and Retired Colonel George Lovell, Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of National Security in Belize