former British Empire.76 COMSEC facilitates cooperation between members, organizes meetings, assists and advises on policy development and provides assistance in implementing decisions and policies of the Commonwealth.77 In its 2014 Report to Commonwealth Law Ministers, COMSEC provides that “cybercrime” is not a defined legal category but rather a label that has been applied to a range of illicit activities associated with ICT and computer networks.78 The Report also categorizes cybercrime in a binary fashion: 1 New, criminal offences covering conduct that is harmful to ICT; and 2  Traditional crimes committed using, or affected by, ICT.79 C. African Union Established in 200080 with the vision of “[an] integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in global arena”,81 the AU plays an important role in international cooperation. The AU is part of a series of initiatives going back to 1980 that had the continent’s economic and social development as their quest.82 In 2014, the AU adopted its Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection.83 The tripartite Convention speaks to electronic transactions, personal data protection and promoting cyber security and combatting cybercrime.84 The AU Convention classifies cybercriminal offenses in two: 1 Offences specific to ICT85; and 2 ICT-adapted offenses.86 D. Economic Community of West African States Founded in 1975, ECOWAS is a regional group of fifteen West African countries87 headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria with the mandate of promoting economic integration among its constituents.88 An important regional bloc, ECOWAS is one the five regional pillars of the African Economic Community (AEC).89 In working towards that integration, ECOWAS has considered the matter of cybercrime, and has produced its “Directive on Fighting Cyber Crime within ECOWAS”.90 The ECOWAS Directive categorizes cybercrimes in a binary manner: 1 New crimes; and 2 Traditional, ICT-adapted crimes.91 Page 74 | Chapter 2 | § A. Working Definition of Cybercrime Table of Contents