The ESCWA Cyber Legislation Digest stakeholders interact and exchange knowledge during and after the implementation of the project. 5.2 Research The research conducted by ESCWA encompassed the following areas:      5.3 Reviewing the experiences and activities of international organisations such as the EU, ITU, etc. Reviewing the experiences and activities of Arab based organisations and ESCWA member countries. Information from various legislations issued by Western countries such as the USA, France, Belgium, Switzerland, etc. Reviewing key cyber related jurisprudential references in Arabic and other languages. Referencing ESCWA studies related to cyber legislation for specific member countries in particular. The Different Approaches Considered ESCWA considered the following three approaches to tackling the implementation of cyber legislation in its member countries and the Arab region. The first approach was to draft a specific legal framework for each cyberspace issue. The second approach was to modify existing and applicable laws (this approach would be applicable in some cases only). These laws could be adjusted through the addition of articles or sections that regularize laws relating to cyberspace. The third approach was to draft unified and consolidated laws that cover the various issues in cyberspace, in such a manner as to create a single law categorized into classes of issues in cyberspace. ESCWA eventually adopted the first approach after the re-categorization of the various issues under the six compatible directives. 5.4 The Six Directives: Consolidating Cyberspace Issues ESCWA’s initial research resulted in identifying a large number of cyberspace related facilities, activities, components and issues:      Electronic transactions; E-Commerce; The protection of personal data; Cybercrime; Electronic communication; 26

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