2.57 The Council of Europe is the senior European regional organisation with 47 member countries. It has long taken an active role in crime matters, notably through its European Committee on Crime Problems. Apart from the Budapest Convention, and its Protocol concerning the criminalisation of acts of a racist and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems, it has conventions on Corruption; on the Prevention of Terrorism; on Money Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism, on the Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse of Children, and a wide range of treaties on international co-operation in criminal matters. 2.58 Other regional bodies have recognised the importance of cybercrime, for example in the Regional Crime and Security Strategy adopted by the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM (the Caribbean Community) in February 2013, and in the deliberations of the Committee of Representatives of Governments and Administrations of the Pacific Community in 2011. 2.59 There are close links between many of these bodies and a number have formal bilateral memoranda of understanding to avoid duplication. The future role of the Commonwealth Secretariat 2.60 The Group recommends that the Commonwealth Secretariat should in managing the CCI and in its more general work on such matters as money-laundering and terrorism, without necessarily duplicating effort, continue its role in the development of capacity within the Commonwealth to combat cybercrime, and continue to collaborate with other international and regional organisations to provide and/or facilitate technical assistance in this field to member states. 2.61 There is a growing body of expertise in combating cybercrime, but for the reasons set out in Part 1 it must be kept up to date, and duplication must be avoided. The Group believes that there would be value in a virtual community within the Commonwealth to share information and exchange views and act as a repository of best practices and lessons learned. The Commonwealth Connects programme, already used in the context of the CCI, could play a role in this virtual community and the possibility of working in collaboration with other organisations should always be kept in mind. Close co-operation within the Commonwealth should never imply barriers to co-operation with countries and organisations with regional or global mandates. RECOMMENDATIONS 5. The Group recommends that Commonwealth countries should be encouraged to bring their laws into line with the Commonwealth Model Law and the Harare Scheme (as revised). 6. The Group recommends that Commonwealth countries should be encouraged (i) to accede, where practicable to the Budapest Convention44; and/or (ii) where they can do so without prejudicing other forms of co-operation, to consider becoming Party to any regional and/or international cybercrime conventions and participating in other initiatives to ensure co-ordinated 44 In view of the continuing work of the open-ended expert group on cybercrime established by the General Assembly, UNODC cannot endorse this part of the Recommendation. 38