Pacific nations unite to strengthen cybercrime laws against growing digital threats

Pacific Island countries are stepping up efforts to combat cybercrime, with legal experts from across the region meeting in Fiji to develop a landmark framework aimed at strengthening cybercrime laws and boosting regional defences against growing digital threats.

The Pacific Islands Law Officers Network (PILON) Cybercrime Legislation Implementation Handbook Subcommittee is holding its third in-person meeting in Nadi to finalise a regional handbook designed to help countries strengthen their legal responses to cybercrime.

The meeting has brought together senior legal representatives from Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Samoa, Nauru, the Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Australia, alongside experts from the Council of Europe.

Opening the meeting yesterday, Acting Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Siromi Turaga said the handbook would help Pacific countries build stronger legal frameworks to tackle cybercrime and protect communities, economies and institutions.

“We are all dedicated to a shared and vital cause: safeguarding our digital borders and strengthening the rule of law across our Blue Pacific Continent,” Mr Turaga said.

“The handbook elevates Pacific voices and the work will protect our communities, secure our economies and empower our legal systems for generations to come.”

Mr Turaga said the initiative complemented Fiji's efforts to strengthen digital governance through the National Digital Strategy 2025-2030, the National Cybersecurity and Resilience Strategy 2026-2031 and the Cybercrime Act 2021.

He also highlighted Fiji's accession to the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime and the country's signing of the United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime last December as evidence of its commitment to tackling cyber threats through international co-operation.

Tonga Attorney-General and PILON Cybercrime Working Group chair Linda Folaumoetu'i said the handbook would serve as a practical guide for countries at different stages of developing and enforcing cybercrime laws.

“It is a handbook that will enable those who are a little further behind to catch up quickly and become part of the international and regional effort to combat cybercrime,” Ms Folaumoetu’i said.

She said work on the handbook began in 2024 after the PILON Cybercrime Working Group identified the need for practical guidance to support countries in developing, implementing and effectively using cybercrime legislation.

The handbook will cover policy development, legislative drafting and implementation, and is expected to be finalised before the 2026 PILON Annual Meeting.