How can the cybersecurity technology sector be subject to democratic regulation, particularly export, development and deployment of dual-use technology in the Middle East and North Africa? The goal of this session is to strategize on the work of the coalition to end the sales of surveillance technology to the MENA region (co-lead by Access Now and GCHR). The two main goals of the coalition are: documenting cases of human rights defenders and activists whose privacy and safety are compromised; and engaging in high-level policymaking with international mechanisms in accounting for violations committed using dual use technology.

As the contours of digital surveillance change, the coalition needs to strategize in ways that make concrete steps to uphold governments and private companies involved accountable. The coalition strategy to be developed in this session will be informed by conversation with technical experts, legal experts, journalists, and human rights defenders and experts to reflect the multiple facets of accountability of dual use technology sales, development and deployment.

1) The session will be designed to be participatory by asking participants to name the key issues they that should be tackled in this session. The facilitator will then group these suggestions thematically and take a cue from participants to proceed. As a participatory session, the facilitator will keep encouraging the main speakers to take reflections from participants and for participants to hold the speakers accountable so to deliver on the key issue identified earlier. 2) If the session is going to be hybrid, the facilitator will take reflections and inputs alternating and dividing time between online and on-site participants. The facilitator has a key role in prompting speakers to address participants on both ends. 3) Participants attending online and/or on-site will be encourage to use digital collaborative tools such as Etherpad to collate their identified key issues, reflections, and recommendations for actions. Participants will be also encouraged to make use of chats to connect with participants in the same room (virtually and on-site) so that the whole group interacts together.