MANDATORY REGISTRATION OF SIM CARD : INTERPLAY BEWTEEN CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, STATE SURVELLANCE, CYBERSECURITY AND FRAUD PREVENTION.
This is the second time the National Communication Authority (NCA) is undertaking a mandatory registration of SIM cards. The first time I wrote about its impact on Universal Access Obligations of the State as per the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) perspective for which Ghana is a proud member. I am compelled this time to do so again but from a legal perspective, both International and Constitutional. Under Article 17, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 (ICCPR,1996) “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person” and “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful inference with his privacy , family, home or correspondence , nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation” and “Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks” . Under Article 4, African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) “Human beings are inviolable. Every human being shall be entitled to respec