UNOWAS Organizes Workshop on Combating Threats to Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea

The United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) recently organized a workshop on maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea. The theme of the workshop was “Strengthening the Adjudicative and Enforcement Jurisdiction of states in the fight against Maritime Crimes in the Golf of Guinea through adherence to relevant International Maritime Organization (IMO) and African Union (AU) instruments”.

The workshop, which brought together experts, academics and government representatives from various countries in the sub-region, as well as from the United Nations system, aimed to sensitize ECOWAS Member States on the importance of ratifying the relevant maritime security instruments, and incorporating them into national legislation in order to strengthen judicial authority in the fight against maritime insecurity

In his opening remarks, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel, Khatir Mahamat Saleh ANNADIF, stressed the importance of information sharing among relevant actors to ensure vigilance against incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea.

“We are deeply concerned about the potential synergies between transnational maritime crime and trafficking networks in Sahelian and coastal countries,” said Mr. Khatir Mahamat Saleh ANNADIF, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel.

He also referred to the role played by UNOWAS and UNOCA in conducting advocacy work and good offices missions with regional partners, namely ECOWAS, ECCAS and the Gulf of Guinea Commission.

During the different sessions, participants discussed a series of issues and themes related to maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea, and relevant means to strengthen the implementation and adherence of ECOWAS Member States to the legal framework.

The workshop concluded with a series of recommendations:

• Build the capacity of African States to domesticate relevant legal instruments such as the 2005 SUA Convention and the Lomé Charter.
• States are encouraged to address the discrepancies in the 2013 Yaoundé Code of Conduct as a matter of urgency..
• States are encouraged to address other types of Maritime crimes, notably drug trafficking,  and Unreported and Unregulated fishing(IUU).  which continue to threaten peace, security, and development in the sub- region.
• UNOWAS to continue to engage with the G7++ FoGG forum along with UNOCA, UNODC, ECOWAS, ECAAS and GGC to assess the implementation of the Yaoundé Architecture.

The fight against maritime insecurity requires a holistic approach, combining kinetic and non-kinetic elements. In addition to the deployment of operational forces, the judicial authorities of the States must be given the means to better prosecute the perpetrators of crimes and to put an end to impunity.