Mari%me(Security(and(Piracy(in(the(Horn(of( Africaand(the...
Transcript of Mari%me(Security(and(Piracy(in(the(Horn(of( Africaand(the...
Mari%me Security and Piracy in the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Guinea
BITSE EKOMO CHRISTOPHE BERTRAND, UN-‐NFFP Fellow 2007-‐2008
UN-‐NF Africa Alumni Mee%ng Nairobi, 11 – 15 july 2011
http://www.fiftiz.fr/actualite/nouvelobs/l-otan-capture-sept-pirates-au-large-de-la-somalie,17342.html
Acts of mari%me piracy in the world
Source: Piraterie et terrorisme : de nouveaux défis sécuritaires en Afrique Centrale Presses Universitaires d’Afrique, Yaoundé, pp. 29 et 79
Somalian coasts (Horn of Africa)
Source : Christian Ménard, Rapport d’information de la Commission de la Défense nationale et des forces armées sur la piraterie maritime, Assemblée Nationale française, 2009, p. 103
The Gulf of Guinea
Source : Christian Ménard, Rapport d’information de la Commission de la Défense nationale et des forces armées sur la piraterie maritime, Assemblée Nationale française, 2009, p. 104
Introduc%on
Mari%me Security: all the rules, condi%ons, procedures and
prac%ces essen%al to a healthy Naviga%on
Piracy consists of any of the following acts (Art. 101 of the UNCLOS) :
a) Any illegal acts of violence or deten%on, or any act of depreda%on, commi\ed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a
private aircra], and directed: on the high seas, against another ship or aircra], or against persons or property on board such ship or
aircra] ; against a ship, aircra], persons or property in a
place outside the jurisdic%on of any State;
b) any act of voluntary par%cipa%on in the opera%on of a ship or of an aircra] with knowledge of facts making it a pirate ship or aircra] ;
c) Any act of inci%ng or of inten%onally facilita%ng an act described in subparagraph (a) or (b).
I-‐Piracy in the Horn of Africa and Guinea: a threat to mari%me security in these regions
A-‐ An unlawful prac%ce condemned by the Law
1. A viola%on of the fundamental principles of freedom of the seas (Gro%us , Mare liberum c / Selden, Mare clausum)
a. Freedom of mari%me naviga%on b. Freedom of the movement of people and goods (principle of interna%onal law of human rights, see Universal Declara%on of Human Rights of 10 December 1948. Ar%cles 3 and 13 c. Freedom of communica%on and trade (Principle of Interna%onal Economic Law)
2. The state of the phenomenon in the Gulf of Aden and Guinea
a. some sta%s%cs
Acts of piracy off the Cameroonian coasts
Sta4s4cs for 2009
Source: Piraterie et terrorisme: de nouveaux défis sécuritaires en Afrique Centrale,Presses Universitaires d’Afrique, 2010, pp. 81-82
b) Causes of the phenomenon , actors, targets, modes of opera%on
B. A phenomenon with disastrous consequences
1. The impact of piracy on the fishing ac%vi%es (Restricted fishing zone: before the increase of piracy in somalian coasts, some fishing ac%vi%es including those of the French tuna fishermen were taking place within 200 nau%cal miles, now the French government banned fishing within 300 miles of the coast of Somalia. This represents a loss of at least 500 tons of catch per year
2. The poten%al impact on mari%me traffic Considering a new route Asia-‐Middle East-‐ Europe (the shortest and most widely used by ships) through South Africa, it would take at least 14 days more for a ship to navigate from Asia to Europe and vice versa, to reach its des%na%on. In terms of fuel, it would cost 2, 7 million dollars for a container carrier
3. The effect on oil opera%ons
In the Gulf of Guinea, par%cularly in Nigeria, a\acks have led to a 25% decline in domes%c produc%on, a loss es%mated at $ 64 million per year
3. Economic and financial losses (Loss of earnings resul%ng from the deten%on of ships; ransom requested by pirates)
II-‐The scope of security measures against mari%me piracy in the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of
Guinea
A-‐The diversity of measures against piracy
1. The general legal framework of the treatment of piracy
a. Interna%onal Conven%ons
• The Conven%on of Montego Bay (A restric%ve approach to piracy, lack of means of repression, cases systema%cally referred to State tribunals)
• The Rome Conven%on of 10 March 1988 or the Conven%on for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Security of Mari%me Naviga%on (SUA) and its addi%onal protocols of 2005
(Although this Conven%on refers specifically to terrorist acts, acts of piracy, however, are an integral part. Indeed the art. 3 of the Conven%on applies to any person who seizes a ship or exercises control by force or threat of violence, performs an act of violence against a person on board a ship if that act is likely to endanger the safe naviga%on of the ship, destroys a ship or cause to a ship or its cargo damage that is likely to endanger the safe naviga%on of the ship, place on a ship a device to destroy the ship, or cause damage to the ship that compromise the safety of naviga%on of the ship. The Conven%on also prohibits inten%onally communica%ng false informa%on likely to compromise the safety of naviga%on, etc. It also sets a basis for arrest, deten%on and extradi%on of the perpetrators of the acts listed above.)
• The Interna%onal Code for Ships and Ports Facility Security (ISPS) of 10 December 2002 adopted by the IMO to encourage regional coopera%on par%cularly in this area
(Adopted a]er the events of September 11, 2001 in the United States, the Code sets out rules that reduce the risk of terrorism faced by ships)
b. The internal law of States
(Very li\le legisla%on on piracy in the Law of these States, an assimila%on of acts of piracy to common law)
2. The opera%onal solu%ons: efficiency,
constraints and limita%ons
a. In the Gulf of Aden
• The mobiliza%on of naval powers affected by the a\acks of piracy (France, Russia, China, Japan, etc.)
• The involvement of the Security Council / UN (Resolu%ons 1814, 1816, 1831, 1846, 1851 March 15, June 2, October 7, December 2 and December 16, 2008)
• European initiatives (EUNAVFOR Atalanta, December 8, 2008)
This military operation of the European Union is based on the above-mentioned Resolutions of the Security Council. Its mandate is to:
Provide protection to vessels chartered by WFP; To protect merchant ships sailing in the area; Monitor areas off the coast of Somalia (also territorial waters) preenting dangers to maritime activities; Take necessary measures, including the use of force, to deter, prevent and take action against piracy
(This has helped to reduce piracy in the area, but the large extent of the area - about 2 million km2 - further limits the overall coverage of these transactions and pirates are now trying to move their activities to other maritime sectors)
• Other naval operations are also deployed in the area: among others,
Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 established to monitor and stop terrorist
entities in support of the “Operation Enduring Freedom” coordinated by the
American fleet
b. In the Gulf of Guinea
• Na%onal responses (In Cameroon, Galilee Opera%on and crea%on of BIR)
• The sub-‐regional ini%a%ves (Adop%on a]er the Summit of Heads of State of CEEAC held in Oct. 2009 in Kinshasa of a "strategy for securing vital interests at sea in the Gulf States States of the Gulf of Guinea" Signature of a protocol for the establishment in Pointe Noire (Congo) of a Coordina%on Centre for Marine Security in Central Africa (CRESMAC)
• The solu%ons proposed by the Western powers (intermi\ent presence of warships, provision of training of seafarers)
Mission of the French warship BPC Tonnerre, with experts on board, for a discussion on "securing the mari%me and commercial ac%vi%es", Douala port (March 2009);
Mission of the U.S. Navy at the Douala port in March 2010 called the “African Partnership Sta%on”, whose objec%ve was to train instructors on unlawful traffic commi\ed on sea ;
B-‐The problema%c issues of interven%on against piracy
• 1. The outstanding legal ques%ons
a. The ques%on of legality of military interven%on in Somalian waters a]er authorized period ;
b. The extension of police powers of the State on the high seas and confusion with the military ac%ons involved in the fight against piracy (what about the procedure to incriminate pirates?)
c. Arrests of pirates, choice of jurisdic%on and place of incarcera%on: current status of agreements signed with the States in the region to host and judge the pirates (Somalia, Agreement between the EU and Kenya in March 2009, Seychelles)
2. The issue of sovereignty of the States of the area facing Western interven%on
a. The bracke%ng of the sovereignty of Somalia through the authoriza%on of a hot pursuit in the territorial waters and the land territory of Somalia
b. The fight against piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, an alibi for Geo and petro strategy of Western States (The will to establish AFRICOM in the area)
conclusion
Prospec%ve response to a medium-‐term and sustainable solu%on:
-‐ solidarity between African countries against this challenge, including all the other challenges facing the con%nent; -‐ Try, as well as possible, to implement joint decisions taken (poli%cal will); -‐ Adop%on of an addi%onal instrument to specify a number of ques%ons that remain open in the framework of the UNCLOS; -‐ Build on the success of some regional ini%a%ves on mari%me security (case in the Strait of Malacca); -‐ Establish an African School of the Coast Guard; -‐ For a sustainable solu%on, find solu%ons to the causes of piracy.
Thank you!