STATEMENT BY MARTHA AMA AKYAA POBEE, SPECIAL REREPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFING
New York
21 JUNE 2023
I thank you, Madam President, for this opportunity to brief the Security Council on maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.
Since my previous briefing to the Council on this subject in November 2022 (see S/PV.9198), instances of piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea have continued to steadily decline. That decrease, which began in April 2021, is due to the significant efforts of national authorities, who bear the primary responsibility for countering piracy and armed robbery at sea in the region, and the support of regional and international partners. Regular naval patrols by Gulf of Guinea coastal States and the systematic deployment of naval assets by international partners have together continued to serve as an effective deterrent against the actions of criminal groups.
Another key factor that has contributed to that positive trend is the ongoing operationalization of the interregional maritime security mechanism, the Yaoundé Architecture, which was established following the signing of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct in 2013. We welcome the steady progress made by the Gulf of Guinea States and subregional organizations, notably the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Gulf of Guinea Commission, with the active support of international partners, towards operationalizing key pillars of the Architecture over the past 10 years. Specifically, four out of the five Multinational Maritime Coordination Centres have been successfully activated. They comprise all three planned Multinational Maritime Coordination Centres in the ECOWAS maritime space, covering zones E, F and G, and one out of the two projected Multinational Maritime Coordination Centres, in zone D, of the ECCAS maritime space.
The operationalization of the Yaoundé Architecture, although not fully completed, has also significantly increased maritime security cooperation in the Gulf of Guinea. More specifically, it has resulted in enhanced information-sharing among all the parties concerned, as well as a simplified process for disseminating actionable maritime security-related information with relevant stakeholders, including with the naval assets of international partners deployed to the region. In addition, it has facilitated the efficient use of limited naval assets through the formation of joint naval task groups. That effective pooling of the resources of Gulf of Guinea States has enabled the bridging of national and regional capacity gaps, while ensuring the interoperability of maritime assets.
As we reflect on the laudable achievements and progress made over the past 10 years, we urge increased support to address the several challenges and gaps holding back the full operationalization of the Yaoundé Architecture. They include insufficient staffing across various layers of the interregional maritime security architecture, including at the Interregional Coordination Centre, as well as a lack of appropriate equipment and logistical support across the structures and a lack of predictable and sustainable financing. Rapidly addressing the challenges that hamper the full operationalization of the Yaoundé Architecture is critical to maintaining current gains, as piracy incidents continue to threaten the safety of maritime traffic in the region. Recent figures already suggest that incidents are steadily shifting from the waters of ECOWAS towards the ECCAS maritime domain.
In the light of those developments and in keeping with resolution 2634 (2022), I encourage ECCAS, ECOWAS, the Gulf of Guinea Commission and the Interregional Coordination Centre, in their central role as custodians of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct, to bolster efforts towards the review of the status of its operationalization. The review will be essential for galvanizing the further support and inputs needed to accelerate the process. In that regard, we take note that the upcoming fourth annual meeting of senior officials of the Interregional Coordination Centre, to be held in Abuja, with the participation of the Gulf of Guinea Commission, ECOWAS and ECCAS, will include a discussion on the tenth anniversary of the Yaoundé process and the way forward.
The United Nations system is committed to providing the necessary political and technical assistance to the Gulf of Guinea States in their efforts to fully operationalize the Yaoundé maritime security architecture. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) continues to assist in the implementation of the provisions of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct, including through the harmonization of coordination and response mechanisms to maritime insecurity. Technical and logistic support is provided for the conduct of joint patrols in ECOWAS zones E, F and G, in an effort to address challenges associated with the lack of adequate material and other logistical difficulties, which is currently hindering the establishment of the envisioned naval task groups and the conduct of joint patrols.
In line with their respective mandates to enhance regional and subregional partnerships to address cross-border and cross-cutting threats to peace and security, UNOWAS and the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) , at the request of the Interregional Coordination Centre, have also developed an interregional project aimed at supporting the Centre to conduct the review of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct to assess the status of the operationalization of the Yaoundé Architecture. UNOCA, UNOWAS and UNODC continue to engage and coordinate their efforts with the Group of Seven Plus Plus Group of Friends of the Gulf of Guinea, as well as with ECOWAS, ECCAS and the Gulf of Guinea Commission, and are committed to further supporting regional initiatives to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct.
In conclusion, I wish to note that any reflection on, and review of, the Yaoundé Code of Conduct must include a focus on three key issues.
The first is the legal framework. The criminalization of acts of piracy and the establishment of universal jurisdiction over such acts under national law, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982, remains necessary to address the threat posed by piracy. It is therefore vital that all signatory parties continue their efforts to update their legal frameworks, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and any other complementary international and regional legal frameworks.
Secondly, there is the importance of addressing the root causes of piracy, as outlined in the Secretary-General’s report of November 2022 (S/2022/818). To effectively eliminate the threat posed by piracy and armed robbery at sea, national stakeholders, regional and subregional organizations and international partners should also actively seek to address the underlying social, economic and environmental challenges that underpin the recruitment of individuals into maritime criminal networks. Without traction on that front, the overall progress in curbing that menace will be limited. In that regard, once the review process has been launched it will be important for it to include a focus on prevention. In connection with that, it will first be necessary to consider ways of enhancing more participatory, community-based engagements in the Architecture, and secondly of generating sex-disaggregated data on the impact of maritime crime on women, girls, men and boys in order to better inform policy options and actions.
Thirdly, it cannot be emphasized enough that enhanced coordination between the signatory parties, the Interregional Coordination Centre, the Gulf of Guinea Commission, ECOWAS and ECCAS remains vital. We look to their joint leadership in defining a strategic outlook and road map for the next decade to complete the operationalization of the Yaoundé Architecture. We call on willing partners to provide the requisite support to those regional efforts