The United Nations Security Council has not extended UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2608 (2021) which, among other measures, allowed for the fight against piracy and armed robbery of International Forces at sea within Somalia’s territorial waters (TTW).
The Council stressed that these activities exacerbated instability by introducing “illicit money that fuels crime, corruption and terrorism”. In the rest of its wide area of operations, EU NAVFOR ATALANTA will continue to fulfil its missions, providing Maritime Security in the Western Indian Ocean.
Operation ATALANTA remains committed to the respect the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and will continue countering piracy in the high seas, protecting the World Food Programme (WFP) and other vulnerable vessels, countering drugs trafficking, contributing to the implementation of the weapons’ embargo on Somalia and monitoring other illicit activities at sea, such as the illegal export of charcoal and monitoring illegal, unreported and unregistered (IUU) fishing
said EU NAVFOR.
Over the past 13 years, EU NAVFOR ATALANTA has demonstrated commitment and dedication to achieve mandated objectives throughout the area of operations. Some of the most impressive figures of the Operation include:
- 171 suspected pirates transferred to the regional authorities in view of their prosecution;
- More than 2.3 million tons of humanitarian aid delivered by WFP vessels escorted or monitored by EU NAVFOR ATALANTA;
- Levels of voluntary registration of commercial shipping to our Maritime Security Center near to 90% in the Gulf of Aden.
Today, 19 Nations make a decisive contribution to the operation, with 16 EU member states together with Colombia, Montenegro and Serbia.
Recently, the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) agreed to change its name to the Contact Group on Illicit Maritime Activities in the Western Indian Ocean, after it was decided that piracy off the coast of Somalia was now virtually non-existent.
The choice for the CGPCS waseither to disband itself or find something else to do. The CGPCS was created in 2009 after a UN resolution to coordinate political, military, industry and non-governmental efforts to end piracy along the Somali coast. The Contact Group has over 80 member organizations, drawn from governments, NGOs and shipping companies.
