States around the western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden have reiterated their commitment to working together to address common maritime security threats in the region.
The Signatory States to the Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCoC) and its Jeddah Amendment concerning the security of the western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden were meeting at the Seventh High-level Meeting on the implementation of the Djibouti Code of Conduct/Jeddah Amendment, in Dar Es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania (28-30 November). The meeting brought together high-level stakeholders to discuss how to continue to work together to protect the region from piracy, armed robbery against ships and other illicit maritime activities.
The Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCoC)/ Jeddah Amendment
The Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCoC) concerning the Repression of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden was adopted in 2009.
Since 2010, IMO has been supporting Djibouti Code of Conduct participating States to develop their maritime law enforcement capability to counter piracy and other threats to safety and security of navigation.
The Jeddah Amendment, adopted in 2017, extends the scope of the Code, calling on the signatory States to cooperate to the fullest possible extent to repress transnational organized crime in the maritime domain, maritime terrorism, illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing and other illegal activities at sea.
The pillars of the DCoC are:
- regional training
- national legislation
- information sharing
- capacity building
- coordination
The meeting decided to establish a working group on operational cooperation and coordination at sea. The resolution establishing the Working Group recognized that the successful implementation of the DCoC and its Jeddah Amendment needs a whole-of-government approach, making full use of all of the competences, skills and capabilities of national authorities, both civilian and military. Agencies working together and sharing capabilities act as a “force multiplier”, increasing effective results while reducing costs to signatory States’ taxpayers.
The Participants also recognized the potential of national, regional and international naval forces to assist maritime law enforcement agencies and regulatory bodies to carry out their duties. This will require close cooperation, coordination and communication between navies, law enforcement and civilian authorities and the Regional Coordination Operations Centre; and between navies themselves at the national, regional and international levels. It will also require consistency and compliance with national legislation and international law.
Vessels of interest (VOI) database
The participants agreed to establish a regionally owned, shared vessels of interest (VOI) database, primarily to assist in countering illicit activities in the maritime domain.
The meeting was opened by IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez, who drew attention to the need for all parties to work in cooperation, to develop meaningful action plans, to implement those action plans and to be able to demonstrate concrete success in order to secure further support in the future.
The High-Level Meeting was convened jointly by IMO with the United Republic of Tanzania and supported by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). The meeting was chaired by Dr. Lufunyo S. Hussein (United Republic of Tanzania) and co-chaired by Mr. Metse Ralephenya (Republic of South Africa and Chair of DCoC/JA ).
It was attended by participants from 17 DCoC countries, as well as implementing partners from 20 States; and organizations, including CRIMARIO II, European Union, European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) OP ATALANTA, European Union Capacity Building Mission in Somalia (EUCAP – Somalia), Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), INTERPOL, INTERPORTPOLICE, Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Regional Coordination of Operations Centre (RCOC), Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC), United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization (UKMTO), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and SKYLIGHT.
DCoC/JA National Focal Points meeting
Signatory States of the Djibouti Code of Conduct convened a meeting of the DCoC/JA National Focal Points (29 November). The Participants raised concerns about the growing threats in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and western Indian Ocean, and agreed to highlight and keep these areas of concern in focus while making efforts to find regional solutions to mitigate them. They highlighted the need to expedite the operationalization of the Regional Information Sharing Network (ISN) to enhance awareness of threats and boost response capabilities.
Friends of the DCoC Meeting
In its parallel meeting, the Friends of the DCOC – which includes organizations and States that have shown demonstrable capabilities in support of the work of the DCoC(JA) – proposed improvement to the DCOC Capacity Building Matrix, to make it a more effective tool for matching regional States’ needs with development partners’ assistance programmes.
The Friends of the DCOC also considered how to enhance information sharing, capability development, capacity building, and operational coordination.
