Haganum Model United Nations
Gymnasium Haganum, The Hague
Research Reports
General Assembly 1
Measures to eradicate piracy in the
Gulf of Guinea
4th, 5th and 6th of March 2016
Haganum Model United Nations 2016| 4th of March – 6th of March 2016
Forum:
General Assembly 1
Issue:
Measures to eradicate piracy in the Gulf of Guinea
Student Officer: Jesper Kuppen
Position:
Chair
Introduction
Piracy is known throughout history and still known up to the present day throughout
the whole world. Most people are familiar with the phenomenon through the actions of the
infamous pirates in the Gulf of Aden, mainly coming from Somalia. However since 2011, the
Gulf of Guinea has also drawn the attention of the international community. A relatively large
number of ships, primarily carrying oil or gas, was attacked, hijacked or shot at by pirates.
Most of these incidents happened in Nigerian waters, for a lot of oil transport goes through
the international hub Lagos, Nigeria.
In 2011, the number of reported actual and attempted piracy attacks was 439,
according to the International Maritime Bureau. In 2015, this number was only 246, as a
result of successful military intervention in the Gulf of Aden, near Somalia, by organisations
such as North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the Naval Forces (NAVFOR) of the
European Union (EU). This number of actual and attempted attacks in 2015, 246, is mostly
made up of piracy attacks in South East Asia (SE Asia), of which 108 in Indonesian waters.
The number of pirate attacks in SE Asia has drastically increased since 2011, and this region
can now be seen as the ‘piracy-hotspot’ of the world. However, piracy in the Gulf of Guinea
still counts for almost a quarter of all recorded piracy attacks in the world. Moreover, the
attacks are more often successful and have more impact on economic, political and social
aspects of life in countries bordering the Gulf of Guinea.
Statistics on the kind of pirate attacks for three different regions in the world 2
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Definition of Key Terms
Piracy
The definition of piracy is, as stated in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the
Sea (INCLOS) article 101:
‘(a) any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for
private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft, and
directed:
(i) on the high seas, against another ship or aircraft, or against persons or property on
board such ship or aircraft;
(ii) against a ship, aircraft, persons or property in a place outside the jurisdiction of
any State;
(b) any act of voluntary participation in the operation of a ship or of an aircraft with
knowledge of facts making it a pirate ship or aircraft;
(c) any act of inciting or of intentionally facilitating an act described in subparagraph (a)
or (b).’1
The Gulf of Guinea
A map of the Gulf of Guinea and its surrounding countries
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Background Information
‘Within a decade, the Gulf of Guinea has become one of the most dangerous
maritime areas in the world. Maritime insecurity is a major regional problem that is
compromising the development of this strategic economic area and threatening maritime
trade in the short term and the stability of coastal states in the long term.’2
An overview map of pirate attacks from 2010-2014
An overview map of pirate
attacks from 2010-2014
2 International Crisis Group, The Gulf of Guinea: The New Danger Zone. 4
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Why is the Gulf of Guinea important and what is happening?
How come that this region is so important, and therefore definitely needs quick
responding within the upcoming years? There are four aspects that make the Gulf of Guinea
important.
Geographical location
‘It is an important maritime route for commercial shipping from Europe and America to
West, Central and Southern Africa. Its proximity to Europe and North America for the
transportation of the low-sulphur crude oil from the region further raises its importance
in the global supply of energy.’3
Society
Now this is the part where it gets more interesting, for the cause of piracy lies in the
socioeconomic circumstances in the countries surrounding the Gulf of Guinea.
Nigeria for example, has the 14th place in the Failed State Index, which means that
this country is socioeconomically seen in a (very) bad position. There is illegal oil
trade and some governmental workers and politicians act corruptly. The country also
suffers from the extremist Islamist movement Boko Haram and also has to deal with
illegal weapon trade. A major income flow for Boko Haram is the profit made from
pirate actions, and the illegal weapon trade is to supply the pirates. An important
militant organisation that illegally trades weapons is the Movement for Emancipation
of the Niger Delta (MEND). They claim to want to expose corruption and help the
poor, but at the same time carry out armed attacks and sabotage the oil industry.
The area that is most underdeveloped in Nigeria is near the Niger River Delta,
an area connected to the Gulf of Guinea. As a result of the bad circumstances in a
region like the Niger River Delta, the people turn to piracy as a way of making a living.
However, by perpetrating pirate attacks, they also further destabilize their own
countries. If this region’s development is stagnated because of piracy, then that would
not only mean poverty and misery for the countries surrounding the Gulf, but also a
lot of negative effects for the countries trading with them.
A major source of hydrocarbon resources
10% of all oil reserves in the world id situated in eight oil countries surrounding the
Gulf of Guinea. They are able, and actually do produce 5.4 million barrels of crude oil
every day. Nigeria is the biggest of these oil countries, being the 13th biggest oil
3 Kamal-­‐Deen, Conceptualization of Maritime Security and Its Application in the Gulf of Guinea. 5 RESEARCH REPORTS Haganum Model United Nations 2016| 4th of March – 6th of March 2016
producer in the world. This means that this region is quite fundamental for the energy
supply in the world. For example, the United States’ oil supply depends for 15% on
these Gulf of Guinea states. China, Japan and some European countries also import
a substantial amount of oil and gas from this region every year. The status quo, with
all the attacks and the high risk of being attacked, causes high costs for shippers.
Furthermore, ‘oil companies from the West and the East have made huge
investments in both onshore and offshore drilling, and since the region has the fastest
rate of discovery of new oil reserves in the world, it also attracts new investments for
further exploration.’4
Other resources
Besides oil and gas, this region also provides a lot of other export products to be
taken through the Gulf of Guinea. Such as wood, agricultural products and mineral
sources. Moreover, this Gulf is a large fish and marine life resource. However,
because of the fact that pirates sometimes cruise through territorial waters, so within
the 12 nautical mile zone of a country, some of the fishermen rightly felt threatened
and are there forced to stop the fishing for as long as the danger of pirates is out
there.
Major Countries and Organizations Involved
Nigeria
This country is clearly the key player in this region and therefore in this issue,
having the largest population, being the biggest oil supplier in West-Africa and having
the biggest economy of the entire African continent. Moreover, the most incidents
with pirates take place in Nigeria’s waters, even in their territorial waters. Nigeria is
expected to take the lead in solving this issue.
Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC)
This is a very important multilateral organisation in West and Central Africa. It
provides the perfect platform for working out plans against piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, in
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cooperation with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the
Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).
NATO and NAVFOR (EU)
These organisations of Western Countries have proven to be very effective in battling
piracy. Since their presence in Somalia, pirate actions have drastically decreased. These
organisations could guide and help the GGC, ECOWAS and the ECCAS towards a solution.
Timeline of Events
Date
Description of event
2007
Piracy begins to be a problem in the Gulf of Guinea.
November 2011
February 2012
November 19th,
2012
2012
UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, assembles a team to investigate
piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
The United States Navy starts training exercises with involved West
African countries.
The UN Security Council (UNSC) holds an open meeting for
representatives for more than 40 countries, to discuss piracy in the
Gulf of Guinea.
The Gulf of Guinea surpasses the Gulf of Aden as the most notorious
pirate-active area.
Relevant UN Treaties and Events
•
October 31st, 2011, S/RES/2018. This resolution officially condemns piracy in the Gulf
of Guinea. http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/UNOWA%20S%20RES%202018.pdf.
•
February 29th, 2012, S/RES/2039.
http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/UNOCA%20SRES%202039.pdf.
Previous Attempts to solve the Issue
The international community has made in the Gulf of Aden, which was infested by
mostly Somali pirates, a great deal of efforts to eradicate piracy. NATO and the EU with its
NAVFOR have sent armed marine vessels to the Gulf of Aden, and they have successfully
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driven most of the pirates there. The question one should ask oneself now is: why don’t they
just repeat this ‘trick’ in the Gulf of Guinea?
There actually are a few reasons for this. The first one is that high-ranking officers
noticed that their military personnel are not always properly trained for such warfare, for it is
very intense. Moreover, the time in the Gulf of Aden has taken its toll on the marine vessels
that were built for climates in the Mediterranean Sea.
Secondly, Western countries are reluctant of getting (more) involved in another
conflict on the African continent. Besides this, a lot of pirate actions take place in the 12
nautical miles territorial waters of countries like Nigeria, Togo and Benin. This means that
these countries are the ones to handle the problem, for it is their sovereign territory, so in
order for their sovereignty to be respected and maintained, they must address piracy within
those waters themselves.
Finally, the international community doesn’t see the same importance in this region as
they do in the Gulf of Aden. This is, of course, logical since the trade through the Gulf of
Aden is way more significant.
The African multilateral organisation GGC, ECOWAS and ECCAS have already given it quite
some attention, and they have come up with the following:
‘Supported by the United Nations, a regional initiative was launched at the Yaoundé Summit
in June 2013. Bringing together the gulf countries, as well as the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States
(ECCAS) and the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC), the summit agreed to:
•
A memorandum on maritime safety and security in Central and West Africa that set
objectives and areas of cooperation;
•
A Code of Conduct concerning the fight against piracy, armed robbery against ships,
and illicit maritime activity in West and Central Africa; and
•
The creation of the Inter-regional Coordination Centre (ICC) to implement a regional
strategy for maritime safety and security.’5
5 Thierry, Tournier, Gulf of Guinea: A Regional Solution to Piracy? 8
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The Maritime Regional Architecture in the Gulf of Guinea.
The Chain of Command in the proposed Code of Conduct, with only the CRESMAO still needing to be
created
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Possible Solutions
As seen in the Maritime Regional Architecture map above, there already has been
made a plan to distribute the battle against piracy, but the real action remains difficult up to
this date. There is a lot to be done before this Maritime Regional Architecture can be
implemented:
‘ECOWAS
•
Implementing the maritime security strategy adopted on 25 March 2014 at the
Yamoussoukro summit in Ivory Coast for the maritime cooperation zone (“Pilot zone
E”) involving Nigeria, Niger, Benin, Togo, and for the F and G zones; and the creation
of a Regional Coordination Centre for Maritime Security in West Africa (CRESMAO);
ECCAS
•
Strengthening the surveillance and intervention capacities, as well as improving
coordination between the countries of maritime cooperation zone D (Cameroon,
Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Sao Tomé and Principe); the development of
cooperation in A and B zones; and CRESMAC operationalization, which requires
sustainable financial commitment;
The ICC
•
Operationalization of the ICC center with adequate funding and personnel; and
National Prosecution
•
Adoption of national legal tools to investigate, prosecute and punish acts of piracy in
compliance with international law and the development of judicial cooperation
mechanisms between the regional countries (exchange of judicial information,
extradition agreements, etc).’6
Besides this, the international community should try to assist the African countries in
solving this issue, but they must let the African countries do it themselves. Organisations like
the ECOWAS and ECCAS should be able to tackle this kind of issues in the future as well.
Moreover, one should also look at the root of this problem: poverty and/or social
instability. People feel that they are forced to find their luck in piracy, thus (in)directly
supporting terrorist organisations like Boko Haram and militant organisations as MEND. Find
ways to improve welfare in the Gulf of Guinea region, and the problem will most likely solve
itself over the long-term.
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Bibliography
Appendix or Appendices
I.
"The Gulf of Guinea: The New Danger Zone." International Crisis Group. International
Crisis Group, 27 July 2015. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.
http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/africa/west-africa/195-the-gulf-of-guinea-thenew-danger-zone.aspx .
II.
"The Ungoverned Seas." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 29 Nov. 2014.
Web. 05 Feb 2016. http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-andafrica/21635049-waters-around-somalia-are-calmer-piracy-west-africa-rising.
III.
Ali, Kamal-Deen. "Conceptualization of Maritime Security and Its Application in the
Gulf of Guinea." Maritime Security Cooperation in the Gulf of Guinea (n.d.): 57-87.
Chatham House. The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Mar. 2013. Web. 05 Feb.
2016.
https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/public/Research/Africa/0312
confreport_maritimesecurity.pdf .
IV.
MarEx. "2014: Gulf of Guinea Piracy Declines 18%." The Maritime Executive. The
Maritime Executive, 27 Jan. 2015. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. http://www.maritimeexecutive.com/article/2014-gulf-of-guinea-piracy-declines-18 .
V.
"CGG - GGC -." CGG GGC. Gulf of Guinea Commission, n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2016.
http://cggrps.org/ .
VI.
Osinowo, Adeniyi A. "Combating Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea." Dryad Maritime. N.p.,
27 Feb. 2015. Web. 06 Feb. 2016. http://www.dryadmaritime.com/combating-piracygulf-guinea/ .
VII.
Steffen, Dirk. "Essay: Quantifying Piracy Trends in the Gulf of Guinea - Who's Right
and Who's Wrong? - USNI News." USNI News. USNI News, 19 June 2015. Web. 06
Feb. 2016. http://news.usni.org/2015/06/19/essay-quantifying-piracy-trends-in-thegulf-of-guinea-whos-right-and-whos-wrong .
VIII.
Vircoulon, Thierry, and Violette Tournier. "Gulf of Guinea: A Regional Solution to
Piracy?" Gulf of Guinea: A Regional Solution to Piracy? | Crisis Group. International
Crisis Group, 4 Sept. 2014. Web. 06 Feb. 2016.
http://blog.crisisgroup.org/africa/2014/09/04/gulf-of-guinea-a-regional-solution-topiracy/ .
IX.
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"IMB: Maritime Piracy Hotspots Persist Worldwide despite Reductions in Key Areas."
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International Chamber of Commerce. International Chamber of Commerce, 02 Feb.
2016. Web. 06 Feb. 2016. https://icc-ccs.org/news/1154-imb-maritime-piracyhotspots-persist-worldwide-despite-reductions-in-key-areas .
X.
Osinowo, Adeniyi A. "Combating Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea." AFRICA SECURITY
BRIEF (2015): n. pag. Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme. The
Africa Center for Strategic Studies, 30 Feb. 2015. Web. 06 Feb. 2016.
http://www.mphrp.org/publications/ASB-30-Feb-2015-Combating-Piracy-in-GoG.pdf .
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