Naval Response
No activity planned or implemented.
Industry Response
No activity planned or implemented.
Plight of Seafarers
In UNGA resolution 66/231 (5 April 2012), the Assembly expressed their grave concern at the threats piracy and armed robbery at sea pose to the safety and welfare of seafarers and other persons (para 86).
Messaging and Advocacy
No activity planned or implemented.
Regional Capacity
No activity planned or implemented.
Somali Capacity
No activity planned or implemented.
Rule of Law
UN General Assembly resolutions 55/7 (27 February 2001), 59/24 (4 February 2005), 60/30 (8 March 2006), and 64/71 (12 March 2010) emphasize the importance of reporting acts of piracy and sharing information between states affected by piracy and call upon states to facilitate the apprehension and prosecution of suspected pirates, and urge all states to adopt national legislation to combat piracy and armed robbery at sea. The first major resolution against piracy, UNGA resolution 54/31, which concerned law of the sea, was adopted on 24 November 1999. On 8 June 2000, the Secretary-General of the IMO wrote the Secretary-General of the UN (A/55/311), asking that the UNGA address the issue of the proliferation of piracy. On 1 May 2002, the Secretary-General transmitted IMO Assembly resolution A.922(22) (29 November 2001), Code of Practice for the Investigation of the Crimes of Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships, to the members of the UNGA. UNGA resolution 66/231 (5 April 2012), along with resolutions 65/37 A (7 December 2010) and 65/37 B (4 April 2011) emphasises the importance of information sharing, urges states to work with IMO to supress piracy (para 84), encourage states to implement international law and national laws to facilitate the prosecution of pirates (para 85), and asks states to take multilateral action to address the financing and facilitating of piracy (para 89), along with recognizing IMO circular (MSC.1/Circ.1404), Guidelines for flag state and other authorities to assist investigators to collect evidence after a hijack, released after the May 2011 Working Group 1 meeting during the IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC89) conference in London. The UNGA supports the Best Management Practice (v4) as drafted by the IMO and the shipping industry (MSC 89/25/Add.4, annex 29), along with the Djibouti Code of Conduct (IMO C 102/14, annex, attachment 1), which has been signed by 20 of the 21 eligible states. The UNGA has urge all states to implement resolution A.1026(26), adopted on 2 December 2009, and has called on states to become parties to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (UN Treaty series, vol 1678, No 29004) in their resolution dated 5 April 2012 (A/RES/66/231).
Coordination
The UNGA has coordinated their counter-piracy initiatives with the UNSC and notes the adoption by the Security Council of resolutions 1816 (2008) of 2 June 2008, 1838 (2008) of 7 October 2008, 1846 (2008) of 2 December 2008, 1851 (2008) of 16 December 2008, 1897 (2009) of 30 November 2009,1918 (2010) of 27 April 2010, 1950 (2010) of 23 November 2010, 1976 (2011) of 11 April 2011, 2015 (2011) of 24 October 2011, and 2020 (2011) of 22 November 2011, as well as the statements by the President of the Security Council of 25 August 2010 (S/PRST/2010/16) and of 11 May 2011 (S/PRST/2011/10) and also notes that the authorization in resolution 1816 (2008), and the provisions in resolutions 1838 (2008), 1846 (2008), 1851 (2008), 1897 (2009), 1950 (2010), and 2020 (2011) apply only to the situation in Somalia and do not affect the rights, obligations or responsibilities of Member States under international law.
