Safeguarding the Seas

By+Kamailoudini+Tagba

IT happened more than a year ago but for the maritime industry， the scars of the five-day ordeal still remain unhealed， continuing to impact activities in the Gulf of Guinea. In January 2015， pirates commandeered a Chinese-owned fishing vessel， FV Lu Rong Yuan Yu 917， and forced most of the crew， predominantly Ghanaians， to jump overboard. Four people died and the marauders fled with four Chinese crew members on board after being chased by a Togolese patrol.

The same year， according to the State of Maritime Piracy 2015， the annual report of Oceans Beyond Piracy， a United States-based non-profit， 54 attacks were recorded in the Gulf of Guinea alone， roughly one out of every five cases of maritime crimes reported worldwide， and 23 people were killed. The other maritime hot spots in Africa are the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden.

Of the 54 African Union （AU） member states， 38 have coastlines or are island states. The continent has over 100 harbors and yet its share of international cargo traffic is only 6 percent. In 2015， Africa， which exports and imports 90 percent of its goods by sea， lost billions of dollars due to piracy and other maritime crimes， which put it among the economies hardest-hit by maritime insecurity， according to the report.

Urgent situation

The urgency of the situation made the Togolese Government call for a meeting of AU members to undertake comprehensive and collaborative action and subsequently， three years after Cameroon had hosted the first summit on maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea， an AU Extraordinary Summit on “Maritime Security and Development in Africa” was held in the Togolese capital Lomé from October 10-15.

“We are aware of the dangers that threaten our countries and our people， and conscious of the urgent need to mobilize resources at our disposal， in particular， our seas and oceans，” Togolese President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé said in his welcome address at the inauguration of the session. “Isolated or individual actions will not [be] able to tackle efficiently the negative and crippling phenomenons that affect our maritime spaces. Only general mobilizations and collective and willing actions can enable us to better protect the assets that our seas， oceans and their resources represent.”

With the participating leaders agreeing that a continent-wide strategy was needed， the Lomémeeting saw an agreement reached， the African Charter on Maritime Security， Safety and Development.

Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso said the agreement would see the signatories contribute to a special maritime security fund. They have also agreed to share information and establish new national and regional organizations to boost security in African waters.

“The charter will secure the maritime space for the common good of African people，” said AU Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

But most importantly， the charter will constitute a legal framework to protect African maritime spaces. The lack of such a consensual legal framework has been hampering punitive action against apprehended maritime criminals.

Besides pirates， the seas are also used by smugglers and illegal fishing trawlers. Drugs and arms smuggling by sea is flourishing. In addition， smuggled goods shipments constitute a major health hazard since they include banned or fake goods.

Illegal fishing has seen West Africa lose around$285 million per year. The figure reaches $42 billion annually at the continental level， according to the UN Economic Commission for Africa. Fishing makes a vital contribution to the food and nutritional security of more than 200 million Africans and provides income for more than 10 million.

However， besides suffering from illegal fishing， African countries have failed to modernize their own fishing industries. The millions associated with the industry still use rudimentary techniques and equipment that make them non-competitive.

Togos Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said the agreement has two aspects. Besides maritime security， it will also focus on using the sea for development.“It is essential to promote the blue economy，” he said.

The blue economy is a vision aligned with the 2050 Africas Integrated Maritime Strategy， which also seeks to address marine degradation and the impacts of climate change， and develop Africas maritime domain for the creation of jobs and wealth.

Tripartite talks

Actors outside Africa have also been calling for collaborative maritime action. The UN is one of them. It supported the Lomé summit and sent representatives to attend it.

A common approach by the AU， as signaled by the Lomé Charter， would make it easier for the bloc to establish international cooperation. Non-African players have already showed keen interest in establishing a maritime security network with Africa. In 2014， the AU， China and the United States were brought together to discuss peace cooperation by the Carter Center， a non-profit organization founded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. This year， the three sides met in Togo in July to discuss maritime security as well as the blue economy in a warm-up to the Togo summit.

The UN Secretary Generals Special Representative and Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel， Mohamed Ibn Chambas， who attended the tripartite talks， said Africa needs strategic partners to fight maritime piracy and the tripartite talks have reached an understanding for collaboration， especially in the Gulf of Guinea.

“China and the United States， two global powers and members of the UN Security Council， have close relations with Africa. If the two powers can cooperate with Africa， especially in the area of maritime security， Africa will benefit not only from their expertise but also from their technology in fighting against piracy，”Chambas told Chinas Xinhua News Agency. “By harmonizing our efforts and means in a win-win partnership， Africa， China and the U.S. will achieve tangible results in the fight against all forms of trafficking through the sea on the African continent.”

Once passed， the Lomé Charter will enable African countries to coordinate their actions， harmonize legal instruments and strengthen their means of surveillance and control of African maritime spaces. This， in turn， will help closer cooperation among the AU， China and the U.S. on maritime security and development.

The Lomé Charter， which emerges as a binding document， will yield a lot of benefit for the continent when it comes into effect following adoption by the parliaments of the 54 member countries.