March 25, 2021
By Mohamed M. Sesay
The Deputy Head of European Union Delegation to Sierra Leone Jamila El-Assaidi has yesterday the 24th of March, requested for the strengthening of legal, governance and law enforcement frameworks to better support maritime security as a key priority of their partnership with the countries of the region and also a priority which is receiving growing attention.
She disclosed this at the Integrated Maritime Security Programme (SWAIMS) Technical plenary session workshop help atRadisson Blue Mammy Yoko Hotel wherein she observed that, the Piracy and armed robbery in the Gulf of Guinea appears to be worse than ever. She added that the ICC International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Centre had recorded 84 attacks on ships in 2020, up from the 64 in 2019, and 50 in 2018 asserting that the region is now the site of over 90% of the world’s reported kidnappings at sea. She said Incidents in the Gulf of Guinea are particularly dangerous as over 80% of attackers are armed with guns.
Jamila El –Assaidi further stated that Sierra Leone for the time being accounts for a limited number of reported incidents of armed robbery and piracy: “only” four cases in 2017, two cases in 2018 and one important case in 2019. She however warned that these data must be approached with caution adding that, Figures are susceptible to under-reporting and problems of definition. She observed that piracy and armed robbery constitute only a few amongst the matters of concern in the Sierra Leone maritime area. She said the most numerous unlawful acts committed within the maritime area of Sierra Leone are in fact related to Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and drug trafficking, and others relate to weapons trafficking, trafficking in persons, marine pollution and dumping of toxic waste.
She continued that it was against this background that it becomes all the more important that Sierra Leone endows itself with a sound legal framework and strong law enforcement agencies to prosecute and fight maritime crime reiterating that, This is precisely the aim of the EU funded Support to West Africa Integrated Maritime Security Programme (SWAIMS) Programme.
Jamaila El Assaidi also noted that it is a regional programme implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) under the lead of ECOWAS. The Project is indeed conceived to contribute to the implementation of the ECOWAS Integrated Maritime Strategy (EIMS) for the development of a regional maritime strategy, which addresses several strategic objectives: maritime security and safety, maritime environmental management, optimization of the ECOWAS maritime economy and promotion of maritime awareness and research.
She affirmed that it is EU’s common wish to see Sierra Leone graduate to a country that is in a position to prosecute piracy and armed robbery against ships, and all illicit maritime activity in line with the Yaoundé Code of Conduct and in partnership with all regional actors adding that, Policy and strategy must provide safety to seafarers’ in- and offshore, and deal with threats to the natural environment and livelihoods of littoral communities, such as fisheries crimes and marine pollution.
She suggested that ultimately security solutions in the Gulf of Guinea should aim to improve the socio-economic well-being of coastal communities so that they are less vulnerable to organized criminal networks. She warned that, limiting the attention and response in reaction to sensational reports, in the long run could exacerbate the situation by focusing on symptoms at the expense of root causes and grievances among marginalized coastal communities so that they can escape the cycle of deprivation.
Jamila El Assaidi acknowledged that the Piracy and illegal maritime activity cannot be tackled by any government operating alone and therefore appealed that, States and organizations operating in the region must continue working together to agree on an approach that suits all their maritime security interests. She reaffirmed the reason the European Union collaborates with all 18 coastal countries of the Gulf of Guinean.
As part of its Gulf of Guinea Action Plan, she said the EU works to raise awareness and understanding of maritime security threats, to reinforce organizations working at the regional and national level, to strengthen cooperation between national, regional, and international actors, and to promote more prosperous and resilient coastal economies and communities.
“it is our hope that policy and strategy will address the root causes of socio-economic instability which expose coastal communities to crime”, Jamila concluded.