By: Mohamed Sahr mohamedsahrpro@gmail.com
In a bid of achieving comprehensive approach and sustainable development of the blue economy, Kufi Annan International Peace building Training Centre (KAIPTC) with fund from the Danish Government as part of a five-year project engaged media practitioners on maritime security reporting within the Gulf of Guinea during a week capacity building course which commenced from the 2nd October, 2023 in Ghana, Accra.
Air Commodore George Arko-Dadzie, Deputy Commandant of KAIPTC said maritime piracy and armed robbery at sea within the Gulf of Guinea which stretches from Senegal to Angola continued to grapple with a number of maritime crimes like illegal fishing, human trafficking, marine pollution, toxic waste dumping, illicit arms and drugs trading. He furthered that these activities exploited the region’s inadequate maritime control that which axes from insufficient law enforcement capacity, underdeveloped legislation and limited policy implementation in the maritime domains. He said the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimated that the threat of piracy incurred over $1.9 billion in financial losses every year within the region.
Deputy Commandant Arko-Dadzie urged journalists to serve as indispensable partners in maritime security, validating the work of maritime stakeholders through the media agenda setting discourse, monitoring development and providing critical insights in the maritime operations. He said in building a beat in the maritime security aspects, journalists required comprehensive knowledge in maritime related issues and forged to sharpen strong network within the maritime stakeholder landscape.
He mentioned that the overwhelming situation resulted in weakened governance, corruption and political instability in the Gulf of Guinea. ‘’The prevalence of maritime security threats underscores the necessity for an understandable step to maritime security in the region,’’ Deputy Commandant Arko-Dadzie emphasized. He said in order to succeed the blue economy, improving the livelihood of the coastal communities, fostering commitment and collaboration among agencies were essential to mitigate maritime insecurity.
Prof. Kwesi Aning, Professor at the Kufi Annan International Peace building Training Centre (KAIPTC) and course facilitator said the media played critical role in covering the new potential with euphoria support and building sustainable knowledge particular when shaping public opinion in reporting maritime security in an effort to create awareness and amplify the blue economy. He affirmed that media could hold policymakers accountable in the dealing of maritime security.
He admonished the crop of journalists to continue driving the public domain and embark on knowledge-based research works in an objective, neutral and factual lens towards the attainment of the blue economy.
‘’In order for journalists to reap the benefit of the blue economy, they must understand the complexity of present day maritime sector within the Gulf of Guinea,’’ Prof. Aning said.
Dr. Francis Sowa, Senior Lecturer at University of Sierra Leone said the media should play an integral part in reporting maritime issues which range from piracy, arm robbery at sea, illicit oil and fuel activities and Illegal Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU) within the Gulf of Guinea as well as the landlocked countries. He furthered that in the quest of reporting on maritime issues, media practitioners should systematically gather, assess, create, present and disseminate information in an accurate and fair manner. Dr. Sowa called on collaborative efforts from diverse maritime sectors including journalists and government to prevent the fight against all acts of threat at sea.
The course created an opportunity for 25 journalists to network themselves in the shades of maritime security reportage amid the knowledge which was shared. In that regard, it also provided seamless approach for journalists to understand the difference between media reportage and maritime security towards a just reporting regime in the littoral states along the Gulf of Guinea with parallel knowledge on both national and international legal frameworks like the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Yaoundé Code of Practice, Africa Integrated Maritime Strategy (AIMS), ECOWAS Maritime Integrated Strategy among others.
The topics of the course spam from introduction to Maritime Security, introduction to Media and Blue Economy, Media and Maritime Security, Legal and Policy Frameworks on Maritime Security Law and Ethics in Maritime Security Reporting, Gender, Livelihoods and Maritime Security and Information Management in Maritime Security.
