Saudi Arabia signs Djibouti anti-piracy Code

10 March 2010

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia today (10 March 2010) signed the Code of Conduct on the Suppression of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden (Djibouti Code of Conduct), becoming the 13th country to do so.

His Excellency Dr. Jubarah Bin Eid Alsuraisry, Minister of Transport of Saudi Arabia, signed the Code on behalf of his Government, during an official visit to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Headquarters in London.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, following the instructions of King Abdullah, exerts every effort to build bridges of co-operation with countries all over the world, especially by taking initiatives and participating in an effective way in order to achieve stability and world security, whether through the United Nations and its specialized agencies, or through continuous co-operation with all countries in this field,” Dr. Jubarah Bin Eid Alsuraisry said.

IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos welcomed the signing by Saudi Arabia as a boost to the effective implementation of the Djibouti Code of Conduct in the region.

“The unabated acts of piracy, not only in waters off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden but also in the wider expanse of the western Indian Ocean, continue to be in the public spotlight. Our concern should, above all, be for the safety of life at sea and the well-being of the seafarers and other victims involved and their respective families. We should, therefore, not rest unless and until all the necessary measures to suppress and eradicate piracy have been taken,” Mr. Mitropoulos said. “The support of Saudi Arabia for the effective implementation of the Djibouti Code of Conduct and for the efforts to protect international shipping by the naval forces deployed in the region are, therefore, important contributions”, he added.

During his visit to IMO, the Minister also discussed other matters with IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos, including this year’s World Maritime Day theme, “2010: Year of the Seafarer”, technical co-operation matters and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships, ahead of the forthcoming meeting of IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) to be held from 22 to 26 March 2010.

The Minister was accompanied by Dr. Al Ohaly Abdulaziz, Deputy Minister of Transport.

Notes:

Saudi Arabia has been a Member of IMO since 1969 and has actively supported IMO’s technical cooperation activities, including contributions to the IMO Maritime Security Fund and its Integrated Technical Co-operation Programme. Saudi Arabia has provided bilateral financial support for activities to ensure maritime safety, security and environmental protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.

The Djibouti Code of Conduct was adopted by a regional meeting on maritime security, piracy and armed robbery against ships for Western Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden and Red Sea States, held in January 2009 and signed initially by nine countries, bringing it into effect immediately. To date, it had been signed by the following countries: Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen.

Signatories to the Code have undertaken to review their national legislation to ensure they have laws in place to criminalize piracy and armed robbery against ships and adequate provisions for the exercise of jurisdiction, conduct of investigations and prosecution of alleged offenders. The Code also provides for the sharing of piracy information, through information-sharing centres to be established in Sana'a in Yemen, Mombasa in Kenya and Dar es Salaam in the United Republic of Tanzania. A training centre is also envisaged to be established in Djibouti.

To assist in the implementation of the Djibouti Code of Conduct, a programme of activities has been developed within IMO and is already underway. It includes the following projects:

• Regional activities to review national legislation on piracy, (conducted in co-operation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC));
• The establishment of a training centre in Djibouti to train key personnel from the region;
• The establishment and operation of the three above-mentioned information-sharing centres;
• Workshops to train national focal points and staff of the information-sharing centres;
• The training of coast guard and other personnel entrusted with law enforcement roles; and Initiatives for enhancing maritime situational awareness.

Four new posts have been created at IMO specifically for promoting, and providing support to, the implementation of the Djibouti Code of Conduct. The four posts are: Head, Project Implementation Unit; Project Officer (Operations); Project Officer (Technical); and Project Officer (Legal).

Source: IMO