United Nations agencies in Paris yesterday launched a plan to improve the management of oceans and coastal areas. The Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability sounds the alarm about the health of the oceans and recalls that, although the ocean accounts for 70 per cent of the surface of our planet, only one percent of it is protected. Presented at UNESCO, the Blueprint … [Read more...]
UN Security Council Welcomes Gulf of Guinea Anti-Piracy Strategy
The United Nations Security Council today condemned all acts of maritime piracy and armed robbery at sea in West Africa's Gulf of Guinea and welcomed the intention by States in the region to convene a summit to consider a comprehensive response to the menace. In a resolution adopted unanimously, the Council encouraged the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), … [Read more...]
Shipping industry wants “UN Force of Armed Military Guards” to replace private security firms on ships
A "Round Table" of international shipping associations including ICS, BIMCO, INTERTANKO and INTERCARGO has urged the UN to establish a "UN Force of Armed Military Guards" to replace unregulated privately-contracted armed security personnel deployed onboard individual merchant ships traveling in piracy-prone areas of the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. The plea was made in a … [Read more...]
UN Security Council concerned over West Africa piracy
The Security Council this week voiced concern over increasing incidents of maritime piracy, armed robbery and reports of hostage-taking in the Gulf of Guinea, and called on the international community for help. The Council noted efforts to tackle the problem by countries in the Gulf of Guinea, particularly those by Nigeria and Benin in launching joint patrols of the coast … [Read more...]