Furtherance of Djibouti Code of Conduct Expected to Cut Piracy

A three-day conference organized by Yemen on Djibouti Code of Conduct will likely take strong action against piracy threat along the east coast of Africa which includes Somalia. The meeting of the member states of Djibouti Code of Conduct, which was signed early last year, will primarily focus on establishing an information sharing centre in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, and the same is expected to be operational from January 2011.

The code of conduct is a regional agreement that provides co-operation among signatory states to resist sea piracy through existing resources. In the wake of heightened maritime piracy, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in conjunction with the affected and neighbouring states near Somali coast drafted legislation in Djibouti, January 2009 to bolster maritime security. The draft aims to counter piracy and armed robbery against vessels ply their way up and down the western Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden and Red Sea areas.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister of Yemen Ali Mujawar said the sea piracy was an international problem, which was detrimental to the commercial interests of the countries across the globe, but this phenomenon had already accrued losses to the tune of $150mn in 2009 alone to Yemen. He added Yemeni fishermen and some crews were still being held as hostages along with others belonging to various countries, totalling 813 sailors.

The meeting held between November 8 and 10 is organized by Yemen Transport Ministry and General Authority of Maritime Affairs. Heads of maritime authorities from eight countries are participating in the meeting, including the host, Yemen followed by Djibouti, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Eritrea, Sudan, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. Besides, a number of countries and organizations are taking part in the meeting as observers, such as, Tanzania, South Korea, the Netherlands, France, the European Union and the IMO.

By Jose Roy