CODE OF CONDUCT CONCERNING THE REPRESSION OF PIRACY, ARMED ROBBERY AGAINST SHIPS, AND ILLICIT MARITIME ACTIVITY IN WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA
The Governments of Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo] (hereinafter referred to as "the Signatories"),
CONSIDERING the relevant provisions of the United Nations Millennium Declaration 55/2, in particular Section II on Peace, Security and Disarmament; Section III on Development and poverty eradication; section IV on Protecting our common environment; and section VII on Meeting the special needs of Africa.
NOTING Resolution 2018 (2011) and 2039 (2012) of the United Nations Security Council in relation to piracy and armed robbery in the Gulf of Guinea, which, inter alia, welcomes the intention to convene a summit of Gulf of Guinea Heads of State in order to consider a comprehensive response in the region and encourages the States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), and the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) to develop a comprehensive strategy, including through:
(a) the development of domestic laws and regulations, where these are not in place, criminalizing piracy and armed robbery at sea; (b) the development of a regional framework to counter piracy and armed robbery at sea, including information-sharing and operational coordination mechanisms in the region; (c) the development and strengthening of domestic laws and regulations, as appropriate, to implement relevant international agreements addressing the security of navigation, in accordance with international law; (d) the need for enhancing international cooperation at all levels in the fight against maritime security and safety of offshore oil infrastructures;
NOTING IN PARTICULAR that resolution 2039 (2012) recognizes the urgent need to devise and adopt effective and practical measures to counter piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea; emphasizes the importance of building on existing national, regional and extraregional initiatives to enhance maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea; and welcomes the initiatives already taken by States in the region and regional organizations, including ECCAS, ECOWAS, GGC, and the Maritime Organization for West and Central Africa (MOWCA), to enhance maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea,
NOTING ALSO that the General Assembly of the United Nations, at its sixth-seventh session, adopted, on 5 December 2012, resolution 67/78 on Oceans and the Law of the Sea which, inter alia: