EU Statement – UN General Assembly 6th Committee: Report of the International Law Commission – Piracy and armed robbery at sea

– CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY –

Mr. Chairperson,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States, on the topic of the prevention and repression of piracy and armed robbery at sea, which was considered by the International Law Commission (ILC) and which is discussed in Chapter VI of its report.

The Candidate Countries Montenegro*, Serbia^*, Albania^*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina^* and Georgia, align themselves with this statement.

We thank the previous Special Rapporteur, Mr. Yacouba Cissé, for his work on that important topic and we congratulate the new Special Rapporteur, Mr. Louis Savadogo, for his appointment.

The ILC report thoroughly addresses the second report of the Special Rapporteur, which provides a description and analysis of the practice of international organisations involved in combatting piracy and armed robbery at sea, and also reviews the regional and subregional approaches to that effect, as well as the practice of States in concluding bilateral agreements.

In his second report, the Special Rapporteur proposes four new draft articles, in addition to the three articles provisionally adopted by the Commission, together with commentaries thereto, in June and July 2023. Those four new draft articles concern respectively general obligations, the obligation of prevention, criminalisation under national law, and the establishment of national jurisdiction.

The European Union and its Member States consider that the debate that took place at the ILC on those four new draft Articles was timely and fruitful. As noted in the ILC report, that debate was an opportunity for Commission members to recall certain elements, including that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) constitutes the starting point for the analysis of the topic, the desirability of not duplicating existing frameworks, the importance of linking the substantive issues discussed in the second report of the Special Rapporteur and the proposed draft articles, as well as the importance of continuing to distinguish between piracy and armed robbery at sea.

According to the second report, the final form of the outcome of the work of the Commission on that topic still needs to be determined, and that some discussions took place among Commission members regarding what should be the content of the future third report of the Special Rapporteur.

The European Union and its Member States welcome that the Special Rapporteur has continued to consider their practice in his second report. The European Union, on its part, is actively contributing to the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea. As identified in the European Union Strategic Compass of March 2022 and its Maritime Security Strategy, as revised in October 2023, criminal activities such as piracy undermine maritime security. Piracy and armed robbery at sea constitute evolving security threats, which require actions guided by a cross-sectoral approach, respect for international rules – international law, human rights and democracy and full compliance with UNCLOS – and maritime multilateralism.

As referred to by the Special Rapporteur in his second report, in 25 January 2021, the European Union launched the first pilot of the Coordinated Maritime Presences concept in the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of West Africa, thereby strengthening its role as a global maritime security provider, in close cooperation with our African partners of the organisation of the Yaoundé Architecture, supporting their objective to tackle piracy and criminal activity at sea. The European Union then decided on 21 February 2022 to establish a second maritime area of interest in the North-Western Indian Ocean, thereby extending the implementation of the concept of Coordinated Maritime Presences. 

The second report of the Special Rapporteur also recalls the achievements of the EU Naval Operation EUNAVFOR ATALANTA in suppressing piracy and protecting ships transiting off the coast of Somalia. That second report also refers to EU support to countries through capacity-building programmes. In that regard, the EU Capacity Building Mission in Somalia continues to assist Somalia in strengthening its maritime security capacity, in order to enable it to enforce maritime law more effectively.  Likewise, the European Union supports the development of regional judicial and law enforcement capacity to investigate, arrest, and prosecute suspected pirates and to incarcerate convicted pirates consistent with applicable international human rights law. 

The transfer agreements concluded between the European Union and regional States eager to contribute to the fight against piracy, namely Kenya, the Republic of Seychelles, the Republic of Mauritius and the United Republic of Tanzania were instrumental in that regard. We also commend regional initiatives under the African Union, the East African Community, the Southern Africa Development Community, the Djibouti Code of Conduct and the Regional Maritime Security and anti-piracy Strategy adopted in Mauritius in 2010.

Finally, the second report of the Special Rapporteur highlights the important role of the EU in sharing information to combat piracy, through the European Maritime Safety Agency, the MARSUR maritime surveillance network, and the Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa attached to Operation ATALANTA. 

Mr. Chairperson,

In conclusion, we thank the ILC for the continuation of its work on a matter of high importance for the whole international community and future generations. The European Union and its Member States look forward to the next steps of that work, and stands ready to continue to contribute to that work, notably by engaging in further debates in the Sixth Committee. 

Thank you for your attention.

* Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.