Topic A:

The Weaponization

of Natural

Resources

Topic B:

Maritime

Piracy in

the African

Region

Compiled by: Aymen Waseem

Bhawna Kamal Lohana

Marium Asif

Sabika Noor Ali

Muhammad Kazim

Amna Haider

Zubia Shameem

Fiha Barkat Ali

Zainab Tanveer Khan

TOPIC A

Introduction

The World Bank defines natural resources

as, “materials that occur in nature and are

essential or useful to humans, such as water,

air, land, forests, fish and wildlife, topsoil,

and minerals.” In various areas of the world,

the mere presence of these resources has

instigated violence and exacerbated

exploitation.

Thus arises the concept of the weaponization

of natural resources. In this context,

weaponization essentially refers to altering

an instrument, substance, material or

resource and turning it into a means of

intending harm, damage and maltreatment

upon chosen targets. Unsurprisingly, history

brims with wars based on the assertion of

control upon natural resources. Nations with

abundant reserves of these resources are

often riddled with conflicts, partially owing

to their weak administrative structures.

These conflicts, though often direct with

comparatively simple solutions, frequently

tend to follow complex patterns that require

multifaceted resolutions.

Such a topic is extensively pertinent to

modern politics. It’s known to exact

consequences on Earth’s ecological systems

and thus, eventually, humanity. The

weaponization of natural resources leads to

the demolition of communities,

infrastructure, agriculture and occasionally,

governments. These are the reasons owing

to the relevancy of this topic to the modern

political, social and economic arena.

History/Crux

Throughout history, there have been many

wars fought over natural resources, such as

the Finnish-Soviet War over nickel, Iraq

attacking Kuwait for their oil reserves, and

the ongoing South China Sea disputes over

oil.

Water is a natural resource that is most

likely to be fought over in the near future as

well due to the fact that many of the world's

fresh water sources cross national borders.

The population of the world is increasing

but the fresh water sources are gradually

decreasing. Up till now, countries have

maintained peaceful agreements over the

sharing of water but the future is uncertain.

Even in present times, there are millions of

people around the world that lack adequate

water supply for daily use.

Nevertheless, many violent quarrels have

been initiated over these natural resources.

Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola and Congo all

have gone through serious bloodshed and

conflict over diamonds, and all of the

countries have suffered heavily due to the

warfare. In Congo alone, more than 800,000

people have been displaced and, still, the

conflict still shows no signs of ending.

Minerals from Congo are used heavily in the

manufacturing of technology products such

as mobile phones, tablets and gaming

consoles. While this should be good news

for the people of Congo, the mining of the

minerals is done illegally so the Congolese

people do not benefit at all from the

business. Instead they are met with

economic instability, armed resistance,

forced labor and sexual violence.

In Iraq, militant groups are using the

country’s drought for their benefit by

controlling the water flow to the capital city.

Mosul, a city in northern Iraq is under the

control of ISIS for this reason, giving them

greater control over city’s population and

the Iraqi government. Iraq’s electricity

supply is also under threat by ISIS because

they also want to take over the dams which

would make the Iraqi government lose their

control over Baghdad.

With the droughts getting more serious, the

water is becoming an increasingly important

resource. Global warming and climate

change are also likely to worsen the

conditions in Iraq and can make stability in

the country very difficult.

Even Russia has used natural resources as a

weapon many times. Pipelines supplying gas

to Europe from Russia were built in the

1960s, due to the fact that the infrastructure

was fixed, gas could only be bought and

sold through long-term contracts. This left

Russia with the option to use the pipeline

network as a very powerful bargaining tool

with Europe as they could easily shut down

supply.

And we saw the glimpse of this effect in

2009, when Russia cut off natural gas supply

to Ukraine and six other countries in the

middle of winter until they paid Russia the

price that the Russians were demanding for

it.

Which natural resources are used as

weapons, and why are these particular

ones used more often than the others?

Natural resources often serve as the root of

violent conflicts-whether they are too

abundant or too scarce. The economy, and

thus the power struggle and military

strength, is greatly dependent on these

resources, thus they serve as a critical point

for civil wars and inter-country disputes.

Oil, water, diamonds, minerals and gas are

the most expensive and significant

contributors to warfare. The US economy

depends on 10 minerals; platinum,

palladium, rhodium, manganese, indium,

niobium, vanadium, titanium, copper, and

rare earth elements (platinum, palladium,

and rhodium are collectively referred to as

platinum group metals). These are

responsible for manufacturing everyday

appliances, military weapons, electricity,

aircrafts, medical products, energy

provisioning and power production. These

are the resources that give the United States

its supremacy, and the resources they have

great civil and International conflicts over.

In the Middle East, several African regions

in particular, violent conflicts have been

based upon oil, diamond and other

strategically important minerals. Two other

major critical minerals are Manganese and

Copper. Their extraction is heavily

dependent on armed violence so they are

thus labeled critical.

Militant groups in Iraq are now using water

as not only a natural resource, but also as a

weapon. Baghdad has long since been an

area long frequented by droughts, and Iraqi

military has now built dams to stop the

water flow so they can control the capital.

What were the consequences of these

weapons? Did nations prosper or suffer?

Since the historical World War II, there have

been more than 150 wars across the globe.

Of which, 80 percent of the wars have been

civil wars within developing countries. The

other 20 percent are the relatively few large-

scale conflicts between countries. A prime

example of inter-country wars over natural

resources were the three Cold Wars between

England and Iceland over fishing rights

between 1850 and 1976.

National resources should by default

promote the nation’s welfare-both politically

and economically. However, these resources

act as a beacon for competing countries. In

most places where minerals and other

natural resources are rich, people are denied

the basic comforts - peace and stability.

They are constantly faced with an armed

territorial struggle, forced labor and high

levels of sexual violence. The Democratic

Republic of Congo is one of the evident

examples of such situations. Other countries,

such as Sierra Leone, Congo, Liberia and

Angola have also dealt with civic conflicts

over natural resources. These are places rich

with diamonds which has been exploited by

government elitists who use these resources

for personal enrichment and to control

personal armies to establish their command.

Other than the political power-play, which

results in the disruption of the nation’s

government, there is also considerable

damage to the ecosystem. In the attempt to

harm enemy soldiers or community, many

senseless acts of environmental destructions

are carried out. One of the most diabolical

acts over natural resources occurred during

the Persian Gulf War where the Persian Gulf

was engulfed in black smoke for months and

the region is still hazardous for human

health.

What was United Nation’s stance upon

this?

In 2008, it was revealed that since 1990,

over 20 violent conflicts have been ignited

due to the exploitation of natural resources,

which has wreaked economic, political and

environmental damages all over the world.

After these statistics were revealed, the

European Union and the United Nations

allied over a mutual goal for building

capacities for land, natural resources, and

conflict prevention. This would, in theory,

prevent land and natural resources to

contribute to civil and inter-country

conflicts.

The alliance between the UN and EU has

introduced multiple practical guidance notes

and training material on ownership of land

and conflict, extractives and conflict,

renewable resources and conflict, capacity

building for natural resource management

and conflict prevention in resource-rich

economies.

The UN and the Secretary-General also

recognized the need to integrate questions of

natural resources allocation, ownership and

access into peacebuilding strategies in the

immediate aftermath of conflict.

In 2009, UNEP based a report “From

Conflict to Peacebuilding: The Role of

Natural Resources and the Environment”

based on the compilation of 14 case studies

and analyzed field evidence on conflict risks

and peacebuilding opportunities. Based on

the findings of the reports, UNEP and PBSO

pinpointed the central locations of such

occurrences; Sierra Leone, Central African

Republic, Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire, and

Afghanistan. After assessment of the

conditions, UNEP and PBSO addressed key

natural resources challenges at the country

level on a pilot basis.

For a period of four years, 225 experts from

67 involved countries developed 150 case

studies which researched in depth, the

natural resources available; land, water,

minerals, gas, oil, precious metal and gems

etc.

In November 2012, conflict addled nations

finally recognized natural resources as a

significant impedance to achieving stability

and strength. After this recognition, a formal

partnership with UNEP was formed which

was in line with the recommendations of the

2009 policy. However, of all these efforts,

only two policies were effectively

implemented to help the host country; UN

Organization Stabilization Mission in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo

(MONUSCO) and UN Multidimensional

Integrated Stabilization Mission in the

Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

A succeeding success was in 2013 when a

UN guidance policy note was undertaken by

38 UN agencies. The adoption of this

document is an important milestone for the

UN system in terms of highlighting risks

and opportunities from natural resources in

conflict prevention and peace consolidation.

Current Situation

What is the current status of weaponized

natural resources?

Most of the essential natural resources

which have been constantly weaponized are

now on the edge or on their way to

depletion.

Water, being the most essential, is the most

in danger of running out. According to the

World Economic Forum, it is the largest

global risk that will impact in the next

decade. Already, 1.2 billion people lack

access to clean water and countries like

Libya, Sahara, Yemen, Djibouti and Jordan

are already facing the water crisis. It is

estimated that third world countries,

including Pakistan, will be regions of water

scarcity by 2025.

According to a global research carried out in

2010, it was estimated that all the worlds’

oil resources put together would only last a

maximum of 50 years. Oil is the treasure

trove of countries in the Middle East, from

where it is exported and also internally

consumed. With the accelerated

consumption of oil in the past decade, one of

the worlds’ leading resource will be depleted

within the next five decades.

Similarly, resources such as natural gas

(58.6 years), coal (150 years), phosphorus

(20 years) and diamonds (20 years) are

going to be nonexistent within the next two

centuries.

However, some minerals, like iron, copper,

and manganese are embedded in the Earth's

core and are thus quite far from being

depleted.

How have these weapons changed from

how they used to be in the past?

The natural resources are steadily declining

due to various reasons. Overpopulation,

overconsumption and waste, over mining,

deforestation and pollution are the main

reasons that humans have grossly

contributed to this decline.

With the lack of resources, the conflicts are

even more prevalent as countries compete to

obtain these resources. Numerous countries

are already in decline economically and

other countries with more severe

circumstances are in critical conditions. A

three-year drought in Africa has depleted its

water supply to almost nothing, and with its

other resources depleted, it's unable to

handle the economy and is currently in a

critical crisis.

This is also fueling inter-country disputes,

namely countries which share borders - for

example, India and Pakistan. With threats of

withholding water from their shared

tributaries, India is currently building dams

to withhold the water supply from Pakistan,

both in the intention of controlling it and to

ensure enough resources for itself. Should

this be carried out, it’ll be acknowledged as

an act of war which will lead to another

conflict over natural resources.

What is the UN's current stance on this

topic?

The United Nations stands on a diplomatic

position in the debate of this topic. They are

among the few “powerful actors” that

promote the transportation of raw materials

through IMF and World Bank funding.

While they do stand for this topic, they have

also introduced various institutions to

protect this trade from being subjected to

exploitation.

The three biggest mines in the world that

extract resources all around the globe are

Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Vale. They also

opened the economies of developing nations

to corporate investment and increased

transport of raw materials.

They have opened up institutions and

encourage globalized free market, which in

turn, introduce the trade of natural resources.

Have any resolutions been recently passed

regarding this topic?

The United Nations (UN) has passed quite a

few resolutions and formed agencies which

encourage the use of the free market which

happens to be the basis of the global trade of

these resources. Not only has the UN

provided institutions for this, but has also

tried to protect the regions that hold these

resources by forming NGOs and starting

movements to prevent the exploitation of

these resources and to protect the

environment that holds them.

Resolutions

1993: Oslo Accords. The UN formed a Joint

Water Committee (JWC) between Palestine

and Israel, with equal members from both

countries, which would avoid conflict over

the West Bank by approving the new water

and sewage projects on the West Bank itself.

2001: The International Day for Preventing

the Exploitation of the Environment in War

and Armed Conflicts was established to be

celebrated annually on November 6th.

2002: The World Council on Sustainable

Development was formed, which introduced

The Extractive Industries Transparency

Initiative. The revenues from the industries

that work to extract natural resources would

contribute to the sustainable growth and

development in the regions they operate in.

2003: the UN introduced The Kimberly

Process, which had a purpose to promote

international standards on the trade of

diamonds. It offers principles that countries

have to agree on, in order to prevent the

profits from the sale of diamonds to be

invested into rebellion.

2008:

• The European Union and UN partnered up

to build capacities for natural resources

and conflict prevention which is managed

by the UN Interagency Framework Team

for Preventative Action.

• They also produced an analysis called

Capacity Inventory that called for the land

and natural resources to be managed and

used in a consensual and sustainable

manner.

• Established guidance notes and produced

on-line interactive modules for the training

of students on the topic of the protection

of natural resources.

The stances of countries

China:

• 1950: Battle of Chamdo; Tibet was

invaded by the Chinese for control over

the land of Chamdo.

• 1974: China fought in a battle with

Vietnam over the Paracel Islands around

South China. These islands were attractive

to the Chinese as they had the potential for

the agriculture industry, tourism industry,

fishing industry and hydroelectricity.

• 2008: China had 41 licensed and 200

unlicensed mines that extracted

Manganese. Manganese was a mineral

essential for making steel, therefore was a

lucrative asset for China. Even though the

Chinese protested, for example in 2005,

they blocked the mine entrances,

demanded the regulation of institutions

that would protect the environment from

degradation and asked for compensation

for their losses, the Chinese military

resorted to armed violence to stay clear of

these protests.

United States:

• 1988: Freeport-McMoRan was a mining

company based in America, that

developed The Grasberg Mine to mine

copper in West Papua, Indonesia. It led to

the dumping of waste in the wetlands and

estuaries which were otherwise productive

for fishing.

• 2003- The Second Gulf War between the

US and Iraq was initiated by the invasion

of Iraq by US forces over the economic

objective of the control of the lucrative oil

reserves. This led to a devastating

economic downfall in Iraq and a large

number of casualties from both sides.

United Kingdom:

• 1873-now: Operated Rio Tinto, one of the

largest mining companies of the world that

has been exploiting resource reserves in

many countries, including Indonesia,

Brazil, Canada and Australia.

Russia:

• 2009: Russia invaded Crimea to take

control of the oil reserves, natural gas

reserves and underwater resources located

in Crimea.

Stance of other countries on this issue

Brazil:

• 1978: Vale and Prometal Produtos

Metalurgicos (mining companies) started

mining Manganese in the Carajas region

of the Amazonian Basic in the Para State.

This led to the

forced removal of the indigenous people

who were settled there to accommodate the

miners employed.

Indonesia:

• 2006: West Papua wanted independence

from Indonesia. In attempts to shut this

process down, Indonesian government

carpet bombed, strafed and napalmed the

surrounding villages. Their military also

put down student riots; took them and pro-

independence leaders into custody.

• 1976-2005: Aceh is a region in Indonesia

which rich in oil and natural gas reserves,

and so, the Indonesian government started

processes of the extraction of these

minerals as it helped their economy. The

Acehnese protested against these

processes, and even tried to gain

independence by starting a Free Aceh

Movement as this extraction was not

benefitting them at all. They were met

with human rights abuses by the

Indonesian military to stop the protests.

• 1999: The separation of East Timor was

based on the exploitation and of oil and

gas reserves in the Timor Sea.

Iraq:

• 1990-91: The Persian Gulf War started

with the invasion of Kuwait by the Iraqi

government under Saddam Hussein’s

regime, under orders from the US

(Operation Desert Storm), to take control

over their oil reserves. The aftermath of

this war was devastating for Kuwait’s

environment due to the fires lit by the

Iraqis in the Persian Gulf.

Philippines:

• 2000: The Philippines passed an act that

allowed Rio Tinto Zinc (RTZ) to operate

Bauxite mines in the country. This met

with a lot of protest by the Subanon, who

were an indigenous group in the

Philippines who lived in the Mindanao

Zamboanga Peninsula.

• 2000: The government allowed the

mechanized mining of gold and copper,

putting a halt to the manual mining carried

out by the Igorots (an indigenous group)

who protested it due to the loss of their

income, and the disrespect these large-

scale mining companies would treat their

ancestral lands with.

Democratic Republic of Congo:

• 2012: The corrupt army generals from The

Democratic Republic of Congo were

involved in the illegal mining of gold.

These miners worked in an environment

that had high levels of sexual violence and

forced labor. M23 rebel groups tried to

take control of Goma in 2012 but had to

give back control to the government in the

following year.

Why is this a ground for debate in the

current political climate?

There are on-going debates on this topic

because, in this political climate of today,

the big countries have a lot of power that

they exercise over the relatively smaller

countries. They can threaten these

developing countries to control their

resources. These resources are then used as

raw materials to make highly monetized

products, such as Manganese which is

needed to make steel, which itself is used to

making widespread products necessary for

today. Other resources, like oil and natural

gas, have been weaponized by various

countries to induce wars which ultimately

make money for them due to the sale of their

weapons to numerous countries.

The acknowledgement of this topic is crucial

for the world today due to the ever

increasing threat of Global Warming. The

extraction methods used in these countries

are environmentally and ecologically

dangerous. For example, the construction of

dams results in the forced migration of

people who used to live in that area, and

they also largely affect the wildlife

surrounding that area. Not only does the

environment faces damage, but also the

ecology (i.e. the people, the animals, the

plants) faces a major change, which

ultimately leads to its death.

Apart from the environmental degradation,

the economies of different countries are also

affected to a great extent. The Gulf War,

between Iran and Iraq, primarily began in

1990 due to the conflict that arose about the

control over oil in Iraq. Wars are a huge

reason for the economic downfall of a

country. Iraq's witnessed a landslide in its

GDP per capita, as it went from $2304 in

1989 (right before the war) to $938 in 1990.

The disadvantages and the play of power in

the processes of the extraction of natural

resources is a major reason to keep debating

and studying about this issue to avoid

exploitation which in today’s political

climate is an inevitable venture.

References

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/b

log/2011/oct/31/six-natural-resources-

population

https://www.worldcoal.org/coal/where-coal-

found

https://www.thenational.ae/uae/diamonds-

aren-t-forever-1.527068

https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-

vs-myth/what-if/what-if-ran-out-

minerals.htm

https://newint.org/blog/2013/08/15/students-

congolese-diaspora-fight-against-conflict-

minerals

https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-07-09/isis-

using-water-weapon-iraq

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tboonepickens

/2014/03/10/oil-and-natural-gas-as-weapon-

of-war/#50ebb8ee845b

https://www.climate-change-

guide.com/wars-over-natural-resources.html

https://www.weeklystandard.com/benjamin-

parker/weaponized-gas

https://www.dw.com/en/finding-long-term-

solutions-for-resource-conflicts/a-18539313

https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/489

67/2/WP86.pdf

https://enviroliteracy.org/land-use/conflict-

natural-resources/

http://www.un.org/en/land-natural-

resources-conflict/

https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/file/0

8sg.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P

MC3169238/

https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-

topics/disasters-conflicts/what-we-

do/recovery/natural-resources-and-

peacebuilding

http://www.un.org/en/land-natural-

resources-conflict/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P

MC3169238/table/T2/?report=objectonly

https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/general-

reports-

1/iraq_wmd_2004/chap2_annxD.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tboonepickens

/2014/03/10/oil-and-natural-gas-as-weapon-

of-war/#77772b0d845b

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/world

/europe/in-taking-crimea-putin-gains-a-sea-

of-fuel-reserves.html

https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publication

s/cultural-survival-quarterly/cordillera-

peoples-alliance-mining-and-indigenous-

rights

http://www.minesandcommunities.org/articl

e.php?a=1503

TOPIC B

Introduction

The Latin word pirata, where the notion

of ‘sea robber’ originated, provides root to

the word pirate. (Ayto J., 2005) Piracy is an

act of attacking and robbing ships at seas.

The word piracy, which is the action

committed by pirates, has evolved

throughout the history of the action itself.

Although, for a long time, the notion of

piracy has been related with sea robbery and

maritime activities, the usage of this word

has extended to the air transportation

domain, broadcast domain and some other

fields. We are familiar with the extensive

use of this word in our daily life. Software

piracy, air piracy and pirate radios are some

familiar terms. So, today, the term piracy is

commonly used for an illegal act or

unauthorized activity. Despite the fact

that we use this term often referring to

different illegal or unauthorized act, it has

retained its original reference to maritime

robbery and crime.

What is the Maritime Piracy?

Maritime Piracy refers to any act of violence

that is perpetrated by a private ship against

another ship or an aircraft. The action could

also be against the people and property

sailing in the ship or aircraft in the middle of

the high seas. The act could be anything

from hijacking of the ship and stealing its

goods to plundering, raping or captivating

the passengers of the ship, or just being a

huge menace in the journey of the people

who travel across seas. (N.A, 2016)

African regions affected by

Maritime Piracy

According to a study conducted in 2007,

African regions are the ones that have been

highly affected by this offence committed by

pirates. Although, Nigeria and Somalia have

suffered the most at the hands of piracy,

pirates have permeated Africa entirely,

becoming a daunting challenge to East

Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan and etc),

West Africa (Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon

and etc), South Africa (Mozambique and

Angola), and Democratic Republic of

Congo, which covers the Central Africa.

(Nincic, 2009)

How it began

The origin of this felony dates back to the

15th century, where the Portuguese navy

attacked the enemy Ottoman ships but also

went up the east coast of Africa and burnt

down the cities. (Nincic, 2009). However,

many argue that the inception

of contemporary piracy took place in the

1990s when the lack of an effective

government gave pirates the nerve to

terrorize the regions. (Treves, 2009)

For example, Somalia faced the lack of an

established government due to the

deposition of Muhammad Siad Barre, who

got overthrown from the consequences of

internal conflicts, leaving the country in an

utter disordered situation without any

rightful leadership to look over its matters.

(Nincic, 2009)

Who was it carried out by mostly in the

past?

Taking advantage of the power vacuum,

rival warlords carved out influence over

regional territories – first on land, and then

increasingly at sea. Fishermen, dismayed at

the inability of the central government to

protect their country’s exclusive economic

zone, and at the number of foreign fishing

vessels illegally exploiting their traditional

fisheries, took matters into their own hands.

Initially arming themselves to chase off the

foreign invaders, they quickly realized that

robbing the vessels was a lucrative way to

make up for lost income. Seeing their

success, land based warlords co-opted some

of the new pirates, organizing them into

increasingly sophisticated gangs. (Nincic,

2009)

Who is it carried out by mostly? (Present)

Currently, one of the major causes for the

continued existence of Maritime piracy is

poverty. The low employment rates and the

lack of economic opportunities have resulted

in young people becoming involved in

earning through illicit means – one of which

is Maritime piracy. The lucrative business

and the enticing monetary benefits, through

hijacking and demanding ransom on

kidnapping, have attracted the youth towards

this trade, allowing piracy to persist to this

day. (Nincic, 2009)

Consequences

The persisting existence of piracy has

continued to cause a great deal of damage to

the affected territories. A huge sum of

financial loss occurs when cargo ships,

laden with goods and capitals, get in hands

of the pirates. In addition to that, piracy

threats compel sailors to adopt longer routes

and consequently delay boarding on ports,

further contributing to the loss. Not only

this, but such an alarming situation in the

seas also made the captains demand double

wages which adds value to the goods they

deliver, making them high-priced for the

consumers. Furthermore, piracy has severely

put oil production in danger as well. Pirates

attack and plunder ships loaded with oil

vessels and containers, worth millions of US

dollars, which result in the loss of revenues

for social and economic development of the

regions. (Nincic, 2009) Moreover, Maritime

Piracy has also had a negative influence on

the fishing industry. Pirates attack the fish

cargos, harass the fishermen or in some

cases murder them brutally. Such atrocities

resulted in fishing boat captains’ refusal to

sail and subsequently impacting the local

fishing economy. (Nincic, 2009)

Severe conflicts or humanitarian crises

A major humanitarian crisis has taken place

as a result of Maritime Piracy in African

regions. Civil war and severe droughts have

created deadliest situations in Africa – one

of which includes many people being

dependent for food on the external aid. The

World Food Programme is one of the major

food suppliers to the country, extending to

the International Committee of the Red

Cross, CARE International, Catholic Relief

Services and Oxfam as well. However, 80-

90 percent of the aid reaches Africa via seas.

This provides pirates a suitable opportunity

to target the food carrying ships, worsening

the situation further. For instance, a research

in 2005 shows that when pirates began to

aim cargos carrying relief supplies, UN

agency was urged to take action against it

and therefore postponed all the deliveries to

Somalia for weeks which further intensified

the crisis in the country. (Nincic, 2009)

Current Situation

About 90% of African exports and imports

occur through its high seas, causing its

shores to be a hot bed for piracy. There are a

few ways in which the issue of marine piracy

in Africa can be evaluated nowadays. The

year 2013 marked the decrease in

international piracy due to a drop in Somali-

related attacks on Africa’s east coast but the

slack has been taken up on the other side of

the continent.

According to the Industry Magazine

Maritime Executive, pirate attacks are

increased by 33% in Gulf of Guinea. This is

mostly because unlike Horn of Africa

(Africa’s east coast), powerful international

navies are not patrolling the Gulf of Guinea;

the states of Gulf of Guinea have their navies

patrolling the coast which are generally

weak. Other factors like pirates and hijackers

operating in national waters rather

than international waters, lack

of cooperation between navies, corruption in

these states and the fact that pirates often

conduct operation in one state’s territorial

waters only to flee to other state’s

jurisdiction, all weigh in. There is also a key

difference between the piracy off the coast of

Somalia and piracy in West Africa, which is

that Somali pirates target ships as part of

kidnap-for-ransom schemes whereas in West

Africa, pirates primarily hijack ships to steal

the crude oil and sell it on black market

(however, it’s not always the case, the pirates

work as they deem fit). In January 2014, 55

miles off the coast of Gabon, 5 pirates

boarded a LNG carrier but were frightened

off when the crew raised the alarm. In that

same month, a Greek-owned MT Kerala

vanished in South of Gulf of Guinea, in

Angolan waters and reappeared further North

in Nigerian waters. Even though, the trend of

pirates hijacking vessels is common in Gulf

of Guinea, serious threats to human life

are emerging.

On December 17, 2013, two people were

abducted from their oil-carrying ship off the

Nigerian coast. Nigerian pirates released the

two men, three weeks later, after an unknown

ransom amount is believed to have been

paid. In March 2014, a top UK-based

maritime intelligence organization

announced a special advisory warning for

crew kidnapping in the Gulf of Guinea,

following 10 attacks since December 2013

alone. In August 2012, Togolese security

forces traded gunfire with pirates who had

hijacked a Greek oil tanker. More recent

activity suggests that piracy is expanding

further south to Angola’s coast in the

southern Atlantic Ocean. Angolan waters lie

almost 1,000 miles from the regional piracy

epicentre in Nigeria, with Angola the second

largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa

behind Nigeria. Up until 2014, 11 out of 40

incidents of boarding, kidnapping, hijacking

and armed robbery, recorded by International

Maritime Bureau (IMB) were in Gulf Of

Guinea. Nigerian piracy makes up the

majority of attacks on vessels in West Africa.

Government officials hold discretionary

powers in many of Nigeria’s major ports. A

Nigerian corruption commission report co-

sponsored by the United Nations

Development Program recently found that

“corruption is reported to be a legitimate and

accepted tool to promote business

interests.” In 2017, 33 incidents of piracy

and robbery at sea, successful or

otherwise, were reported within 12 nautical

miles of the Nigerian coastline.

As for Somali piracy, it has plummeted. The

peak years of the Somali piracy crisis were

2007 to 2012. Attacks across the Gulf of

Aden, the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea took

place nearly daily. In 2011 there were 237

attacks in the region, reportedly costing

businesses and insurers $8.3bn (£5.1bn).

However; last year, according to IMB, only 9

vessels were hijacked off the Somali coast.

This was because UN Security council

launched a huge naval anti-piracy effort in

2008 in which many anti-piracy

measures were taken to secure the Somali

coastline. There are several measures that UN

has taken and resolutions that it has

passed regarding the issue of oceanic piracy

in Africa.

Measures taken by UNSC and other

relevant committees

Excellent efforts have been

conducted by UNSC and other committees

by the virtue of several United Nations

Security Council resolutions; many of which

came out in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. It

was in 2008 that all five permanent members

of UN Security council, for the first time

since Second World War, deployed forces

together and launched a huge naval anti-

piracy effort in order to secure Somali

coastline. In 2015, resolution 2246 came out

which recalled its previous resolution

concerning the situation in Somalia,

especially resolutions 1814 (2008), 1816

(2008), 1838 (2008), 1844 (2008), 1846

(2008), 1851 (2008), 1897 (2009), 1918

(2010), 1950 (2010), 1976 (2011), 2015

(2011), 2020 (2011), 2077 (2012) 2125

(2013), and 2184 (2014). It reaffirmed its

respect for the sovereignty, territorial

integrity, political independence, and unity of

Somalia, including Somalia’s sovereign

rights in accordance with international law,

with respect to offshore natural resources,

including fisheries. It noted that the joint

counter-piracy efforts of States, regions,

organizations, the maritime industry, the

private sector, think tanks, and civil society

have resulted in a steady decline in pirate

attacks as well as hijackings since 2011, and

continued to be gravely concerned by the

ongoing threat of piracy and armed robbery

at sea. It further reaffirmed international law,

as reflected in the United Nations Convention

on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982

(“The Convention”), sets out the legal

framework applicable to activities in the

ocean, including countering piracy and

armed robbery at sea and so on and so

forth. The UN Security council has also

passed specific resolutions on piracy in the

Gulf of Guinea (2018 in 2011 and 2039 in

2012). They also condemn the piracy,

welcome joint efforts planned and/or

undertaken by the regional states and actors

(such as the Economic Community of West

African States, the Economic Community of

Central African States and the Gulf of Guinea

Commission) etc. There are many other

resolutions that are very identical to the

ones aforementioned. The issue at

hand regarding these resolutions is that they

are very soft at approach, because, apart from

the occasional request, most of the notions

are either recommendations or

encouragements.

Apart from UN, other parties have made

efforts to combat marine piracy.

The Economic Community of Central

African States (ECCAS) launched

a coordination centre in 2009 to pool money

financed by maritime taxes to combat piracy

in the gulf. On the international level, the

U.S. Navy has donated boats and carried out

training in Nigeria, while the U.S. Congress

passed a bill on January 7, 2014,

“encouraging increased cooperation between

the United States and West and Central

African countries to fight armed robbery at

sea” and Japan contributed $1 million to an

International Maritime Organization, West

and Central Africa Maritime Security Trust

Fund to curb piracy in the gulf in March

2014. These are some instances that show

that countries and organizations have worked

towards this issue and they have managed to

curb piracy in Africa to some extent;

however, it still remains a problem and

more substantial measures need to

be established and implemented in order to

completely eradicate it.

Who are the current perpetrators?

Maritime piracy has always been prevalent

in Nigerian waters, the Gulf of Guinea, the

Arabian Sea, and off the Somali coast.

Recently, attacks have become more

frequent in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana,

Guinea and Togo, according to the UN

Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in

2013.

What is their goal?

The number of pirates has been increasing

for years now and they have been

originating from countries that are ridden

with poverty, droughts, malnutrition, and

other socio-economic problems that cause

them to turn to conducting criminal

activities at coasts and seas in order to

survive and provide for their families.

Somalia is counted as one of these destitute

countries where locals must turn to illegal

means of sustaining themselves. The already

small-scale Somali fishing industry was

further ruined when foreign fishing trawlers

began to frequent the coast with more

advanced boats and technologies and who

not only depleted the stock of fish but also

polluted the waters by dumping toxic wastes

(Causes of Maritime Piracy in Somalia

Waters, Raunek Kantharia, 2016). This

caused the Somali fishermen to find

alternatives of making money which

included allying with the militia and

unemployed youth to hijack ships and rob

the crews of their possessions around the

coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden and

keep them hostage until they receive

ransoms.

In the Gulf of Guinea, the locals’ incomes

mostly depend on the oil industry. However,

according to Mohamed Mahmoud Abdel

Fattah’s journal article, Piracy in Gulf of

Guinea Causes, Efforts and Solutions, “due

to government perversion and profiteering –

only a small percentage of the revenue

reaches the locals”. This coupled with the

several other socio-economic issues such as

unemployment and lack of economic

opportunities encourage the citizens to turn

to piracy as a means of livelihood.

Another country where corruption within the

oil sector is a leading cause of piracy is

Nigeria. Chatham House, a British research

group, reported in September 2013 that

“corruption and fraud are rampant in the

country’s oil sector”. Thus, in such a place

where lack of regard for the illegal trade of

oil exists, pirates have an incentive to steal

millions worth of oil. It benefits them as

they can earn from it by selling it on the

black market.

What is the UN's stance right now?

The United Nations began to take initiative

to solve the issue of maritime piracy since

2008 when Somali piracy would not be

contained by the multinational coalition,

Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA) and

the Somali Transitional Federal Government

(TFG)

Somalia:

2008

* Resolution 1816: This looked at decisive

measures to prevent piracy and for 6 months

granted States involved with the TFG access

to territorial waters in order to stop piracy

through “all means necessary” (United

Nations Security Council).

* Resolution 1838: This resolution, just like

the last one, condemned maritime piracy but

this time invited States to actively fight

piracy on the high seas off the coast of

Somalia with naval vessels and military

aircrafts. They were also told to protect the

World Food Programme (WFP) convoys,

which was bringing humanitarian assistance

to the affected Somali locals.

2010

* Resolution 1918: This stated that the

failure to prosecute pirates and armed

robbers off the coast of Somalia undermined

international anti-piracy efforts. The UN

also called on States to criminalize maritime

piracy under their respective domestic laws.

* Resolution 1950: This extended for 12

months; the authorization granted to States

and regional organizations to fight against

piracy.

2011

* Resolution 1976: This considered the

establishment of special Somali courts

operating in the country, as well as the East

African region. Setting up “specialized

jurisdictions and prisons” (United Nations

Security Council) in Puntland and

Somaliland was also proposed.

* Resolution 2015: This continued working

towards establishing special courts in the

region to try pirates’ international

participation. They also discussed sending

international aid and a staff of international

bodies to prevent piracy and decided

on procedures to deliver the captured

pirates.

* Resolution 2020: This gave the States a

12-month extension to continue their

intervention in Somali waters

Gulf of Guinea:

2011

* Resolution 2018: It

encouraged cooperation between states and

regional organizations as well as the

shipping and insurance industries. It

discussed that these entities should work

together with the IMO to provide advice and

guidance to ships navigating the gulf.

2012

* Resolution 2039: It urged the States of the

region to group together and act efficiently

to counter the increase of maritime piracy at

national and regional levels. It encouraged

international partners to provide support for

“regional patrols, coordination centres

and the implementation of a region-wide

strategy” (United Nations Security Council).

What are other countries doing about it?

Following the 2008 UN resolutions, many

countries have been involved in fixing and

preventing the issue of maritime piracy

whether it is in policy or resolution-making

or sending naval vessels and military

aircrafts. Right after the 2008 resolutions,

three main naval missions have been

deployed to Gulf of Aden, including NATO,

EU, and U.S. operations. There are also

independent navy ships - including those of

Australia, China, India, and Russia -

patrolling the corridor from all over the

world (Piracy in West Africa, Nirit Ben-Ari,

2013)

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Nincic, D. (2009) Maritime piracy in Africa:

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Security Review, 18(3), 1-16, DOI:

10.1080/10246029.2009.9627538

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