Maritime Law workshop concludes in Mogadishu
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) has concluded a five-day training workshop for government and regional state officials on a wide range of maritime issues.
The workshop was aimed at building capacity and understanding among government authorities on maritime law such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and to enable Somali authorities to safeguard its territorial waters, repress piracy and benefit from its rich maritime resources.
The training comes at a time Somalia has just filed its application at the International Court of Justice challenging Kenya over the maritime dispute between the two countries. Somalia has also filed has also filed a formal claim for a bigger chunk of the continental shelf with UNCLOS in New York.
Legal framework The long-term goal of the project is to assist Somalia in developing an overarching legal framework for the effective governance of its maritime domain and the sustainable development of its resources.
Nur Farah Hirsi, the Minister of Ports and Marine Transport said that understanding the law of the sea and the UN conventions is important for Somalia, which has the longest coastline in Africa.
“Somalia ratified the UNCLOS in 1989. So after a short time, Somalia got in a political crisis, as you know. And now we are coming up again in international organizations and the international community. So we now have a chance to practice our rights under the UNCLOS and other UN conventions,” said Minister Farah Hirsi.
Maritime resources
Vladimir Jares, the Deputy Director of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea said that the training is part of a wider project intended to support Somalia in its efforts to derive benefits from its maritime resources.
UNCLOS is widely considered as the ‘constitution of the oceans’ and is universal in its participation and adherence, with 166 States Parties around the world.”
“As many developing countries, Somalia faces challenges in terms of institutional framework, good understanding of the legal regime in terms of capacity, infrastructure, and in terms of enforcement of its national laws and in terms of harmonization of national laws with international law as called for by the UN General Assembly. So we are here to assist Somalia, but of course Somalia will make its sovereign decisions as to its future and the actions that need to be taken in the oceans for Somalia to derive benefits from its maritime spaces,” he said.
Maritime zones
The training provides participants with an overview of maritime zones. It also examines issues such as protection and preservation of the marine environment, marine scientific research and addressing issues pertaining to the fisheries including fishing, and oceans governance.
The workshop is part of a larger project to train officials across the country. In October 2014, the inaugural briefing targeted legislators who were informed about the international legal regime that governs maritime zones as stipulated in the UNCLOS including fishing, offshore mining and exploration of natural gas and oil.
The workshop in Mogadishu attracted experts and scholars from Federal and Regional Ministries as well as departments such as the Port Authority, Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Fisheries, Ministry of Environment, the Maritime Research Center and the Navy.
Regulatory framework
The final phase of the training project will include identification of gaps in the Somali maritime sector and relevant regulatory framework as well as the means to improve ocean governance at the national level.
According to Mr. Jares, the knowledge acquired will enable the Federal Government of Somalia to better manage the country’s ocean sector including fisheries resources, mineral extraction and oil & gas exploitation, thus addressing the root causes of piracy as called for by the United Nations Security Council.
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