[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 7, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S81-S82]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUPPORTING ENHANCED MARITIME SECURITY IN THE GULF OF GUINEA
Mr. REED. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
now proceed to Calendar No. 270, S. Res. 288.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 288) supporting unenhanced maritime
security in the gulf of Guinea and encouraging increased
cooperation between the United States and West and Central
African countries to fight armed robbery at sea, piracy, and
other maritime threats.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. REED. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to,
the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered
made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 288) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 288
Whereas, although the number of armed robbery at sea and
piracy attacks worldwide dropped substantially in recent
years, such acts in the Gulf of Guinea are increasing, with
more than 40 reported through October 2013 and many more
going unreported;
Whereas the United States imported more than 315,000,000
barrels of oil through the region in 2012, and United States
businesses have extensive fixed assets in the region that are
important to United States energy security;
Whereas the nature of attacks in the Gulf of Guinea
demonstrates an ongoing pattern of cargo thefts and robbery,
often occurring in the territorial waters of West and Central
African states;
Whereas there are countries in West and Central Africa that
are susceptible to acts of armed robbery at sea and piracy
that lack adequate law enforcement and naval capabilities to
stop or deter such attacks;
Whereas acts of maritime crime raise the costs and risks of
trade and commerce in Africa and beyond because the security
of vessels, crews, and cargoes cannot be guaranteed;
Whereas shipping insurance premiums increase after such
attacks, and in so doing, create disincentives for local,
regional, and international investors and companies seeking
to do business in the region;
Whereas imports provide indispensable goods and services
for the people of West and Central Africa, generate port fees
and customs duties for their governments, and are essential
in spurring economic growth and development in the region;
Whereas the U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa issued
by President Barack Obama in June 2012 states, ``It is in the
interest of the United States to improve the region's trade
competitiveness, encourage the diversification of exports
beyond natural resources, and ensure that the benefits from
growth are broad-based.'';
Whereas a vibrant trade relationship between Africa and its
partners, including the United States, can lead to expanded
economic opportunities that can spur competition, raise
productivity, and facilitate job creation in the economies of
all participating countries;
Whereas the African Union, in collaboration with numerous
official and nongovernmental stakeholders, developed the
``2050 Africa's Integrated Maritime Security'' strategy (the
2050 AIM STRATEGY) which seeks ``to address contending,
emerging and future maritime challenges and opportunities in
Africa . . . with a clear focus on enhanced wealth creation
from a sustainable governance of Africa's oceans and seas'';
Whereas the African Union's 2050 AIM STRATEGY seeks to
combat ``diverse illegal activities which include . . . arms
and drug trafficking, human trafficking and smuggling,
piracy, and armed robbery at sea'', among other objectives;
Whereas the June 24-25, 2013, meeting of the Gulf of Guinea
Maritime Security Heads of State Summit held in Cameroon
marked the culmination of a United States Government-
supported Economic Communities of Central African States
(ECCAS) and Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS)-led initiative and process that produced an approved
ECOWAS-ECCAS Memorandum of Understanding for regional
cooperation, and adopted a Gulf of Guinea Code of Conduct to
address maritime crime and a Heads of State Political
Declaration;
Whereas ECOWAS and ECCAS states are working to cooperate
and build their joint capacities in order to increase
maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea and are working to
achieve this goal with such partners as the United Nations
Offices for West and Central Africa, the Gulf of Guinea
Commission, the International Maritime Organization,
[[Page S82]]
the Maritime Organization for West and Central Africa, and
the African Union;
Whereas the United States Government in the Gulf of Guinea
has focused on encouraging multi-layered regional and
national ownership in developing sustainable capacity
building efforts, including working with partners through the
G8++ Friends of Gulf of Guinea Group, to coordinate United
States Government maritime security activities in the region;
Whereas the United States Government has assisted the
countries of West and Central Africa to enhance regional
maritime security through programs such as the ``African
Partnership Station'', operated by United States Naval Forces
Africa ``to build maritime safety and security by increasing
maritime awareness, response capabilities and
infrastructure'', and the ``African Maritime Law Enforcement
Partnership'', which ``enables African partner nations to
build maritime security capacity and improve management of
their maritime environment through real world law enforcement
operations, and through provision of diverse types of
training and equipment assistance and participation in
diverse regional maritime military exercises'', as well as by
employing analytical tools such as the Maritime Security
Sector Reform Guide; and
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 2039,
``expressing its deep concern about the threat that piracy
and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea pose to
international navigation, security and the economic
development of states in the region'', was unanimously
adopted on February 29, 2012: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) condemns acts of armed robbery at sea, piracy, and
other maritime crime in the Gulf of Guinea;
(2) endorses and supports the efforts made by United States
Government agencies to assist affected West and Central
African countries to build capacity to combat armed robbery
at sea, piracy, and other maritime threats, and encourages
the President to continue such assistance, as appropriate,
within resource constraints; and
(3) commends the African Union, subregional entities such
as the ECOWAS and ECCAS, and the various international
agencies that have worked to develop policy and program
frameworks for enhancing maritime security in West and
Central Africa, and encourages these entities and their
member states to continue to build upon these and other
efforts to achieve that end.
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