Security Council Resolution 1976 (2011) [on Acts of Piracy and Armed Robbery at Sea Off the Coast of Somalia]

S/RES/1976(2011)No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Security Council, under agenda item 84The situation in Somalia, published in 2011.

What other versions does this mandate have?

4 versions · 2011–2014

This is an older version — the most recent is S/RES/2184 (2014)

2014S/RES/2184 (2014)Security Council resolution 2184 (2014) [on acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia]LatestCompare with previous version
2013S/RES/2125 (2013)Security Council resolution 2125 (2013) [on acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia]Compare with previous version
2011S/RES/2015(2011)Security Council resolution 2015 (2011) [on acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia]Compare with previous version
2011S/RES/1976(2011)Security Council resolution 1976 (2011) [on acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia]

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

14 topics

Correctional Systems Crime Prevention Criminal Jurisdiction Judicial System Law Enforcement Maritime Safety Maritime Security Maritime Transport Piracy Prosecution Regional Cooperation Robbery Somalia Territorial Sea

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

2 reports of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2011.

2011S/2011/661Report of the Secretary-General on the protection of Somali natural resources and waters
2011S/2011/360Report of the Secretary-General on the modalities for the establishment of specialized Somali anti-piracy courts

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

28 operative paragraphs

Welcomes the report of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Legal Issues Related to Piracy off the coast of Somalia;

Recognizes that the ongoing instability in Somalia is one of the underlying causes of the problem of piracy and contributes to the problem of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, and stresses the need for a comprehensive response to tackle piracy and its underlying causes by the international community;

Calls upon States to cooperate, as appropriate, on the issue of hostage-taking;

Requests States, UNODC, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) and regional organizations to assist the TFG and regional authorities in Somalia in establishing a system of governance, rule of law and police control in lawless areas where land-based activities related to piracy are taking place and also requests the TFG and regional authorities in Somalia to increase their own efforts in this regard;

Requests States and regional organizations to support sustainable economic growth in Somalia thus contributing to a durable eradication of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, as well as other illegal activities connected therewith, in particular in priority areas recommended by the Istanbul conference on piracy in Somalia;

Invites States and regional organizations to continue their support and assistance to Somalia in its efforts to develop national fisheries and port activities in line with the Regional Plan of Action, and in this regard emphasizes the importance of the earliest possible delimitation of Somalia’s maritime spaces in accordance with the Convention;

Recalls preambular paragraphs 6 and 7 above and operative paragraph 2 of resolution 1950 (2010), and requests the Secretary-General to report within six months on the protection of Somali natural resources and waters, and on alleged illegal fishing and illegal dumping, including of toxic substances, off the coast of Somalia, taking into account the studies on this matter previously conducted by the United Nations Environmental Programme and other competent agencies and organizations, and expresses its readiness to keep the matter under review;

Urges States individually or within the framework of competent international organizations to positively consider investigating allegations of illegal fishing and illegal dumping, including of toxic substances, with a view to prosecuting such offences when committed by persons under their jurisdiction;

Calls upon States and regional organizations cooperating with the TFG in the fight against piracy off the coast of Somalia to further increase their coordination to effectively deter, prevent and respond to pirate attacks, including through the CGPCS;

Encourages States and regional organisations cooperating with the TFG to assist Somalia in strengthening its coastguard capacity, in particular by supporting the development of land-based coastal monitoring and increasing their cooperation with the Somali regional authorities in this regard, as appropriate, after having any necessary approval from the Council’s Committee pursuant to resolutions 751 (1992) and 1907 (2009);

Calls on States, regional organizations, the United Nations, IMO and other appropriate partners to provide all necessary technical and financial support to the implementation of the Djibouti Code of Conduct, the Regional Plan of Action for Maritime Security in Eastern and Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean agreed by Ministers in Mauritius in October 2010, and the CGPCS regional needs assessment report, recognizing the political will expressed by regional countries in these documents to combat piracy by all means possible, including through prosecution and imprisonment;

Commends the efforts of the shipping industry, in cooperation with the CGPCS and IMO, in developing and disseminating the updated version of the Best Management Practices to Deter Piracy off the Coast of Somalia and in the Arabian Sea Area (BMP) and emphasizes the critical importance for the shipping industry of applying the best practices recommended in the BMP;

Urges all States, including States in the region, to criminalize piracy under their domestic law, emphasizing the importance of criminalizing incitement, facilitation, conspiracy and attempts to commit acts of piracy;

Recognizes that piracy is a crime subject to universal jurisdiction and in that regard reiterates its call on States to favourably consider the prosecution of suspected, and imprisonment of convicted, pirates apprehended off the coast of Somalia, consistent with applicable international human rights law;

Underlines the need to investigate and prosecute those who illicitly finance, plan, organize, or unlawfully profit from pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia, recognizing that individuals and entities who incite or intentionally facilitate an act of piracy are themselves engaging in piracy as defined under international law and expresses its intention to keep under review the possibility of applying targeted sanctions against such individuals and entities if they meet the listing criteria set out in paragraph 8 resolution 1844 (2008);

Invites States, individually or in cooperation with regional organizations, UNODC and INTERPOL, to examine their domestic legal frameworks for detention at sea of suspected pirates to ensure that their laws provide reasonable procedures, consistent with applicable international human rights law, and also invites States to examine domestic procedures for the preservation of evidence that may be used in criminal proceedings to ensure the admissibility of such evidence, and encourages the CGPCS to contribute to this work;

Further invites States and regional organizations, individually or in cooperation with, among others, UNODC and INTERPOL, to assist Somalia and other States of the region in strengthening their counter-piracy law enforcement capacities, including implementation of anti-money-laundering laws, the establishment of Financial Investigation Units and strengthening forensic capacities, as tools against international criminal networks involved in piracy, and stresses in this context the need to support the investigation and prosecution of those who illicitly finance, plan, organize, or unlawfully profit from pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia;

Underlines the importance of continuing to enhance the collection, preservation and transmission to competent authorities of evidence of acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, and welcomes further work of IMO, INTERPOL and industry groups to assist in providing guidance to seafarers on preservation of crime scenes following acts of piracy, noting the importance for the successful prosecution of acts of piracy of enabling seafarers to give evidence in criminal proceedings;

Urges States and international organizations to share evidence and information for anti-piracy law enforcement purposes with a view to ensuring effective prosecution of suspected, and imprisonment of convicted, pirates;

Requests States, UNODC and regional organizations to consider, consistent with applicable rules of international human rights law, measures aimed at facilitating the transfer of suspected pirates for trial, and convicted pirates for imprisonment, including through relevant transfer agreements or arrangements, and commends the efforts to date of the CGPCS in this regard;

Welcomes the readiness of the national and regional administrations of Somalia to cooperate with each other and with States who have prosecuted suspected pirates with a view to enabling convicted pirates to be repatriated back to Somalia under suitable prisoner transfer arrangements, consistent with applicable international law including international human rights law, recognizes in this regard the discussions between the Government of Seychelles and the national and regional administrations of Somalia, which resulted in an agreement in principle of a legal framework for the transfer of convicted pirates to Somalia after their prosecution and conviction in the Seychelles, and encourages States to continue their efforts in this regard;

Urges States, UNODC, based on support from donors, and regional organizations to consolidate international assistance to increase prison capacity in Somalia, including by constructing in the short-term additional prisons in Puntland and Somaliland, and requests UNODC to continue to provide training for prison staff in accordance with relevant international human rights standards and to continue to provide monitoring of compliance with such standards;

Requests the TFG, with the assistance of UNODC, to elaborate and adopt a complete set of counter-piracy laws, and in this regard, welcomes the positive steps made in Puntland, and the progress being made in Somaliland;

Emphasizes the need to ensure effective coordination of anti-piracy efforts and in that regard requests the Secretary-General to strengthen UNPOS as the United Nations focal point for counter-piracy, including the Kampala process;

Supports the ongoing efforts by regional States in the development of anti-piracy courts or chambers in the region, welcomes support by States and international organizations, in consultation with the CGPCS, to such efforts, and requests the Secretary-General to take appropriate measures to assist States and international organizations in such activities;

Decides to urgently consider the establishment of specialized Somali courts to try suspected pirates both in Somalia and in the region, including an extraterritorial Somali specialized anti-piracy court, as referred to in the recommendations contained in the report of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Legal Issues Related to Piracy off the Coast of Somalia Mr. Jack Lang (annex to document S/2011/30), consistent with applicable human rights law, and requests the Secretary-General to report within two months on the modalities of such prosecution mechanisms, including on the participation of international personnel and on other international support and assistance, taking into account the work of the CGPCS and in consultation with concerned regional States and expresses its intention to take further decisions on this matter;

Urges both State and non-State actors affected by piracy, most notably the international shipping community, to provide support for the above-mentioned judicial and detention related projects through the Trust Fund Supporting the Initiatives of States Countering Piracy off the coast of Somalia;

Decides to remain seized of the matter.

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Who created this mandate?

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What does this mandate say?

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