Ottawa 2000
Resolution Piracy, Armed Robbery and Illegal Traffic In Migrants At Sea As adopted by the Congress of Liberal International, Ottawa/Hull, Canada 26-28 October 2000
This Congress:
(a) Concerned by the increase of crime at sea in the form of piracy and armed robbery against ships in territorial and international waters and illicit traffic in migrants and asylum seekers;
(b) Noting that, according to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the number of reported incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships was 309 in 1999, 47% higher than in 1998 and over six times greater than in 1984, when records began to be kept by the IMO;
(c) Aware that probably only about one-third of such criminal acts are reported;
(d) Fearing that the loss of life – like the 58 dead discovered at Dover on 19th June 2000 – among asylum seekers and illegal migrants may amount to thousands of people a year;
(e) Aware that most acts of piracy, especially hijacking of ships, and of the illicit traffic of migrants and asylum seekers are committed by terrorists or by highly organised criminal gangs operating in and passing through several countries;
(f) Understanding that the reporting and prevention of criminal acts at sea are sometimes hindered by the high costs of delays and fines imposed on ships during or following their investigation;
(g) Having regard to Resolution 54/31 on “Oceans and the Law of the Sea” adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 18 January 2000;
1. URGES all Member States of the United nations to ratify the 1988 IMO Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (SUA) and the associated protocol;
2. URGES all Member States of the United Nations to adopt legislation to ensure the investigation, prosecution and appropriate punishment for the crimes of piracy and armed robbery against ships as recommended by the IMO;
3. URGES all States that subscribe to INTERPOL to ensure that it has the necessary financial and technical resources to combat the internationally organised criminal gangs which are often very wealthy and equipped with the most advanced technologies for enabling them to commit crimes at sea;
4. RECOGNISES the difficulty in patrolling territorial waters by foreign ships and, therefore, SUGGESTS that bilateral agreements for this be concluded between States that trade extensively with, or ships of which regularly transit waters of, States with long and sometimes uncharted coastlines;
5. RECOMMENDS that all ships to have their names and IMO numbers engraved on their hulls;
6. STRESSES the need to relieve shipmasters from paying customs duties on goods stolen from their ships on the presumption that the thieves have brought them into the country concerned;
7. URGES Governments to ensure that ships are not delayed and that shipping companies are not made to incur expenses as a result of reported cases of piracy and armed robbery being investigated;
8. CALLS for the consideration of further measures, including action by the UN Security Council, against the scourge of piracy and illicit traffic in people by sea;
9. ASKS all Member Parties and Groups of the Liberal International to make the public and their national Governments aware of the growing menace of piracy and armed robbery against ships and the massive brutal exploitation of migrants and asylum seekers by organised international crime;
10. INSTRUCTS its Secretary-General to transmit this Resolution to the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations, the Secretary-General of the IMO and all Member Parties and Groups of the Liberal International.
