YouSaid · the spoken record

Ukonga

lines on the record: 46
first: 2011-10-19
most recent: 2022-11-22
sittings or episodes: 4
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“In conclusion, if those efforts are continued, increased and sustainable, piracy and other criminal activities will be a thing of the past in the region. The GGC, as an integral part of providing a solution in the process of securing the maritime space of that region, wishes to reiterate its availability, readiness and firm commitment to join all efforts to preserve and consolidate the gains of the past years.”
2022-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9198 (2022) · source
“Adequate funding should be provided for the Interregional Coordination Centre, the Multinational Maritime Coordination Centres and the regional maritime coordination centres for their functioning and programmes. There are also plans for the establishment of a combined naval task force of the navies of the region for more effective intervention, if necessary. At the international level, the African Union, United Nations agencies and other international stakeholders should provide assistance for mutually beneficial collaboration between them and the Governments of the region, as well as between them and the coastal populations. Moreover, naval assets should be provided bilaterally, multilaterally or regionally, together with hands-on training on the use of such assets.”
2022-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9198 (2022) · source
“The conditions for employment for both youth and adults have to be created and maintained to discourage them from being attracted to criminality for their survival. The provision of assets for the national navies and other maritime security and safety agencies and the coming into operation of the national maritime operational centres have to be continued. At the regional level, there should be continued advocacy for more sustainable collaboration and cooperation among the navies and other maritime security agencies; the mutualization of assets for effective monitoring, surveillance and deterrent activities in the maritime domain of the region; and the provision of —.”
2022-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9198 (2022) · source
“What must we continue to do to maintain our level of peace and security? To maintain and increase the level of calm, peace and security that have so far been achieved, the States of the region, regional organizations and international organizations have to intensify their efforts to continue the actions that have produced those heart-warming results. Criminality at sea begins on land — hence there is a need to maintain actions on land to discourage criminality at sea. At the national level, the populations’ basic needs have to be considered and provided for. Health facilities, potable water, electricity and education facilities have to be provided by the Government at all levels of governance. And other stakeholders who are also doing legitimate business in the region should also supplement government efforts.”
2022-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9198 (2022) · source
“Oil theft has also increased, especially in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria, with devastating effects on government earnings, as almost 40 to 50 per cent of exploited crude oil is stolen by both local and international collaborators and their accomplices. The environment is being polluted by unacceptable methods of exploitation of hydrocarbon resources and pipeline vandalism. That leads to damage of the environment: no fishing, no drinkable or usable water and no farming. There is trafficking in arms and persons and illegal immigration. There are also other factors affecting the coastal populations: erosion of the coastline and flooding of coastal cities due to climate change. Governance challenges are also a factor, as well as a lack of basic amenities and facilities, schools, hospitals, electricity and roads.”
2022-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9198 (2022) · source
“There are other crimes that are ongoing in the region, and which do not have visible effects on international maritime trade and shipping, but which have a more forceful impact on the well-being of the coastal populations and the economic well-being of the Governments of the region. We have illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing). Those who spoke before me referred to that. IUU fishing deprives the coastal communities of their means of food and livelihood. It also creates hunger, underemployment and unemployment among the coastal populations and pushes them to join criminal gangs, with promises of quick and fantastic rewards for illegal activities, or to embark on Mediterranean crossings into Europe at the risk of their lives. IUU fishing also deprives the Governments of the region of tremendous revenue.”
2022-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9198 (2022) · source
“In that connection, we wish to acknowledge the great assistance of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in those efforts at the national, multinational and regional levels. Laws have been enacted within the States to prosecute offenders of piracy and other crimes at sea, which has acted as a credible deterrent to would-be offenders, such as the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act of 2019 promulgated by the Republic of Nigeria. The European Union’s Coordinated Maritime Presences concept was also launched, in January 2021, stationing frigates for patrols on the edges of the exclusive economic zones of the region. All those measures have led to the considerable decrease in piracy acts in the Gulf of Guinea region. It is not, however, time to rest on our oars.”
2022-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9198 (2022) · source
“There has been an increase in and stronger advocacy by regional organizations, such as ECOWAS, ECCAS and GGC, for States to take primary responsibility for the maintenance of peace, security and safety in their maritime domain, and a greater collaboration and mutualization of naval assets by the navies and other maritime security and safety agencies of the States of the region. There has been better training and joint international maritime exercises of the navies as organized by the United States of America, France, the United Kingdom and Brazil, among others. That also leads to confidence-building among the personnel. There has been a more impactful collaboration between the States of the region and other States outside the region for the sponsorship of programmes, a review of legal texts and prosecution of offenders.”
2022-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9198 (2022) · source
“That commitment has been amply demonstrated in both actions and words, and the Gulf of Guinea region is gradually losing its unenvious position of replacing the east coast of Africa, off Somalia, in piracy attacks and other maritime crimes. What is responsible for that decline in maritime piracy? The political will of Governments of the region to take responsibility for securing their maritime domain has increased. There has been better funding of the navies and other security agencies of the region, for the acquisition of assets and other requirements.”
2022-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9198 (2022) · source
“The Summit led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding between ECOWAS, ECCAS and GGC and the adoption of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct and Declaration, launching the Yaoundé Architecture for maritime security and safety in the Gulf of Guinea region. That includes the multinational maritime coordination centres (MMCCs) of zones D and A; the Regional Coordination Centre for Maritime Security in Central Africa established by ECCAS in 2009; the MMCCs of zones E, F and G established by ECOWAS in 2014; and the Interregional Coordination Centre for the Implementation of the Regional Strategy for Maritime Safety and Security in Central and West Africa, which was established by ECOWAS, ECCAS and GGC in 2014.”
2022-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9198 (2022) · source
“I would like to recall the Council’s timely intervention in that regard in adopting resolutions 2018 (2011) of October 2011 and 2039 (2012) of 29 February 2012, urging the States of the region and the subregional organizations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the GGC to cooperate and collaborate in order to confront this menace. With the assistance of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa and the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel, the Summit of Heads of State and Government of ECCAS, ECOWAS and the GGC was held in Yaoundé on 25 June 2013.”
2022-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9198 (2022) · source
“Mrs. Ukonga: Let me begin by expressing the Gulf of Guinea Commission’s (GGC) appreciation to you, Mr. President, for inviting to me here today. I would also like to commend the current Chair of the GGC, President Akufo-Addo of Ghana, for his commitment and strong determination to working with his colleagues to make the Gulf of Guinea region a zone of peace and security. My briefing today is totally different from the one I gave in this very Chamber about 10 years ago, in October 2011 (see S/PV.6633), when concerns about the issue of piracy were first relayed not only to the countries of the Gulf of Guinea region but to the Security Council as well.”
2022-11-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9198 (2022) · source
“With this three-pronged approach, the threat of transnational organized crime at sea to international peace and security will be greatly reduced, if not completely eradicated, in the Gulf of Guinea region.”
2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source
“At the international level, we must promote the assistance and collaboration of international parties and other stakeholders with countries of the region in order to enable them to carry out their agreed programmes and projects for the reduction and eradication of poverty; encourage direct investment in facilities and infrastructure to benefit the population; take action to discourage illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the region and to compel transnational companies to use best practices in their exploitation activities in order to avoid sea pollution and environmental degradation in the region; move to establish mechanisms to criminalize the purchase of stolen crude oil and to discourage the commission of such crimes by entities outside the region; ensure that the proceeds of such crimes are forfeited to the Governments of the States from which such resources are stolen; and establish international mechanisms to control the dumping of toxic residues in the territorial waters of the region and international waters adjacent to the region.”
2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source
“At the regional level, we must promote cooperation with neighbouring States to share information on suspicious movements in the maritime domain; undertake joint patrols and surveillance of the maritime domain; collaborate in the operationalization of agreed maritime strategy; mutualize maritime assets for better coordination and implementation of agreed strategies and policies; ensure the effective functioning of the multinational coordination centres in Douala and Cotonou and of the Regional Center for African Maritime Security, in Pointe Noire, and the West Africa Maritime Regional Safety Center, in Abidjan; ensure the effective functioning of the Interregional Coordination Center in Yaounde, established subsequent to the adoption of resolution 2018 (2011), of 31 October 2011, and resolution 2039 (2012), of 29 February 2012.”
2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source
“The Governments of the States of the region must commit to a serious, aggressive and sustained campaign to create real jobs at home instead of perpetuating illegal immigration abroad, as the grass is not always greener on the other side. We must improve the capacity and capability of national navies to undertake effective patrolling of the maritime domain. We must ensure the domestication and implementation of agreements signed on the suppression of criminal activities at sea in the Gulf of Guinea region, such as the Yaounde Code of Conduct on the prevention and repression of acts ofpiracy, armed robbery against vessels, and illicit activities in the West and Central African maritime domain, of 25 June 2013.”
2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source
“At the national level, we must resolve national disagreements to discourage cooperation with perpetrators of transnational crime at sea; restore degraded environment caused by the exploitation of hydrocarbon resources at sea; and create social, political and economic conditions that can encourage youth employment and curb youth restiveness, especially in those countries engaged in the exploitation of natural resources such as hydrocarbons and living marine resources. In multiracial and multitribal societies, we must ensure the political inclusion of the population, especially in the coastal parts of the country.”
2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source
“While an international naval intervention from outside the Gulf of Aden has succeeded in reducing such incidents in that region, that may not be feasible in West and Central Africa, the main reason being that no country in West or Central Africa is a failed State, as was the case with Somalia. Also, the States of the region have taken and are taking measures to patrol their waters. From our own studies and analyses, we know that transnational organized crime at sea in our Gulf oquinea region can be reduced with a better and more coordinated intervention at the national, regional and international levels.”
2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source
“The two seminars were organized on the following themes: "The governance of the Atlantic Ocean in the interest of peace, security and sustainable development in the Gulf of Guinea" and "The blue economy in the interest of food security in the Gulf of Guinea region". Our next seminar will be on regional maritime strategy and unregulated migration in the Gulf of Guinea region. It is scheduled to be held in March in Accra. Transnational organized crime at sea, as a threat to international peace and security, is not peculiar to the Gulf of Guinea region. Other regions are equally being plagued by that scourge.”
2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source
“We now have working multinational coordination centres in Douala and Cotonou, and regional maritime security coordination centres in two economic communities of the Gulf of Guinea region: the Economic Community of Central African States, with its Regional Center for African Maritime Security, in Pointe Noire; and the Economic Community of West African States, with its West Africa Maritime Regional Safety Center in Abidjan. The Gulf of Guinea Commission has pursued the objectives of its establishment by organizing specialized committees to deal collectively with common issues of the region. In that vein, in 2018 the GGC organized two seminars to bring together experts of international organizations and member States to inform and brainstorm on happenings in the region and member States with a view to adopting best practices.”
2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source
“Hence, the countries of the region came together to form the Gulf of Guinea Commission as a forum to identify the common problems, compare notes, solve these problems, adopt best practices and encourage each member State to take on the primary responsibility for securing its maritime borders and, in case of need, to assist neighbours in doing the same by pooling resources through the establishment of maritime operations centres in each member State and multinational coordination centres with neighbouring States.”
2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source
“The Gulf of Guinea region comprises some 13 countries, from Liberia to Angola, in an area with some 6,000 kilometres of coastline. It is a wide expanse of land and water that no single country of the region can successfully patrol. None of the countries of the region has either the capacity or the capability to even attempt to undertake that important assignment.”
2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source
“The region's rich endowment in hydrocarbon and living marine resources, along with its importance as a key route for maritime transport between America, Europe and Africa and onwards to Asia, also makes it a very attractive environment for criminals who want to engage in their nefarious activities. A Gulf of Guinea that is well patrolled and supervised, as well as better served socially, would reduce incidents of criminal activities in its maritime domain. However, this, unfortunately, is not yet the case. We in the region are therefore faced with a situation of increasing criminality in the maritime domain of the Gulf of Guinea, which is destabilizing the whole region and constitutes a threat to international peace and security.”
2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source
“It can also be caused by criminal activities carried out across national boundaries, threatening the economic well-being and sustainable development of the Victims of such acts. As my contribution to this very important debate, I would like to focus on transnational organized crime at sea in the Gulf of Guinea region as a threat to world peace and security. Several countries of the region established the GGC on 3 July 2001 to ensure that such threats to the economic well-being, peace and security of the region are reduced to the barest minimum, if not completely eliminated.”
2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source
“Mrs. Ukonga: It is indeed an honour for me personally, and for the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC), to have been invited to participate in this very important debate on transnational organized crime at sea as a threat to international peace and security. The whole world knows that the primary responsibility of the Security Council is the maintenance of international peace and security, and therefore to deal with any situation or incident in the world that may constitute a threat to world peace and security. That threat can come by way of war among or within nations, but it can also be caused by religious, tribal, economic or political differences among antagonists.”
2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source
“There is therefore a need to have an accepted common definition of acts of piracy, attracting the same type of punishment in all the countries of the region, and possibly the establishment of a neutral jurisdiction that will try those arrested for acts of piracy. What is true of piracy is also true of the legal framework for bringing to trial those caught carrying out illegal activities in other sectors. This means that there is the need to harmonize the legal texts regulating activities in these sectors and prescribing punishments for those who run afoul of the laws. Our second comment is on the meeting of ECOWAS, ECCAS and the GGC, as noted in paragraph 44 of the report. The GGC would like to propose that the United Nations support the process of the meeting and give the meeting all the assistance it will require.”
2012-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6723 (2012) · source
“On the legal framework, as referred to in paragraphs 13 and 14, although the report specifically reports on what obtains in the Republic of Benin, the situation is more or less the same in many other countries of the region. The legal framework for dealing with piracy is insufficient, ineffective and different from one country to the other, ranging from the treatment of acts of piracy as minor misdemeanours in some, to conspiracy to commit theft on the high seas in others. There is no standardized, adopted and accepted definition of pirates in the context of the region with the result that when pirates are caught, depending on where and under what circumstances they are caught, they can escape with little or no punishment.”
2012-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6723 (2012) · source
“Among other things, such issues include possible concerted efforts in the fight against piracy, which is currently one of the greatest threats to economic activity within the region; the issue of environmental pollution and degradation; and illegal, unauthorized and uncontrolled fishing. The GGC has also taken steps to draft a strategy for maritime security in the region that, once it has been discussed and approved by the relevant higher authorities, will constitute our basic document for discussion and collaboration with other subregional and international organizations. On the issue of the report that we are considering, the GGC would like to make some comments on the observations made in some portions of the report.”
2012-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6723 (2012) · source
“That was due to circumstances completely beyond his control. I would also express our congratulations to the United Nations assessment team that visited the Gulf of Guinea region for the painstaking way in which it carried out their evaluation assignment and for giving us a detailed report on their findings. The secretariat of the Gulf of Guinea Commission received the team on 24 November 2011. The report on the GGC contained a true reflection of our discussions with them. Since their visit, the Gulf of Guinea Commission has initiated action towards effecting collaboration between it and ECOWAS on matters of common interest including.”
2012-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6723 (2012) · source
“Mrs. Ukonga: Let me begin by thanking the President of the Security Council for inviting the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) to participate in the discussion on the report (see S/2012/45) of the United Nations evaluation mission sent by the Secretary- General to the Gulf of Guinea region and to the secretariats of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States and the GGC to ascertain the level of threat posed by piracy and to take stock of regional and national capacities in ensuring maritime safety and security in the region. I would also like to convey the apologies of the Executive Secretary of the GGC for his inability to be personally present at this meeting, in spite of the personal invitation addressed to him by the Togolese presidency of the Security Council.”
2012-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6723 (2012) · source
“It is our fervent hope that the Security Council will take these factors into consideration in the decision on a comprehensive and coordinated approach to combating piracy and other criminal activities, such as terrorism, robbery at sea, trafficking in arms, drugs and persons, as well as controlling illegal, unauthorized and undeclared fishing activities. The Gulf of Guinea Commission was established with the objective of warding off such maritime challenges and to control and contain them until they are eventually eliminated.”
2011-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6633 (2011) · source
“It is therefore most suitable to carry out the functions of any joint mechanism that may be established to confront the dangers now shattering the peace and security of the region. We are a brand-new organization and, if politically supported and provided with the necessary human and material resources, funding and other required logistical support, we will be in a very good position to perform our functions and fulfil our mandate. The United States of America, France and Germany have been at the forefront of efforts to provide assistance, organizing training exercises for the maritime and naval personnel of some member States. Nigeria, Benin and Cameroon have benefited from such assistance, which should be coordinated and extended to all States of the Gulf of Guinea region, under the auspices of the Gulf of Guinea Commission.”
2011-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6633 (2011) · source
“There will be a need to harmonize laws regarding illegal activities. How do we deal with piracy without the process being hijacked for the purposes of political vendettas, among other things? We need to improve the legal framework by ensuring that member States adopt laws against piracy that can be used in all countries of the region. We also need to encourage the standardization of punishments for offences at the regional level, so that one country does not sentence a convicted pirate to two years' imprisonment, while another hands out a 20-year sentence. The Gulf of Guinea Commission is there to perform such harmonization work for member States, be they from ECOWAS or ECCAS. We currently have members from West, Central and southern Africa with shorelines on the Gulf of Guinea.”
2011-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6633 (2011) · source
“Fighting such illegal activities as piracy, terrorism and trafficking of all kinds - arms, persons and drugs - is not like fighting a war in the classical sense of the word, that is, with organized armies. Individual, bilateral and tripartite or quadripartite approaches will only the drive criminal actors to operate in those areas of the region that are not covered by such security arrangements. That has been the case with the arrangements made between Nigeria and Benin, as well as the efforts of Equatorial Guinea and some countries of the ECCAS region, which have also set up a quadripartite arrangement. The war will require technological know-how, radar surveillance, equipment, good expertise for effective monitoring, and preventive deterrence. Why is the Gulf of Guinea Commission involved?”
2011-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6633 (2011) · source
“In July 2011, we were part of the ECCAS and ECOWAS Maritime Safety and Security Seminar, on which General Toure has ably briefed the Council. We have realized, on the basis of all those meetings, that fighting criminals at sea is a high-cost operation. Securing a maritime space the size of the Gulf of Guinea region goes beyond the capacity of any one country, as no country in the region has the human, material and financial capacity to cover it. This has created a need for cooperation and close collaboration among the countries of the region, which must work closely with external partners to establish a robust, all- inclusive regional defence mechanism that can be simultaneously deployed, coordinated and controlled at the regional level.”
2011-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6633 (2011) · source
“The Commission also seeks to encourage best practices in exploration for and exploitation of the natural resources of the region and to assist in case of natural and environmental disasters. The Commission is open to working in synergy with countries of the region and with ECOWAS and ECCAS to fight all the threats to the natural resources and environment of the region. Since our inception, we organized a defence and security conference in Malabo in February 2010 with a view to charting a way forward in the search for effective and inclusive solutions to the increasing incidence of threats to security and criminal activities in the region. We also participated in the African Union-coordinated conference on maritime security in Africa.”
2011-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6633 (2011) · source
“There is an urgent need for regional institutions like the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) to work with us, the Gulf of Guinea Commission, to uproot the scourge of criminalities from their respective subregions for a successful realization of their mandates. We also welcome the current initiative that is being pursued within the United Nations system. The fundamental idea for establishing the Gulf of Guinea Commission was to provide maritime security for the region in order to protect the exploration for and exploitation of its natural resources - oil and gas and fisheries - for the development of the countries of the region and their populations.”
2011-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6633 (2011) · source
“Therefore, the situation involves a security imperative for the development of the region. Many of main cities and towns of the Gulf of Guinea region are found along the coast. Hence any threat to security caused by criminal activities at sea or by ecological problems will affect many, many people. The Gulf also serves as a very important route that connects the region to Europe and America. Piracy and armed robbery at sea directly affect the cost of sea transportation in the region in terms of high insurance costs and the frequency of ships. If all these installations, facilities, populations and sea routes are threatened by piracy, armed robbery at sea and other criminal and illegal activities, the problem is massive and has regional and international consequences. How do we face the threats?”
2011-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6633 (2011) · source
“Those represent very heavy investments, and the countries of the region and their business partners cannot afford to watch while pirates and armed robbers at sea threaten facilities that are vital to the economic survival of the countries of the region. We also have ports for export and import in both the maritime countries and their landlocked neighbours. Ports like Douwala, Kribi, Abidjan, Cotonou and Lome serve Chad, Mali and Burkina Faso. Any threat to these ports, through piracy and armed robbery at sea, also affects the economic activities and survival of those countries that depend on them for their imports and exports. Such criminal activities would destabilize not only the host countries but also the landlocked countries that depend on them.”
2011-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6633 (2011) · source
“This importance has equally drawn both domestic and international attention to the need for more focused and better coordinated attention in addressing the growing challenges of piracy, especially boarded piracy, armed robbery at sea, terrorism, illicit trafficking in arms, drugs and persons, and other illegal activities like illegal, uncontrolled and undeclared fishing, among others. In the Gulf of Guinea region we now have installed facilities for oil and gas exploration and exploitation, such as oil and gas production platforms in shallow waters, floating production systems in deep waters, drilling rigs for exploration in deep waters, and onshore and offshore storage facilities.”
2011-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6633 (2011) · source
“Since its inception in 2007, the Executive Secretariat of the Gulf of Guinea Commission has striven to establish contacts and mechanisms that will assist in attaining the objectives of the GGC, especially in the face of the growing importance of the region as a major supplier of marine and hydrocarbon resources to the international community, including, inter alia, the United States of America, China, France, Portugal and Spain. The Gulf of Guinea region is an important shipping route and hub that connects the region with Europe and America.”
2011-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6633 (2011) · source
“Article 5 of the Treaty clearly states the areas of cooperation: "In pursuit of the objectives stated above, the High Contracting Parties undertake to pool their efforts towards the harmonization of their respective policies in the areas of common interest. "To this end, they pledge to identify areas of common interest in the geographical area of the Gulf and map out common policies, particularly in the areas of peace and security, exploration of hydrocarbons, fisheries and mineral resources, the environment, movement of peoples and goods, development of communications, promotion of the economic development and integration of the Gulf region".”
2011-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6633 (2011) · source
“Among the objectives of the Commission, as clearly stated in its Article 3, are the following: to create conditions of mutual confidence and peace and security conducive to the harmonious development of States; to promote close consultation in the exploitation of the natural resources of the Gulf, with a View to ensuring the economic development of member States and the well-being of their peoples; to harmonize the respective policies of States regarding matters of common interest, particularly matters concerning the exploitation of natural resources; to protect, preserve and improve the natural environment of the Gulf of Guinea and cooperate in the event of natural disaster; and to strengthen cooperation in communications, especially maritime communication, with a view to facilitating ties and trade among member States.”
2011-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6633 (2011) · source
“The current members are Angola, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, and Sao Tome and Principe. Under Article 27, countries of the Gulf of Guinea region can accede to the Treaty and be admitted as members.”
2011-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6633 (2011) · source
“The Gulf of Guinea Commission welcomes this development at the Security Council and hopes it will lead to an effective collaboration to strengthen the region's defence mechanism so as to prevent its becoming another dangerous zone like the Gulf of Aden. Among other reasons, it was precisely to forestall this nefarious development that the Gulf of Guinea Commission was established. The Treaty establishing the Gulf of Guinea Commission was first signed in July 2001 and came into effect in August 2006. Its secretariat was set up in Luanda in April 2007. The Treaty states in Article 2 that the membership of the Commission shall be "sovereign States bordering the Gulf of Guinea, parties to the present Treaty".”
2011-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6633 (2011) · source
“Mrs. Ukonga: Let me begin by thanking the Nigerian presidency for inviting the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) to participate in this debate and discussion on the subject of "Peace and security in Africa: piracy in the Gulf of Guinea". This issue has become a real cause for concern for the countries of the region and the rest of the world because of the increased number of acts of piracy, terrorism and robbery at sea, illicit trafficking of arms, drugs, persons and goods regularly being carried in the Gulf of Guinea region. I bring apologies from the Executive Secretary of the Gulf of Guinea Commission, His Excellency Mr. Miguel Trovoada, who was unable to participate in this meeting due to reasons beyond his control. For me personally, it is a great honour to represent the Gulf of Guinea Commission at this very important meeting.”
2011-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6633 (2011) · source