Kenya Signs Maritime Piracy Agreement
Kenya has become the 13th signatory to the Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct – the instrument developed and adopted by countries in the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden that has been a key factor in repressing piracy and armed robbery against ships operating in that region.
Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mozambique, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen are other countries to sign it.
The Amendment significantly broadened the scope of the Djibouti Code when it was adopted at a high-level meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in January 2017.
It covers measures for suppressing a range of illicit activities, including piracy, arms trafficking, trafficking in narcotics, illegal trade in wildlife, illegal oil bunkering, crude oil theft, human trafficking, human smuggling, and illegal dumping of toxic waste.
Lazarus Ombai Amayo, High Commissioner of Kenya to the United Kingdom, and Permanent Representative of Kenya to International Maritime Organization (IMO), deposited the instrument at IMO Headquarters in London.
The Djibouti Code of Conduct that has been instrumental in repressing piracy and armed robbery against ships in the western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden has seen its scope significantly broadened to cover other illicit maritime activities, including human trafficking and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
A high-level meeting of signatories to the Djibouti Code of Conduct, held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (10 to 12 January 2017) has adopted a revised Code of Conduct, which will be known as the “Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct 2017”.