African Union News

On World Donkey Day (May 8), international animal welfare charity, The Donkey Sanctuary, acknowledges Swire Shipping as the first global shipping line to commit publicly to a ‘No Donkey Skins Carriage policy’.In February last year, African Heads of State and Governments endorsed a continent-wide moratorium on the slaughter of donkeys for their skins at the 37th African Union Summit. The agreement was made in recognition of animal welfare concerns and the vital role donkeys play in supporting communities and economies across Africa.Millions of donkeys are killed for their skins each year…

An Egyptian warship has delivered a second major cache of weaponry to Somalia including anti-aircraft guns and artillery, port and military officials said on Monday, in a move likely to stoke further friction between the two countries and Ethiopia.Ties between Egypt and Somalia have grown this year over their shared mistrust of Ethiopia, prompting Cairo to send several plane loads of arms to Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, after the countries signed a joint security pact in August.Ethiopia…

Ursula von der Leyen has been re-elected as President of the European Commission. Her political manifesto, presented shortly before the election, matches all the priorities of Danish Shipping for 2024-2029.Danish Shipping welcomes her continued prioritizing of the green transition, industrial policy, and competitiveness. Within 100 days, the Commission will present a Clean Industrial Deal aimed at accelerating emission reductions, faster rollout of green energy, and cheaper prices for green energy and fuels.In other words…

African Heads of State have agreed a landmark moratorium on the donkey skin trade. The agreement was reached on February 18 during the 37th African Union Summit in Ethiopia.Over the last decade, Africa has seen its donkey population decimated due to Chinese demand for ejiao, a gelatine used in traditional Chinese medicine that is made from boiling down donkey skins. Believed to have unsubstantiated health benefits, demand for ejiao has obliterated China’s own donkey population…

The UN Security Council last week called for greater action to prevent piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, a region posing significant danger for commercial shipping as a hotbed for maritime kidnappings and armed robbery at sea.The council unanimously adopted Resolution 2634 (2022), which calls upon member states in the region to criminalize piracy and armed robbery at sea under their domestic laws, and to investigate, prosecute or extradite, in accordance with applicable international law…

Pirate attacks against merchant ships off the African coast have been reported regularly over the past decade. And despite measures to suppress it, Somalia-based piracy remains a concern. On the other side of the continent, the Gulf of Guinea is now viewed as presenting a much more serious piracy problem.Last year a record 130 crew members were kidnapped in 22 separate incidents, according to the International Maritime Bureau. The cluster of attacks in November and December has…

Somali pirates have released three Iranian hostages held for five years, a maritime security official said on Thursday, as conflicting reports emerged whether another ship had been seized after a three-year hiatus in hijackings.The three Iranians are the last of the crew of the Iranian fishing vessel FV Siraj, which was captured by pirates on March 22, 2015.“This marks the end of an era of Somali piracy and the pain and suffering of Somalia’s forgotten hostages,” said John Steed…

A wide-ranging discussion during the "Africa@Nor-Shipping" event in Oslo, Norway (5 June) explored a host of topics related to unlocking the full potential of Africa’s blue economy.Three separate expert panels addressed competition among different maritime sectors, ocean governance and the importance of complying with international regulatory regimes, particularly International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s ship safety, maritime security and environment rules.Much discussion  centred around viewing challenges as chances to grow, and the need to learn lessons from the past. Ensuring African ownership and participation was highlighted…

European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA)’s Maritime Security Working Group met with the EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation Atalanta at their operation headquarters in Rota, Spain. Representing the European shipping industry, the ECSA delegation met with the EU NAVFOR's team to discuss the current state of piracy off the coast of Somalia. The delegation also visited the naval assets participating in Operation Atalanta.For the past ten years, EU NAVFOR has deterred and prevented acts of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia, protected vessels of the World Food Programme (WFP) and African Union Mission Somalia (AMISOM), and monitored acts of illegal fishing."While it is true that today the number of attacks is minimal…

A full house at the IMO side event at the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference has brought together experts in the maritime sector, trade and development.Member States of the African Union, United Nations agencies, national governments, regional and international development agencies, development and financial institutions, maritime professionals and experts, civil societies, port authorities, port management associations, shipowner and fishing vessel owner organizations, as well as relevant universities, training institutions, relevant businesses and the private sector participated in the event.The event, on “How States can leverage…

When a ship comes into port it may be the end of a voyage, but just the beginning of a range of administrative tasks that need to be completed.The port is unlikely to be the final destination for the cargo – which will need to be unloaded and forwarded in a variety of ways. This requires logistics and infrastructure that connects the port to other inland places and regions – known as ‘hinterland connectivity’. This was the issue under the spotlight at the first regional conference of The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) in Abuja, Nigeria (17-19 September), inaugurated by the President of Nigeria.The conference brought together African ports…

The blue economy can be the engine of economic growth, the basis of socio-economic development and industrialization for many African countries, if well utilized.The maritime industry, for example, is estimated at over $1 trillion, and there are other related and emerging sectors of tourism, offshore renewable energy, aquaculture, seabed extractive industries, marine biotechnology and bio prospecting.Said Adejumobi, Southern Africa Director, UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said that  the Economic Commission for Africa is fully committed to supporting the African Union, Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and member States to…

Promoting women's access to quality employment and senior management level within the maritime sector is a key priority for International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s gender and capacity-building program and was at the core of the 8th regional conference to support the Association of Women Managers in the Maritime Sector in East and Southern Africa (WOMESA), held in Mahé, Seychelles (September 26 to 29). Under the theme "A Decade of empowering Maritime Women - What does the future hold for Africa's Blue Economy?", the event, supported by the Seychelles Maritime Safety Administration (SMSA), focused on the key achievements made by the Association over the last decade, as it celebrates its milestone 10th anniversary.

The United States is closely watching a recent increase in piracy off the coast of Somalia, a senior U.S. military official said on Sunday as Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visited an important military base in Djibouti. The rise in piracy attacks has at least partially been driven by famine and drought in the region, the top U.S. military commander overseeing troops in Africa said during Mattis' visit as part of a week-long trip to the Middle East and Africa. The United States uses the base in Djibouti…

International Maritime Organization (IMO) has contributed to the latest meeting of United Nations bodies working in Africa – the RCM-Africa forum. The forum, which held its 18th session in Dakar, Senegal (25-26 March), provides a platform for all UN programmes and agencies to share information about their work in the continent and coordinate strategies to support African Union programmes. IMO shared information about its technical assistance activities in Africa, which form part of its work to promote safe and secure shipping on clean oceans – particularly in the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This…

A suicide truck bomb hit the entrance of Somalia's biggest port on Sunday, killing at least 29 people, police said, an attack claimed by Islamist al Shabaab militants. The fighters said they were trying to disrupt protracted parliamentary elections - part of efforts to rebuild the fractured nation after decades of war. The three-month vote is due to end on Dec. 29. Gunfire rang out after the blast at Mogadishu Port, Mohamed Hussein, a worker there, told Reuters. Two others said work had been halted and staff sent home. The bodies of victims lay strewn outside the capital's terminal in a street filled with rubble from damaged tea shops. "At least 29 civilians died and 50 others have been injured in the blast.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) is continuing its work to support sustainable maritime development in Africa by participating in the opening of the African Union Extraordinary Summit on Maritime Security and Safety and Development in Africa, held in Lomé, Togo (11-15 October). The Summit is addressing all aspects of maritime safety and security governance and is expected to conclude with the adoption, by African Heads of State and Government, of a Charter on Maritime Security and Safety and Development in Africa. The Summit, including the "Protect Our Oceans" side event, is the latest in a line of recent events at which IMO maritime security experts have emphasized how sustainable maritime development, underpinned by good maritime security, can support economic development.

The United Nations Security Council on Monday expressed its deep concern over piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea, and stressed the importance of a comprehensive approach — led by States of the region, with international support — to address the problem and its root causes. Issuing presidential statement S/PRST/2016/4, the Council strongly condemned acts of murder, kidnapping, hostage-taking and robbery by pirates in the Gulf, and underlined the importance of determining any links between piracy and armed robbery at sea, and terrorist groups in West Africa and the Sahel subregions. It encouraged regional organizations — including the African Union…

Malaysia is proposing a joint peacekeeping force to help rebuild trust among Southeast Asian countries after bitter arguments over their handling of China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, reports WSJ. Members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) — not all of which have interests in the South China Sea — have widely disagreed in recent years over how to deal with Beijing. The Philippines and Vietnam have accused China of aggressive behavior. The disagreements between ASEAN members have spilled out at recent summits and cast doubt on a project to form a new “Asean Community” in December designed to usher in an age of regional unity.

Somali al Shabaab fighters have seized a small port in the semi-autonomous Puntland region, the latest sign of a resurgence in activity by the Islamist militants in the Horn of Africa nation. A series of offensives last year by the African Union force AMISOM and the Somali National Army had driven al Shabaab out of major strongholds in the southern region of Somalia. At the time, officials said some al Shabaab fighters had moved north to the Puntland region, beyond AMISOM's area of operation. In recent weeks, al Shabaab has also retaken smaller towns and launched deadly attacks in the southern region. "Al Shabaab fighters with several boats captured Garad town," Hassan Mohamed, governor for Mudug region of Puntland told Reuters, adding that the attack took place on Monday.

Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS), the world’s leading maritime services provider, is celebrating the awards of ISO 22000:2005 – Food Safety Management System and ISO 9001:2008 for the company’s supply chain operations in Dubai, Mombasa and Mogadishu. Ceremonies recently took place at its global headquarters in the UK and in its regional Head Office in Dubai. As a pre-requisite to fulfilling the requirements of a three year (plus two year option) contract with the United Nations to supply the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), ISS had to meet a number of operational criteria relating to the procurement, supply chain management, transportation, warehousing and distribution of food to the Mission.

U.S. President Barack Obama and regional leaders discussed options on Monday that included sanctions and a "regional intervention force" if South Sudan's warring parties do no agree a peace deal by August 17, a U.S. official said.   Obama met with leaders from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan, and the African Union to discuss the crisis.   The group agreed on the urgency of the situation in South Sudan but did not reach a consensus on what to do if a peace deal is not reached, the official said.     (Reporting by Jeff Mason; editing by Ralph Boulton)

The Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Guy Ryder, has called for a definitive and durable solution for the thousands of migrant workers who risk their lives in a search of a decent future. “Stopgap measures to halt the flows of migrants only scratch the surface of the problem. We need to go deeper into the root causes that force people to put their lives in danger in order to find work and security in foreign lands,” said Ryder. The overcrowded boat that capsized in the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday likely resulting in many casualties is just the latest tragic incident that highlights the need for effective and urgent action, not just in this part of the world but in other migration corridors as well.