RECALLING Article 15(j) of the Convention on the International
Maritime Organization concerning the functions of the Assembly
in relation to regulations and guidelines concerning maritime
safety,
RECALLING the rights and obligations of States under the
international law of the sea, including the provisions of the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea relating to piracy,
RECALLING ALSO the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful
Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, 1988 and the
Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety
of Fixed Platforms located on the Continental Shelf, 1988 and encouraging
States that have not done so, to ratify the said instruments as a
matter of priority,
NOTING resolution A/RES/63/111 on Oceans and the
law of the sea, by which the United Nations General Assembly,
at its sixty-third session, urged all States, in cooperation with
the International Maritime Organization, to actively combat piracy
and armed robbery at sea by adopting measures, including those relating
to assistance with capacity-building through training of seafarers,
port staff and enforcement personnel in the prevention, reporting
and investigation of incidents, for bringing the alleged perpetrators
to justice in accordance with international law, and by adopting
national legislation,
NOTING ALSO the approval by the Maritime Safety
Committee of MSC.1/Circ.1333 and MSC.1/Circ.1334 containing recommendations
to Governments and guidance to shipowners and ship operators, shipmasters
and crews on preventing and suppressing acts of piracy and armed
robbery against ships,
RECOGNIZING WITH DEEP CONCERN the grave danger to safety
of life at sea, maritime safety, security and the protection of the
marine environment arising from acts of piracy and armed robbery against
ships,
RECOGNIZING ALSO that the number of acts of piracy and armed
robbery against ships continues to increase worldwide,
BEING AWARE that the fight against piracy and armed robbery
against ships is often impeded by the absence of effective legislation
in some countries for investigating reported cases of piracy and armed
robbery against ships,
NOTING the need for capacity-building and technical cooperation
in the field of suppression of piracy and armed robbery against ships,
BEING ALSO AWARE that, when arrests are made, some Governments
lack the legislative framework and investigative guidelines necessary
to ensure the conviction and punishment of those involved in acts
of piracy and armed robbery against ships,
RECALLING that the Assembly, at its twenty-second regular
session and through resolution A.922(22), adopted the Code of Practice
for the Investigation of the Crimes of Piracy and Armed Robbery against
Ships (“the Code of Practice”) and, at its twenty-fifth
session and through resolution A.1002(25),
requested as a matter of urgency the Maritime Safety Committee to
review and update the Code of Practice taking into account developments
and emerging needs,
BEING CONVINCED of the need for an amended Code of Practice
to be adopted and promulgated as soon as possible,
BEING ALSO CONVINCED of the need for Governments to cooperate
and, as a matter of the highest priority, take all necessary action
to prevent and suppress any acts of piracy and armed robbery against
ships,
HAVING CONSIDERED the recommendation made by the Maritime
Safety Committee at its eighty-sixth session,
1. ADOPTS the Code of Practice for the Investigation
of Crimes of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships (“Code of
Practice”) set out in the annex to the present resolution;
2. INVITES Governments to cooperate in the interests
of safety of life at sea, environmental protection and enhancement
of maritime security by increasing their efforts to suppress and prevent
acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships;
3. URGES Governments to implement the Code of
Practice, to investigate all acts of piracy and armed robbery against
ships under their jurisdiction, and to report to the Organization
pertinent information on all investigations and prosecutions relating
to these acts so as to allow lessons to be learned from the experiences
of shipowners, masters and crews who have been subject to attacks,
thereby enhancing preventative guidance for others who may find themselves
in similar situations in the future;
4. ALSO INVITES Governments to develop, as appropriate,
agreements and procedures to facilitate cooperation in applying efficient
and effective measures to prevent acts of piracy and armed robbery
against ships;
5. ENCOURAGES Governments to apply the provisions
of international instruments aimed at enhancing the safety and security
of life at sea and at preventing and suppressing acts of piracy and
armed robbery against ships;
6. FURTHER URGES all Governments responsible for
ports, anchorages and sea areas off their coasts to inform the Organization
of specific advice they have issued on the subject of piracy and armed
robbery against ships, for promulgation to ships concerned;
7. REQUESTS the Maritime Safety Committee and
the Legal Committee to keep the Code of Practice under review and
authorizes them to adopt jointly the necessary amendments to the Code
of Practice;
8. REQUESTS FURTHER the Maritime Safety Committee
and the Legal Committee to report on action taken in accordance with
this resolution to the twenty-seventh regular session of the Assembly;
9. REVOKES resolution A.922(22).