UN Resolution 1846 on maritime piracy Somalia (2 December 2008). The text

December 3, 200815th February 2020 Nicolas Gros Verheyde

United Nations Security Council

Resolution 1846 (2008)

Adopted by the Security Council at its 6026th meeting, 2 December 2008

The Security Council, Recalling its previous resolutions regarding the situation in Somalia, in particular resolutions 1814 (2008), 1816 (2008) and 1838 (2008),

Remaining deeply concerned about the threat posed by acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships to the safety, speed and efficiency of the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Somalia, to international shipping and on the safety of commercial maritime routes, as well as on other vulnerable vessels and fishing activities in accordance with international legislation,

Reaffirming its commitment to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and unity of Somalia,

Further reaffirming that international law, as enacted in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, of 10 December 1982 ("the Convention"), provides the legal framework for the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea, among other maritime activities,

Taking into account the crisis in Somalia and the fact that the Transitional Federal Government does not have the means either to keep pirates at bay or to patrol the international maritime traffic lanes off the coast of the country or in its territorial waters and to ensure their safety,

Taking note of the statements of the Transitional Federal Government requesting international assistance to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia, in particular the letter of the President of Somalia addressed on 1 September 2008 to the Secretary-General of the United Nations to express to him that the Transitional Federal Government was grateful to the Council for its assistance and was prepared to consider working with other States and with regional organizations to combat piracy and armed robbery in sea off the coast of Somalia, the letter dated 20 November 2008 by the Transitional Federal Government requesting that the provisions of resolution 1816 (2008) be extended, and the request made on 20 November before the Security Council by the Permanent Representative of Somalia that they be extended for a period of 12 months,

Further taking note of the letters addressed to the Secretary-General by the Transitional Federal Government informing him in advance of the names of the States cooperating with him in the fight against piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia as well as the letters addressed to the Security Council by other Member States to inform it of the measures they have taken, in accordance with paragraphs 7 and 12 of resolution 1816 (2008), and encouraging the cooperating States whose names have been communicated in advance by the Transitional Federal Government to the Secretary General to continue their respective actions,

Reaffirming its resolve to ensure the long-term security of World Food Program (WFP) deliveries to Somalia,

Recalling that, in its resolution 1838 (2008), it welcomed the contribution made by certain States since November 2007 to the protection of WFP maritime convoys and the creation by the European Union of a coordination cell responsible for supporting actions surveillance and protection activities carried out by certain Member States of the Union off the coast of Somalia, as well as other international and national initiatives taken for the purposes of the implementation of resolutions 1814 (2008) and 1816 (2008),

Emphasizing that the establishment of peace and stability in Somalia, the strengthening of public institutions, economic and social development and respect for human rights and the rule of law are necessary to create the necessary conditions for the total eradication of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia,

Welcoming the signing by the Transitional Federal Government and the Alliance for the Second Liberation of Somalia of a Peace and Reconciliation Agreement ("the Djibouti Agreement") on 19 August 2008, and a Ceasefire Agreement of 26 October 2008, and noting that the Djibouti Agreement calls for the United Nations to authorize and deploy an international stabilization force, and further noting the report of the Secretary-General on Somalia, of 17 November 2008, including his recommendations in this regard,

Welcoming the instrumental role played by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Somalia through the port of Mogadishu and the support provided by AMISOM towards the establishment of lasting peace and stability in Somalia and welcoming in particular the significant contributions of the Governments of Uganda and Burundi to Somalia,

Welcoming its decision to meet at ministerial level in December 2008 to explore ways to improve international coordination in the fight against piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia and to ensure that the international community authorizations and means necessary to help him in this action,

Noting that acts of piracy and armed robbery committed against ships in the territorial waters of Somalia or on the high seas off its coasts, aggravate the situation in the country, which continues to threaten international peace and regional security,

Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,

1. Reaffirms that it condemns and deplores all acts of piracy and armed robbery committed against ships in the territorial waters of Somalia or on the high seas off its coasts;

2. Notes with concern the conclusions of the report of the Somalia Monitoring Group dated 20 November 2008, according to which the payment of increasingly high ransoms to pirates encourages piracy off the coast of Somalia;

3. Welcomes the efforts made by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to update the guidelines and recommendations it has established for the use of shipping companies and governments with a view to preventing and suppressing acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea and to provide such guidelines as soon as possible to all Member States and all international shipping companies operating off the coast of Somalia;

4. Requests States, in cooperation with shipping companies, insurance companies and the IMO, to ensure that ships flying their flag are provided with appropriate information and guidance regarding evasive techniques, of escape and defense and the measures to be taken in the event of attack or threat of attack off the coast of Somalia;

5. Further requests States and interested organizations, including IMO, to provide Somalia and neighboring coastal States, upon their request, with technical assistance aimed at enhancing the capacity of these States to ensure coastal security and maritime, including the fight against acts of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia and the coasts of neighboring countries;

6. Welcomes the initiatives taken by Canada, Denmark, Spain, the United States of America, the Russian Federation, France, India, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom as well as by regional and international organizations to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia, in accordance with resolutions 1814 (2008), 1816 (2008) and 1838 (2008), and the decision of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO) to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia, in particular by escorting WFP ships, and warmly welcomes the decision taken by the European Union on 10 November 2008 to carry out, for a period of 12 months beginning in December 2008, a naval operation to protect WFP sea convoys delivering humanitarian aid to Somalia and other vulnerable vessels and to suppress acts of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia ;

7. Calls upon States and regional organizations to coordinate, including through the exchange of information bilaterally or through the United Nations, their efforts to deter acts of piracy and theft armed robbery off the coast of Somalia, cooperating with each other, as well as with IMO, international shipping companies, flag States and the Transitional Federal Government;

8. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to it, within three months of the adoption of the present resolution, a report on the means of ensuring the sustainable security of international navigation off the coast of Somalia, including the security of maritime convoys of WFP making deliveries in Somalia, and on the possible coordination and leadership role that the United Nations could play in this regard in mobilizing Member States and regional organizations in the fight against piracy and armed robberies off the coast of Somalia;

9. Calls upon States and regional organizations that have the means to participate actively in the fight against piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia, in particular, in accordance with this resolution and applicable international law, by deploying there warships or military aircraft, and seizing and destroying boats, ships, weapons and other related materiel which are used or which there are reasonable grounds to believe will be used to commit acts of piracy and armed robberies off the coast of Somalia;

10. Decides that, for a period of 12 months from the adoption of this resolution, States and regional organizations cooperating with the Transitional Federal Government in the fight against piracy and armed robbery off the off the coast of Somalia and whose names have been communicated in advance by the Transitional Federal Government to the Secretary-General are authorized: (a) To enter the territorial waters of Somalia in order to suppress acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, to in a manner consistent with action permitted on the high seas in cases of piracy under applicable international law;
(b) To use within the territorial waters of Somalia, in a manner consistent with action permitted on the high seas against piracy under applicable international law, all means necessary to suppress acts of piracy and theft armed robbery at sea;

11. Affirms that the authorizations given in this resolution apply only to the situation in Somalia and do not affect the rights, obligations or responsibilities of Member States deriving from international law, in particular the rights or obligations resulting from the Convention, with respect to any other situation, and stresses in particular that this resolution cannot be regarded as establishing customary international law, and further affirms that the present authorizations have been given only following the receipt of the letter dated 20 November 2008, by which the Transitional Federal Government announced its agreement;

12. Affirms that the measures enacted in paragraph 5 of resolution 733 (1992) and elaborated in paragraphs 1 and 2 of resolution 1425 (2002) do not apply to the provision of technical assistance to Somalia solely for the purposes set forth in paragraph 5 above, which are subject to a derogation in accordance with the procedure set out in paragraphs 11 (b) and 12 of resolution 1772 (2007);

13. Calls upon Cooperating States to take the necessary steps to ensure that their activities pursuant to the authorization granted in paragraph 7 of this resolution will not have the practical effect of denying or restricting the right to innocent passage of vessels from third States;

14. Calls upon all States, in particular flag States, port States and coastal States, as well as States of nationality of victims or perpetrators of acts of piracy or armed robbery and States drawing jurisdiction from international law or their internal law, to cooperate in order to determine which will have jurisdiction and to take the necessary measures to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of acts of piracy and armed robbery committed off the coast of Somalia, in accordance with applicable international law, including international human rights law, and to support these efforts, including by providing logistical and legal assistance -vis persons under their jurisdiction and control, such as victims, witnesses and persons detained in connection with operations carried out pursuant to this resolution;

15. Notes that under the 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, States parties are required to make it an offense to seize a ship or to exercise control by violence or the threat of violence or any other form of intimidation, to establish their jurisdiction for the purposes of trying such offenses, and to accept the surrender of persons responsible or suspected of such acts; and urges States parties to the said Convention to fully comply with their obligations thereunder and to cooperate with the Secretary-General and the IMO with a view to establishing the judicial means to prosecute persons suspected of acts of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia;

16. Requests States and regional organizations cooperating with the Transitional Federal Government to inform it and the Secretary-General within nine months of the implementation of the measures they have taken pursuant to the authorizations arising from paragraph 10 above;

17. Requests the Secretary-General to report to it, within 11 months of the adoption of this resolution, on its implementation and on the situation regarding piracy and armed robbery in territorial waters and on the high seas off the coast of Somalia;

18. Requests the Secretary-General of IMO to report to it, on the basis of cases brought to its attention by agreement of all affected coastal States and with due regard to existing bilateral and regional cooperation arrangements, on the situation regarding piracy and armed robbery;

19. Intends to monitor the situation and, if necessary, consider renewing for additional periods the authorizations arising from paragraph 10 above if the Transitional Federal Government so requests;

20. Decides to remain seized of the matter.