The Presidents of Chad, Idriss Deby and Cote d'Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara gave a joint press conference in Yaounde on Tuesday, June 25, 2013.
The last part of the two-day summit on maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea that ended in Yaounde yesterday, June 25, 2013 was a joint press conference granted by the President of Chad, Idriss Deby Itno who is the chairperson of the Economic Community of Central African States, ECCAS and the President of Cote d'Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara who is the chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.
The press conference was to explain the implementation of the Yaounde Declaration on the Gulf of Guinea security which is a manifestation of the commitment of the member countries of ECCAS, ECOWAS and the Gulf of Guinea Commission for strategies and mechanisms to fight piracy, armed robbery, kidnapping and other ills in the Gulf of Guinea area.
When does the Yaounde Declaration go operational?
The President of Chad, Idriss Deby Itno in answering the question said the maritime safety and security of the Gulf of Guinea was a necessity, stating that survival of countries of the area depended on the security situation. He said the Yaounde Declaration goes into effect from the time of its signature. President Deby singled out one of the key components of the Declaration which is the Code of Conduct. He said it became effective from the time it was signed. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of member countries of ECCAS, ECOWAS and the Gulf of Guinea Commission, GGC prepared the document on the Code of Conduct which the Heads of State signed during the summit.
Where will financing come from?
President Idriss Deby Itno said all the member countries of ECCAS, ECOWAS and GGC will put in place the necessary resources with the support of the international community and partners. During the Yaounde summit, he said, they discussed how to organise themselves to be operational as fast as possible. He however, specified that a structure will be put in place within which experts will work to evaluate what is needed. The experts, he further said, will define the details of financing, specifically how it will be done, how much the implementation of the safety and security strategy will cost, what each country will contribute, as well as financing by regional organisations, international community and partners.
What is the place of the local population?
Answering the question on whether the Heads of State during their deliberations did not forget the population that live in the maritime area of the Gulf of Guinea, the President of Chad said maritime security concerned both the resources and the population. He stated that the preoccupations of the population were taken into account.
What measures to enable countries adhere to the declaration?
The President of ECCAS said the Yaounde Declaration was not constraining to member countries who still have their sovereignty at heart. He said the countries have up to three years to endorse decisions after which they will become binding. After the three years, he stressed, they will decide whether their national sovereignty prevails over regional strategies.
Why ECOWAS is late in tackling maritime security?
The President of Cote d'Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara answering the question on why ECOWAS that is highly organised was late in tackling maritime security issues said the phenomenon had not been for long. He said with the upsurge of maritime insecurity, ECCAS and ECOWAS leaders had been meeting. President Alassane Ouattara cited the meeting of Libreville where they started working on the implementation of Resolution 2039 of the United Nations Security Council on the urgency of ECCAS, ECOWAS and GGC to meet and put in place maritime security strategies. The outcome of the meeting was the Yaounde summit.
