Decision on the Adoption and Implementation of the 2050 Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy (2050 AIM Strategy) - Doc. Assembly/AU/16(XXII) Add.1

DECISION ON THE ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE 2050 AFRICA’S INTEGRATED MARITIME STRATEGY
(2050 AIM STRATEGY)
Doc. Assembly/AU/16(XXII) Add.1

The Assembly,

1. REITERATES the geostrategic importance of seas and oceans in the socio­economic development of Africa;

2. RECALLS the Declaration of the Fiftieth (50th) Anniversary of the OAU/AU in which the Heads of State and Government expressed their commitment to preserve, protect and use oceanic spaces and resources to the benefit the African continent and its populations with a view to achieving sustainable food security;

3. ALSO RECALLS the decision Assembly/AU/Dec.252 (XIII) adopted by the Thirteenth Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union held in July 2009 in Sirte (Libya) and in which the Assembly expressed serious concern at the growing insecurity in the African maritime space, and welcomed the initiatives taken by the Commission to develop a comprehensive and coherent strategy to handle the challenges and opportunities related to the maritime area of Africa;

4. FURTHER RECALLS the decision of the Fifteenth Ordinary Session of the Assembly held in July 2010 in Kampala (Uganda) [Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.294 (XV) ] by which the Assembly reaffirmed its support for efforts to this effect by the Commission, including the development of an Integrated Maritime Management Strategy for the continent;

5. FINALLY RECALLS the Communique of the 387^th Session of the Ministerial meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council which held on 29^th July 2013 in Addis Ababa, by which the Council endorsed the Solemn Declaration on Maritime Safety and Security proclaimed at the Yaounde (Cameroon) Summit of 24 to 25 June 2013 by Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) and dubbed the Blue/Ocean Economy, in the 2050 AIM Strategy and conceived therein as the "new frontier of African Renaissance";

6. ENDORSES the Addis Ababa Declaration adopted on 6 December 2012 at the Second Conference of African Ministers in charge of Maritime-related Affairs, in which the Ministers adopted the 2050 AIM Strategy and its Plan of Action

7. RECOGNIZES that Africa’s oceans and seas are essential to the sustainable development of the Continent and that they occupy a critical position within the Post-2015 Development Agenda and the formulation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);

8. ALSO DECIDES to adopt the 2050 AIM Strategic Plan of Action;

9. FURTHER DECIDES to retain the 2015-2025 decade as the "Decade of African Seas and Oceans”, and the date of 25 July as the African Day of Seas and Oceans;

10. UNDERSCORES that the 2050 AIM Strategy requires, at Member State level, inter-agency collaboration to address the challenges and opportunities in the African maritime domain and enhance transborder and sub­regional cooperation;

11. ALSO STRESSES the need to build strategic partnerships that support initiatives inherent in the implementation of the 2050 AIM Strategy;

12. REQUESTS the Commission to facilitate the establishment of the Strategic Special Task Force to prepare the technical details in view of the early implementation of the strategy AIM 2050 Combined Maritime Exclusive Zone in conformity with International Maritime Conventions and Laws;

13. UNDERSCORES the importance of reinforcing the capacity of Member States to manage their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) as an important building block towards implementing the Combined Maritime Exclusive Zone;

14. CALLS ON Member States that have not yet done so to become parties to all relevant international instruments including the Revised Charter on Maritime Transport;

15. INVITES Regional Economic Communities and regional mechanisms to develop and adopt a regional strategy against piracy, armed robbery and other illegal activities committed at sea, consistent with the 2050 AIM Strategy;

16. REQUESTS the Chairperson of the Union and the Chairperson of the Commission to undertake consultations with Regional Economic Communities/Mechanisms to spur adherence and garner the widest possible support for the implementation of the 2050 AIM Strategy;

17. URGES the Secretary General of the United Nations, the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization, the International Seabed Authority and the Chairperson of the AU Commission to support efforts to mobilize the necessary resources for the implementation of this Decision;

18. REQUESTS the Commission, within the framework of implementation, to carry out an evaluation of the structural and financial implications of the Strategy and report thereon to the next session of the Assembly in June 2014.