On 16-18 May, EUNAVFOR OHQ Legal Advisor, MAJ Rodrigo Lorenzo, was invited to attend a meeting organised by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Lagos, Nigeria. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the draft of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Supplementary Act concerning cooperation in the suppression of illicit maritime activities off the coast of West Africa.
The draft is an overarching effort to tackle illicit maritime activities such as drug trafficking, human trafficking and weapons smuggling through law enforcement cooperation and combined operations between ECOWAS Member States. MAJ Lorenzo provided the attendees with an insight into the legal issues related to Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO) from the perspective of Operation Atalanta's experience in East Africa. The matters discussed ranged from using force and rules of engagement in MIOs to jurisdictional issues, boarding of suspect vessel procedures and exchanging information.
The draft has now been officially agreed upon and submitted for further discussion at the ECOWAS level.
