The Role of the United Nations in Promoting Maritime Security Cooperation and Capacity Building in the Middle East

Posted: February 29th, 2024

The Role of the United Nations in Promoting Maritime Security Cooperation and Capacity Building in the Middle East
1. Introduction
This is a large ship.
The issue of maritime security has become increasingly important in the world today; so much of what affects world security occurs at sea. The article in the definition of maritime security in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) does not make a clear distinction between traditional security concerns and new issues which threaten the peaceful uses of the oceans, e.g. piracy, weapon proliferation, and terrorism. Traditionally, security is perceived as a direct threat to the use of the military to protect the state and its sovereignty from a direct armed attack. With less distinction between war and peace and the blurring of lines between internal and external security in recent years, new security issues are often interrelated and their direct or indirect threat to state sovereignty requires measures to be taken which are not too dissimilar from the traditional security paradigm. Today, some non-traditional security issues have become so prevalent that they directly threaten traditional security by, for example, threatening the shipment of oil which many states depend on for energy, or through acts of terrorism aimed directly at the state. These new security threats often involve complex issue areas with several actors across several regions of the globe and have the potential to cause regional and, in rare cases, global conflict (Acharya, 2004). Due to this increase in the importance of maritime security, the issue has become a growing concern for many states and international organizations are now placing it on their agendas. The United Nations has been at the forefront of international action to resolve security issues and has made many attempts to address the problem of maritime security, one of these being through collaboration and capacity building in the Middle East.
1.1. Background
Yet it has been unclear whether the sum total of these national and regional initiatives, some of which may be tooled to further narrow national interests, is leading to a net gain of security in the many and intertwined security sectors in the M.E.R through confidence and trust-building and cooperative win-win strategies. In some issues, there is concern of a security complex whereby unilateral and joint military efforts taken by some states to increase their security have led to others fearing an arms race and perhaps attack, thus decreasing the initiator’s security. This has led to a strong interest shown in confidence and security-building measures.
States seek to protect their sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence. They also aim to protect their economic and political interests from what they perceive to be external threats. At the same time, there are various common security issues in which states have overlapping and sometimes conflicting interests. These may range from measures to prevent and manage tension or armed conflict between them to cooperation on threats to the environment.
Marine transportation and resources constitute the very lifeblood of the Middle East. It is the world’s richest maritime trade moving oil, gas, and other products. At the same time, most of the countries of the region, despite receiving vast revenues from hydrocarbon exploitation, are underdeveloped and their economies are fragile due to outdated maritime security and building and sustaining effective government structures. There is also a real threat of marine pollution. No less significant, there are a number of unresolved international and interstate disputes in the region that have the potential to ignite armed conflict. To manage this complex array of issues, build confidence, and enhance cooperation, the littoral states have been trying to establish a variety of regional security dialogue and cooperation structures, many of which have been supported by extra-regional involvement.
1.2. Significance of Maritime Security Cooperation
Recognizing the significance of maritime security cooperation has two dimensions: identifying security threats that require cooperation and acknowledging the nature of modern maritime threats and how they can be best addressed. Peacetime threats to security at sea fall into the traditional categories of military and law enforcement activities, and threats to the safety of the sea lines of communication. Traditionally, security cooperation has largely focused upon the former, in particular through measures to address regional conflicts. Two events in particular changed the way many Western countries view their maritime security. The first was the Iraqi attack on the USS Stark in 1987 during the Iran-Iraq war, a case of mistaken identity whereby an American warship was hit by an Exocet missile, causing extensive damage and loss of life. The second was the 11th September 2001 attacks, which had both direct and indirect effects on the maritime security of many countries. It is widely believed that the globalization of the world economy has increased the significance of the safe transportation of goods and raw materials, making their passage an attractive target for various actors. This has occurred in an era of steeply declining armed conflict between States, which has led to a blurring of the lines between traditional and non-traditional security threats. An increasingly common view is that many of the most serious maritime security threats are now non-traditional, and are in reality law enforcement issues. These include terrorism, piracy and armed robbery, and various forms of trafficking that take advantage of easily accessible global transportation. Modern global trade in goods and raw materials means that these issues often have effects far beyond the regions where they take place.
Wide recognition of the significance of maritime security is a relatively recent phenomenon. It was not until the 1980s when the United States and the Soviet Union realized the extent to which their global strategic military competition was affected by events at sea that academic research in maritime security began in earnest. Since the end of the Cold War, the subject has really taken off, propelled by growing awareness of the importance of the sea in underpinning globalization. The terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001 and their far-reaching effects up to the present day also led to a reappraisal of the vulnerability of all forms of transportation, including those at sea.
2. United Nations Initiatives in Promoting Maritime Security
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, negotiations for the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea were undertaken. The conference culminated in the draft – United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea – which was tabled in 1982. One of the key innovations of the convention was the establishment of maritime zones extending from a nation’s territorial sea and contiguous zone, to an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and a continental shelf. The ability of a nation to claim up to 200 nautical miles EEZ or more if a shelf extends further, created a greater emphasis on the need to protect a nation’s oceanic resources and maritime rights. Once the provisions of the convention came into force over the last decade, it has resulted in increasing agreements between nations when concerning maritime boundaries, resource rights and environmental issues within their respective zones. This has seen a reduction in territorial-based confrontations and an increase in collaboration for the promotion of security and good order at sea between states. Although the convention has been a significant contributor to the betterment of maritime security, particularly in delineating rights and responsibilities between states, it has been in the post-Cold War era that the need for greater UN involvement in security issues has spurred a series of Security Council resolutions which have further reinforced international cooperation from member states to address security threats and promote common goals. UN Security Council Resolution 1373 was adopted on the 28th of September 2001. This resolution was proposed in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and aimed to make a wide series of legislative and preventive measures to counter global terrorism including prevention and suppression of financing terrorism, criminalization of terrorist activities and entities, extensive cooperative action concerning intelligence sharing and adherence to the rule of law. Although such measures are not specific to maritime security, they have indirect implications which can contribute to international safety and security. An additional move to enhance security in regions of conflict has seen the Security Council authorize the establishment of multinational security forces under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. This was notable in regards to East Timor where Security Council Resolution 1264 requested the establishment of UNTAET, a force which was authorized to restore peace and security in the region, prevent destabilization, and build a safe environment for self-governance. Although such force establishment has involved only low numbers of naval units or forces, it has been a precedent to further support the idea of United Nations Navy forces for the purpose of peacekeeping and security establishment in regions of concern.
2.1. UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
Of utmost importance to this essay and issues concerning the Middle East is UNCLOS Part VII (Articles 86-123) which deals with the regime of islands, maritime jurisdiction and navigation. Agreeing upon a common set of definitions, rights and freedoms has profound significance on the security and stability of the Middle East as it mitigates the potential for disagreement which could escalate into conflict. It provides the means for states to calculate with certainty their entitlements in relation to valuable maritime resources – something of great concern to many Middle Eastern states which are highly dependent upon their coastal petroleum reserves. Part XI of the Convention establishes an international seabed authority and a detailed regime for the management and exploitation of non-living resources on the seabed. Although Part XI has not entered into force due to a perceived inadequacy in regulations and the unattractiveness in investment, it is of relevance to the Middle East in particular consideration to Iraq and Iran. Both countries have large oil and gas reserves but suffer from exploitation difficulties due to poor onshore security. The Convention therefore provides potential for joint ventures with foreign companies and states offering efficient and legitimate means of resource exploitation.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is widely recognized as the legal framework for all matters maritime. Adopted in 1982 and entering into force in 1994, UNCLOS has been described as the ‘constitution for the oceans’…a living instrument which is supplemented by numerous additional treaties and protocols. UNCLOS governs the conduct of states in their use of the world’s oceans, establishing regulations regarding the breadth of territorial seas, exclusive economic zones, and the continental shelf. It also provides the framework for the protection and preservation of the marine environment, the conduct of marine scientific research and the development and transfer of marine technology.
2.2. UN Security Council Resolutions
The UN Security Council resolutions are not to be overlooked and are perhaps the most important mandate for the United Nations to fulfill in the realm of maritime security. All UN Security Council resolutions are binding under international law (Article 25 of the UN Charter) and all member states of the United Nations are required to carry them out. There have been a number of UN Security Council resolutions that are relevant to maritime security in the Middle East, some relating directly to Iraq, others dealing with the Israel-Lebanon conflict and the long-running conflict between Iran and Iraq. Those in relation to Iraq were primarily concerned with preventing Iraq from exporting oil by illicit means and purchasing armaments. In doing this, it is improving the security situation in Iraq and should also contribute to the security of the Gulf. The requirement for member states to prevent smuggling and sales of oil and petroleum products from Iraq would also be important for the littoral states of Iraq and possibly Iran, Kuwait, and Bahrain. This is due to the fact that these states would probably be used as the transit location for such products. An incident of environmental terrorism occurred subsequent to the passing of these measures with the deliberate release of oil into the Gulf by the Iraqi regime. This also caused damage to the marine environment and can be seen to have violated previous environmental law relating to this region.
Resolution 1108 called for compensation to these states and others affected by the actions of the Iraqi Government. The most important legal development in this dispute has been the creation of two ad hoc chambers of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).
2.3. UN Agencies and Programs
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is perhaps the most influential of the UN agencies in the Middle East. It has worked with regional states and has allocated a significant amount of resources to improve maritime safety and security and measures to prevent pollution by ships. They have done this through a number of conferences, seminars, and training programs and studies on terrorism implications on shipping in the region. Measures to prevent pollution, particularly by oil, are obviously very relevant to the security situation in the Middle East, and the more the IMO can environmentally protect the region, the more it can prevent security incidents. Therefore, despite not actually being dubbed security, IMO measures to improve safety and prevent pollution are security measures in effect.
The UN agencies and programs are entities charged with coordinating and implementing the various aspects and measures of maritime security, as previously mentioned. The UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is one of the key agencies in promoting maritime security. Although the primary focus in past years has been on Southeast Asia and Africa, the UNODC program has expanded to include the Middle East. It has run programs aimed at ratifying and implementing the UNCLOS, including a seminar in 2007 which looked at UNCLOS and the fisheries sector, a key issue in many Middle Eastern states. It is seemingly broadening its focus in the Middle East, having recently held a seminar in Cairo concerning capacity building for justice and security.
3. Challenges and Opportunities in the Middle East
Wars and conflicts have resulted in substantial political instability in the Middle East. Such conflicts include the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Gulf Wars. Relating specifically to maritime security, the Iran-Iraq war, which lasted from 1980-1988, also led to the tactical utilization of sea mines and the targeting of each other’s oil industry, which polluted the Gulf, causing economic and environmental impacts on neighboring states. The continuing Arab-Israeli conflict has fostered resentment between Israel and Lebanon over their maritime border and Lebanon and Syria over the delineation of their Exclusive Economic Zone. These tensions often result in violent exchanges, and the Israel Defense Forces have been accused of violating Lebanese territorial waters and airspace on numerous occasions.
The instability in Iraq and the recent war in Afghanistan have resulted in tens of thousands of tonnes of drugs being trafficked into Europe via the so-called Balkan route. The capture of the MV So San off the coast of Yemen highlighted the real and present danger of weapons of mass destruction being smuggled in or out of countries that are in conflict with the West. These include direct threats such as the embargo on Iraqi oil exports, which led to Iraq declaring it would attempt to block all exports of oil from neighboring states in the Gulf. In addition to this, there has been the indirect threat of damage to the environment and public health, as was the case in 2006 with the Israeli bombing of the Jiyyeh power station in Lebanon. This is a very multi-faceted and complex problem, and its resolution will be pivotal to the future security of the Middle East.
3.1. Regional Conflicts and Instabilities
The vast majority of conflicts in the Middle East have had direct or indirect consequences on security at sea and have heavily influenced the behavior of littoral states in the region. Prominent examples of regional conflicts that have impacted maritime security include the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, the Palestinian uprisings of the late 1980s and 2000s, and the two Gulf Wars. The Iran-Iraq war saw both sides attack oil tankers and merchant shipping from the other side, as well as third-party states, to try to cut off vital oil revenues. The most publicized event was the US-led reflagging and subsequent protection of Kuwaiti tankers that resulted in significant clashes between US forces and Iranian naval and air forces. The Palestinian uprisings resulted in increased terrorist attacks on Israel from the sea and also illicit arms smuggling and the extensive use of fishing boats and small coastal craft to bypass restrictions on the movement of persons and goods.
The two Gulf wars saw a massive increase in oil spills and the laying of sea mines, particularly during the retreat of Iraqi forces after their defeat in 1991. The effects of these conflicts and others have established a security culture based on suspicion, fear, and extensive naval armament by many states in the region, often as a tool for force projection and protection of national assets that are under threat by other states or internal non-state actors. A sense of wounded pride and perceived injustices from past events continue to be strong motivational factors for many states to maintain this security culture and makes the process of conflict resolution and demilitarization at sea a difficult task.
3.2. Piracy and Maritime Crimes
UNODC has stated that piracy has severe negative impacts on trade and international communication, and governments assert that the safety of crews and valuable cargoes is of prime importance. Efforts to harden ships and the design and promotion of safe sea routes have been carried out as a means to prevent attacks with mixed success, and various international resources have been drawn in preparation. In March 2008, the IMO Secretary-General launched a World-Wide Partnerships program aimed at developing the human, institutional, and infrastructure capacities and capabilities of its member states to enhance the global maritime transportation system and create a secure environment for trade and economic growth. A notable modern success in piracy prevention was the disruption and subsequent abort of a hijack attempt on the chemical tanker MV Zouzou in the Gulf of Oman by the Royal Navy of Oman and assistance from the British Royal Navy and United States Fifth Fleet.
The problem of piracy has affected individual countries in different ways, and the response of affected nations has created a patchwork of solutions and preventative measures with varying degrees of impact. UNODC recognizes that the aftermath of the Somali Civil War is a key issue in the rise of piracy in the East African region, and to this end, there is a focus on crime prevention and the rehabilitation of Somalia. This is in conjunction with efforts by member states in strengthening laws and the justice system, coordination between each other and with international organizations, and the creation of special naval task forces or escort systems for ships. In terms of maritime crimes in the Malacca Straits, it is Malaysia’s intention to enhance its capability in intelligence dissemination and surveillance and share technology and expertise with neighboring Indonesia and Singapore.
Piracy is a long-standing problem which has by no means been limited to the Middle East. It has severely affected areas like Southeast Asia and areas closer to the Middle East, such as the Mediterranean Sea. In terms of the Persian Gulf, however, it has in recent years been the unfortunate victim of a surge in piracy and other maritime crimes in the wake of the Gulf Wars, especially in 2004. Citing the lack of security in the region, the Coalition Maritime Campaign Plan was initiated in 2004 and headed by the U.S. It mainly aimed to provide protection for Iraq’s vital oil infrastructure and the highly constrained Al Basrah and Khawr al Amayah terminals. By the end of 2009, having been described as one of the most successful operations in history, the plan had led to a considerable drop in acts of piracy in the region. While acts of piracy are still committed in Iraq’s narrow territorial waters, progress continues as the Iraqi navy and marines receive training, infrastructure, and equipment. Adjacent to the Yemeni island of Socotra in 2010, three consecutive attacks on oil tankers and the bold kidnapping of foreign tourists in 2013 indicate that there remain security issues in the region of Yemen. This being said, Yemen has limited capabilities in dealing with piracy in its southern waters, and problems have escalated in June 2019 with an attack and temporary seizure of a Korean oil tanker.
The absence of a single consistent definition of piracy has done little to foster international understanding of the subject. The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in Article 101 describes piracy as consisting of any illegal acts of violence or detention, any act of depredation, or the armed robbery practiced for private ends and without the permission of the state on the high seas against another ship or aircraft or against persons or property on board such ship or aircraft. It also includes any act of inciting or intentionally facilitating an act described in (a) or (b). This definition is relatively acceptable for it covers piracy in both international and municipal legal systems. However, many legal systems still make no distinction between piracy and armed robbery, thus creating a fundamental disadvantage for it prevents pirates from being prosecuted as such in some states.
3.3. Economic and Environmental Impacts
UNCTAD has provided the notion that economic development should go hand in hand with environmental protection. One of the tangible benefits of dealing with economic and environmental impact on marine areas of the Middle East is to apply the international law customary to the law of state responsibility: that a breach of an international obligation by an act of commission or omission consisting of conduct, which is attributable to the state and is unlawful. This can place liability as a responsibility of the polluting state to shell out for the full cost of damage. However, this is oversimplistic with the UNEP finance initiative and it is, in fact, aimed to use the market’s financial resources to solve issues of environmental impact. This initiative involves the employment of various legal instruments and judge-made law to create market policies and standards that would encourage businesses and consumers to take account of the environmental impact of their economic decisions. This can be particularly successful in areas of heavy oil industry in the Middle East.
The Middle East is a region which is economically quite well off. The revenues and the prosperity of the region have grown tremendously over the past few decades. One of the reasons for this is the expansion in oil trade and production. The region’s general prosperity, however, has meant that the vitality of the marine environment has often been sacrificed for economic security. The region’s oil industry has had a profound impact on the marine environment. Oil pollution has been a major problem in the Arabian Gulf. During the Gulf War, vast quantities of oil were spilled into the Gulf, which is still having an impact today. An example of the impact of this can also be seen with the recent oil spillage disaster in Lebanon. These accidents have had a vast impact on the environment and also the economics of many nations in the region.
4. Strategies for Enhancing Maritime Security Cooperation and Capacity Building
United States security guarantees for the Gulf Arab states can also build trust and confidence, although history has shown that these are not infallible. This element has been a crucial but elusive factor in achieving a stable and secure regional security structure. Alternative and less official methods of building trust and cooperation include Track II Diplomacy involving academics and experts and the establishment of regional security dialogue and confidence-building measures, perhaps modeled on similar successful initiatives in ASEAN. These methods involve the extensive use of unofficial forums and backchannel negotiations to overcome political hurdles and state mistrust. While these methods have been less publicized, they are a crucial means to the development of a sustained and comprehensive security structure.
A more recent development has been the involvement of extra-regional powers such as China, Russia, and India into Gulf security affairs. The nature of involvement of these states is diverse and in some cases, such as the China-Iran strategic relationship, is somewhat counter to the security interests of Western states. However, this involvement has demonstrated that Gulf security is of global concern and therefore increased the potential for multilateral security cooperation.
One of the more successful strategies has been the use of multilateral and bilateral partnerships, usually involving extra-regional states or international organizations. This has allowed states to engage in cooperative security strategies and capacity building where alone, they may have been either unwilling or unable. An example is the US-led “Cooperative Defense Initiative” with Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, aimed at shoring up regional defense capabilities to combat the full spectrum of security threats. While many of these agreements focus on individual state military capacity building, it is hoped this will translate into regional collective security efforts.
The most pressing concern for many Middle Eastern states is the realization of effective and comprehensive regional maritime security cooperation and capacity building. This requires collaborative strategies to overcome the social, political, and economic obstacles to multifaceted security cooperation. There are several key strategies to engender cooperation, noting that the key to success is the formulation of cooperative relationships over the long term. Most of these can be characterized as “trust-building measures”.
Strategies for enhancing maritime security cooperation and capacity building
4.1. Multilateral Partnerships and Collaborative Efforts
While there is mutual interest between these actors and Middle Eastern states, there is concern that their involvement may exacerbate existing tensions and conflicts. This highlights the need for coordination between multilateral partnerships to ensure that their cumulative effect is a net gain for maritime security in the Middle East. This may take place through some form of ‘multilateralizing’ extra-regional security provision, for example by placing it under a UN mandate. The involvement of non-state actors in multilateral partnerships should not be overlooked, particularly the role of private security companies in light of increased piracy and maritime crime off the coasts of conflict-ridden states such as Somalia and Yemen.
Given the sensitive nature of maritime security in the Middle East, the initial focus of multilateral partnerships is likely to be on relatively less contentious functional areas, such as environmental security, where cooperation can build trust and establish habits of cooperation that can later be applied to more sensitive issues. As a functional and region-wide issue, maritime security is relevant to several international and regional organizations in the Middle East, such as the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, as well as sub-regional bodies such as the GCC. These organizations have expressed a variety of interests in Middle Eastern maritime security, from freedom of navigation in the case of the EU to the provision of security for extra-regional state interests, such as the US or individual member states.
As one of the key principles in previous studies, multilateralism emphasizes the coordination of activities and policies by state and non-state actors to address common concerns. The involvement of a mix of regional and extra-regional states, international organizations, and non-state actors is often seen as essential to facilitate collective action. Multilateral partnerships can take on a variety of forms, from confidence-building measures and consultation to cooperative activities and capacity building in a wide array of functional areas that bear on security. Central to its function is the creation of a forum for dialogue and a mechanism to coordinate activities and policies between actors.
4.2. Information Sharing and Intelligence Cooperation
The sharing and analysis of intelligence related to maritime security proved to be essential in enabling the Middle Eastern states to identify threats and challenges to their maritime interests, determine the range of possible responses, and decide on the most effective course of action. UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) has been involved in several intelligence sharing initiatives in the region. One of the most successful to date has been Project MASP (Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre – Narcotics). This project involves a regional information sharing and liaison capability, based around a virtual data hub and a secure video-teleconferencing network, and aimed at enhancing cooperation between the littoral states and various other security agencies to counter drug and related smuggling in the Indian Ocean and Gulf. This approach fostered information sharing and confidence-building measures between the Member States, particularly Iran and Saudi Arabia, and produced operational results in terms of drug seizure operations and arrests, despite the regional political tensions. These are clear illustrations that where there is a will to share and cooperate, progress can be made in developing mutual understanding and confronting common security threats. The success of MASP has led to calls to replicate this model for addressing other maritime security threats in the region.
At a global and more multilateral level, the sharing of intelligence related to transnational security threats has often taken place within the forum of various UN conferences, workshops, and projects. These have to date taken the form of ad hoc initiatives and not set a formal or permanent framework for intelligence sharing. However, given the transnational nature of contemporary security threats and the complex tapestry of political relations and security concerns in the Middle East, it is paramount that intelligence sharing initiatives are inclusive and involve confidence-building measures and direct interaction between those states that are party to a security issue or dilemma. The track two and confidence and security-building measures undertaken within the MESA region may benefit intelligence sharing initiatives, but this is a long-term goal and some confidence-building measures through joint analysis of security threats may be a precursor to wider regional dialogue.
4.3. Technology and Infrastructure Development
Infrastructure developments between states sharing common waterways are another significant aspect. The Iraqi-Iran and Saudi Arabia-Bahrain portions of the Gulf are prime examples where one state’s infrastructure developments can affect another. Since the end of the Iran-Iraq War in 1988, the Iraqi and Iranian governments have each made a concerted effort to develop infrastructure around the Shatt al-Arab waterway. Situated downstream from the aforementioned portion of the waterway, Bahrain has expressed concerns that increased shipping traffic in the Shatt al-Arab will lead to greater incidences of pollution to its territorial waters and potential navigation safety issues.
The expansion of technology and infrastructure proficiency is another method to strengthen maritime security cooperation. Some states from the Middle East following the events of 11 September have sought to discourage or avert terrorists from exploiting the shipping industry. This is significantly important with the looming mandate from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that a significant number of tankers and all passenger ships be fitted with automatic identification systems (AIS) in the next few years. Iraq, for example, has approached the United States to help install radar and other surveillance equipment particularly along the Khawr Abd Allah waterway. Elsewhere, a number of regional states have requested US assistance to evaluate the vulnerabilities of their offshore oil platforms and to tighten security measures around those facilities.
4.4. Training and Capacity Building Programs
The focus of capacity-building programs can be found in the general expertise of the United Nations entities. For example, IMO projects will revolve around the improvement of safety, security, and environmental procedures and compliance measures, while UNEP projects could target land-based sources of pollution or the protection of marine biodiversity in areas affected by security disruptions. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 provides an international mandate to Member States to prevent terrorist acts, including improving the security of their borders and, in particular, the Flag/Port State Implementation and Port/Facility security in the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) are areas where significant improvements can be made. In terms of human and institutional capital, the training of government officials in various sectors and the development of legal structures and implementation measures will be the primary areas of focus. The participation of NGOs, industry, and regional organizations should also be encouraged in capacity-building efforts to attain a multi-level and sustainable change.
The delivery of capacity-building is arguably the most effective and direct means of support and one that brings positive influences. The objectives are to enhance national capacity and self-sufficiency to govern and manage maritime security issues; and to foster sub-regional, regional, and international cooperation and understanding through the establishment of a cross-cutting network of officials with a common understanding and knowledge to address specific issues. These activities are reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC), which has generic concepts to assist capacity building and specific references to these activities in regional instruments. Capacity-building is defined as the development of specific knowledge, technology, and skills necessary to improve the national situation and enhance human and institutional capital.
4.5. Legal Frameworks and Enforcement Mechanisms
The conduct of legal and enforcement mechanisms in a cooperative effort aimed at enhancing greater safety and security at sea, whether in the form of a traditional law enforcement action in response to a specific incident, such as a terrorist or criminal act, or in efforts to uphold compliance with safety and security norms and regulations. Traditional law enforcement actions are those in which a suspected violator of the law is identified, intercepted, and subjected to some form of legal process, while measures to uphold compliance with regulations involve assessing whether an act or condition is in conformity with the established rules and then requiring that any violations be corrected and sanctions applied if necessary. Both types of actions can be undertaken unilaterally, by one state on its own, or collectively in cooperation with other states. In the context of contemporary maritime security cooperation, the preference is for actions to be undertaken collectively. This reflects a recognition that maritime security is a collective good, the benefits of which are widely shared, and that there are insufficient national resources to provide full protection of a state’s maritime interests acting alone. Collective action is also viewed as a means to avoid an escalation of security dilemmas that could result from one state’s independent actions to increase security and which could ultimately undermine the safety and security of other states. If the ultimate aim is to foster an environment of cooperative security, it stands to reason that all actions in support of that aim should embody a spirit of cooperation. Collective action is also and simply, a more efficient means to share the burdens of providing safety and security at sea, thereby making the most of scarce resources.