France signs Jeddah Amendment to combat illicit maritime activity

France has signed the Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCoC-JA), a regional initiative to combat piracy, armed robbery against ships and other illicit maritime activities in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.

Her Excellency Mrs. Marine de Carné de Trécesson de Coëtlogon, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of France to the IMO, deposited the instrument with Ms. Dorota Lost-Sieminska, Director of the Legal Affairs and External Relations Division at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), during a ceremony at IMO Headquarters in London on 11 November.

By joining the DCoC-JA, France becomes the 19th Signatory State working to strengthen regional maritime security, enhance information sharing and support capacity-building in areas such as human trafficking prevention and port and ship security. IMO supports the implementation of the DCoC-JA with assistance from partners and donor States.

The Jeddah Amendment plays a key role in promoting coordination and communication among Signatory States. The Signatory States are holding the 8th High Level Meeting in Mauritius from 12-14 November, focusing on maritime crime updates, information sharing and operational cooperation and coordination at sea.

The DCoC-JA builds on the Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCoC), adopted in 2009 to combat piracy and armed robbery against ships, and since 2017 has expanded its scope to address a wider range of illicit activities, including illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, arms and drug trafficking, illegal trade in wildlife, crude oil theft, human trafficking and smuggling and illegal dumping of toxic waste.

Signatory States apply the IMO's "whole-of-government" approach through national maritime security committees, risk registers and national strategies developed with IMO support.

The 19 signatories to the expanded DCoC-JA are as follows: Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, France, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen.

Find out more about the Djibouti Code of Conduct and the Jeddah Amendment.