Maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea: an overview

Maritime insecurity is confirmed as one of the persistent threats to the stability of States bordering the Gulf of Guinea. Despite a growing awareness and the political will to deal with the threat, the rapid increase of piracy has caught short several countries in the region. The lack of a common and relatively comprehensive mechanism to monitor and tackle the piracy issue, limits the scope of the initiatives taken by some states, which do not cover the whole of the Gulf of Guinea. A long-term strategy involves the pooling of resources, and the cooperation between the three regional organizations, ECCAS, ECOWAS, and the Gulf of Guinea Commission, as well as the involvement of other maritime stakeholders concerned by the piracy issue in the region.