Counter-Piracy Trust Fund 

ObjectivesFund scope

Since 2012, comprehensive international counter-piracy efforts have taken place off the coast of Somalia. Relevant stakeholders of the Counter-Piracy Trust Fund, including national maritime forces, have taken action in monitoring piracy in the region by supporting the establishment of new coordination structures to advance maritime policing with the federal member states, translating shipping codes, and designing and shaping new maritime law enforcement capacities in Somalia and other affected countries.

Tangible contributions have raised Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) commitments and led to a marked decline in piracy attacks. Projects implemented under the Counter-Piracy Trust Fund umbrella focus on prosecution and detention mechanisms, payment or reimbursement of short-term prosecution related expenses, and localized support for relevant rule-of-law capacity building activities.

The CGPCS encourages states and regional organizations to fight “piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia” with the aim of establishing an international cooperation mechanism that acts as a common point of contact on all aspects of “combating piracy and armed robbery at sea off Somalia’s coast.” The Contact Group remains open to participation by representatives from any state entities or international organizations that wish to make a tangible contribution to counter-piracy efforts or are affected by piracy off the coast of Somalia.

GovernanceGovernance arrangements

Trust Fund Board

Established to provide strategic direction to the Trust Fund, mobilize resources, and make resource allocation decisions. Board Members, as determined by the Contact Group and endorsed by the Secretary-General, are chosen on the basis of contributions made to counter-piracy efforts, of which three come from the piracy-affected region. Because Board Members from the UNDS serve in an advisory role to ensure coherence in programming they are non-voting members. 

Trust Fund Board Chair and Trust Fund Secretariat 

Responsible for chairing Board meetings, providing secretariat support to Trust Fund Board, informing the Contact Group and United Nations Secretary-General on fund progress, launching calls for proposals, conducting technical and administrative reviews of project proposals, alongside other operational tasks.

Administrative Agent

Recipient Organizations receive funds through the Administrative Agent, the MPTF Office. The Administrative Agent is responsible for the receipt, administration and management of contributions from donors, disbursement of funds to Recipient Organizations, and consolidation and dissemination of progress reports to donors.

Recipient United Nations Organizations

Are responsible for implementing projects in accordance with their own applicable financial regulations, rules, directives and procedures.

Implementing Partner

Aside from Recipient United Nations Organizations, implementing partners also also responsible for project design, launch, and follow-up and managing bodies include national authorities or other national, regional, or international organizations, as well as NGOs cleared by Recipient United Nations Organizations.

Projects

Counter-Piracy Trust Fund

Counter-Piracy Trust Fund is currently supporting count_projects ongoing projectscount_globalInterregional and count_countries country-specific. This table shows the most recently approved ongoing projects.

All project financial information can be found in the Financials section, including delivery analysis by organization, theme and project; project financial status by country and by theme.

Counter-Piracy Trust Fund

Results

Puntland fishermen participate in automatic identification system pilot project

In 2019, 175 AIS beacons were installed in small-scale fishing boats docked in Bossaso and fishermen were trained in their use. By the end of the reporting period, 125 small fishing boats in Bossaso were equipped with marine VHF-DSC hand-held radios and received instruction from relevant ministerial staff on their purpose and function. The topics covered during these trainings included the importance of their use along with maintenance and handling.

Support to maritime governance in Somalia

Knowledge shared in training workshops created a better understanding of relevant instruments and conventions national changemakers need to ratify as a matter of priority and enforce to comply with relevant IMO instruments and conventions. The new Somali Shipping Code, and its accompanying policy paper, was translated into Somali and presented to Parliament to facilitate parliamentary consideration and passage of the code into national law.

Facilitating the development of effective legal frameworks for maritime governance in Somalia

Based on mapping and assessment exercises facilitated by UNSOM, Senior Officials of the Mogadishu Maritime Police Unit, Somali Navy and Coast Guard, Ministry of Internal Security, Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Ports and Maritime Transport were identified as agencies that would benefit from maritime law enforcement training.

Improvements to piracy trial procedures and operations

Three Senior Prosecutors from Somalia attended a piracy trial in 2019 in the Seychelles to enhance their experience with legal and procedural approaches used by prosecutors, defense, and judges. In the aftermath, a two-day piracy mock trial was conducted in the Supreme Court of the Republic of Seychelles for the Somali prosecutors. This activity focused on witness handling, questioning strategies, legal advocacy, and planning case theory to provide prosecutors with an opportunity to develop skills to conduct maritime crime trials in Somalia.

ContactsPoints of contact