Press Release on 21st plenary
A press release summarises the results of the 21st CGPCS plenary from the perspective of the chairman. As the chairman Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo declares in the statement: “we cannot fight effectively nor permanently remove piracy, if we do not tackle … Continue reading
Communique of 21st plenary available
The secretariat of the CGPCS has released the communique of the 21st plenary held in Nairobi. The communique provides a summary of the discussion in preparation of and during the plenary. As major items, the CGPCS endorsed the new version of Best Man … Continue reading
The Participants of the 21st plenary of the CGPCS
Preparatory meetings of the 21st plenary concluded
A day prior to the 21st plenary a range of preparatory meetings were held in the UN Offices in Nairobi. The UN Trust Fund board met to discuss the current funding situation and approve new projects. The Working Group Operations at Sea held a meeting … Continue reading
21st plenary to be held in Nairobi
The 21st plenary of the CGPCS will be held on the 12th and 13th of July in the UN facilities in Nairobi, Kenya. The plenary is preceded by meetings of the Working Group on Operations at Sea (WGOPS) , the Trust Fund Board as well as a particular meeti … Continue reading
CGPCS strategy meeting to be held in Mauritius
On the 30th of April a CGPCS strategy meeting will be held in Mauritius. Following an introductory panel, there will be a discussion on the programs of the working groups as well as a panel on the future work plan of the overall CGPCS. The meeting is … Continue reading
Regional Capacity Building Coordination WG holds meeting in Nairobi
The Regional Capacity Building Coordination Working Group, also known as RCBWG is one of the two working groups of the CGPCS. It is mandated to coordinate the capacity building work of the international community in the Western Indian Ocean region an … Continue reading
CGPCS joins twitter
As part of the new communication strategy of the new CGPCS chairmenship, the CGPCS is now on twitter. Follow the CGPCS on twitter @CGPCS_platform. The new secretariat can also be reached via email at: cgpcs@coi-ioc.org.
New CGPCS newsletter published
The final newsletter of the 2017 CGPCS chairmanship, the Government of Seychelles, is available. The newsletter provides messages from the incoming and outgoing chairmen, an overview of the activities of the chair in the past months, as well as updat … Continue reading
Message from the incoming Chairman
The Republic of Mauritius, as Chair of the Indian Ocean Commission, is honoured to take over the chairmanship of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS). In our globalised world, the Eastern and Southern African and Indian Ocean … Continue reading
The CGPCS in 2018. A comment on strategic priorities for the incoming chairmanship
With the 20th plenary the CGPCS has successfully consolidated its work and reconfirmed its position as the institution where global responses to piracy in the Western Indian Ocean are coordinated. The CGPCS continues to fill a major gap in the global … Continue reading
CGPCS Chair Handover to Indian Ocean Commission by Seychelles
The Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) has succeeded the Republic of Seychelles as Chair of the CGPCS. Ambassador Barry Faure, Secretary of State and Chairman of the Contact Group, symbolically passed the baton to the IOC Presidency, represented by its Se … Continue reading
OBP holds informal threat assessment meeting
Sir James Burnell-Nugent of Oceans Beyond Piracy and Mr. Raymond St. Ange, representing the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPSC) co-chaired a meeting of maritime experts to discuss the maritime piracy threat in the Gulf of Aden th … Continue reading
UNSC Renews Authorization for International Naval Forces to Fight Piracy off Coast of Somalia
On November 7th the United Nations Security Council has renewed the mandate for counter-piracy in adopting Resolution 2383. The resolution reviews the state of piracy and concludes that further efforts are required to deter and prosecute piracy acti … Continue reading
October newsletter of CGPCS chair provides update on activities
The CGPCS secretariat has published the October newsletter. The newsletter reports on the activities of the chairman as well as recent developments at sea and in capacity building. Highlights include a review of the current piracy situation, reports … Continue reading
(2018 Chairman of the CGPCS, H.E S. Lutchmeenaraidoo, Government of Mauritius) 
“For the coming two years at the chairmanship of the CGPCS, I am inspired by the motto “United we stand divided we fall” attributed to Aesop in his fable “The Four Oxen and the Lion”. This demonstrates the necessity to collectively address the issue of piracy. Individual action is bound to fail. Piracy, like other crimes, threats and marine risks, knows no borders, that is, why cooperation is essential to ensure maritime safety and peaceful development of the entire region. We shall spare no effort to lobby for a permanent status for the CGPCS and to extend and deepen its mandate and powers for a sustainable growth of our economies. ”
“We are committed as a regional state, a small island developing nation, and as current chair of the Contact Group, to ensure that as we work to end piracy, that we as well promote strategies that will create positive opportunities for all, in legal, environmental friendly approaches, so that our Indian Ocean becomes a positive example of what can happen when partners from all corners of this global village joins forces in a positive way. It can be done and we are doing it today. ”
(2016 Chairman of the CGPCS, Joel Morgan, Government of the Seychelles)
“The Contact Group on piracy is unique. It is a laboratory for innovative multilateral governance to address complex international issues. The great thing is that it is delivering.”
(2014/2015 Chairman of the CGPCS, Maciej Popowski, EEAS)
Reflections from Participants
The PLA Navy of China Contribution to Counter-Piracy
In the most recent contribution to the lessons learned project of the CGPCS the People’s Liberation Army Navy revisits its contribution to counter-piracy operation off the Horn of Africa. The official report submitted by PLA Navy at the instruction of the Ministry of Defense, People’s Republic of Ch … Continue reading
Lessons from Operational Analysis at CMF
In this contribution to the Lessons Learned Project, Matthew R. MacLeod (Canada) and William M. Wardrop (UK) discuss the role of Operational Analysis (OA) for the work of the Combined Maritime Forces. As they discuss in the paper, operational analysis was instrumental to ensure an effective employme … Continue reading
The High Risk Area debate – What was at stake?
Since 2012 the CGPCS agenda was increasingly occupied by the question whether the High Risk Area (HRA) of the Best Management Practices (BMP) should be revised. Why did the high risk area become so controversial? What’s at stake in the debate? What can be learned from this debate? A new lessons lear … Continue reading
The CGPCS: in 15 steps explained
In a new Powerpoint presentation by the EEAS the work of the CGPCS is explained in 15 easy steps. The presentation discusses how the CGPCS was designed, how it functions and why it worked so well in containing piracy. It also discusses the link between the CGPCS and the broader UN architecture (view … Continue reading
Countering Somali Piracy: Pakistan’s Perspective
In this paper, Vice Admiral (Retd) Asaf Humayun, Director General – National Centre for Maritime Policy Research, Bahria University, Karachireflects on the role of Pakistan as an active participant in the fight against Somali piracy since 2009 and as a member of the Contact Group on Piracy off the C … Continue reading