Result of Service

– Workplan developed with UNODC. – Assessment conducted to map legal frameworks on crimes in the fisheries sector. – Modules and cases studies developed. – Workshops delivered in Dakar, Gambia and Cabo- Verde. – Training provided on Law of the Sea and maritime crime provided during the OBANGAME Express 2024 in Cabo Verde. – Mapping assessment exercise of the EU SWAIMS project implemented by GMCP in West Africa conducted with recommendations on areas for further interventions in future projects. – Support provided to update Sao Tome and Principe legislative framework on piracy and other maritime crimes. – Training on the law of the sea delivered in Sao Tome and Principe. – Support provided on the organization of simulated trials. – Support provided on the organization of virtual meetings. – Monthly reports submitted.

Work Location

Home-Based with travels to Gulf of Guinea countries including Senegal, Gambia, Cabo Verde, Sao Tome and Principe

Expected duration

Proposed period: 1 April – 30 October 2024 Actual work time: 121 working days.

Duties and Responsibilities

The insecurity caused by maritime crime in the Gulf of Guinea has a considerable impact on the stability and economic development of the region. Attacks at sea in the region, including piracy, have direct and indirect consequences on shipping, trade, the security of coastal states, the economy, and the environment. The lack of prosecutions related to incidents of piracy, illegal fishing and other maritime crimes continues to undermine efforts to ensure security and safety in the Gulf of Guinea. For most countries in West and Central Africa, limited maritime law enforcement capacities, limited number of coastal states with robust legal frameworks, and insufficient effectiveness of domestic justice systems still inhibit the legal finish of prosecutions related to criminal activities at sea in the region. This is emphasized by the fact that to date, there have been only 2 successful prosecutions for maritime piracy in West Africa. The fisheries sector is one of the most critical industries for food security, poverty alleviation and human prosperity worldwide, with global fish production peaking at about 179 million tons in 2018. However, the fisheries sector is vulnerable to multiple crimes, including corruption, document fraud, illegal fishing and human trafficking. Criminality and unlawful activities linked to the fisheries sector not only threaten the health of our oceans but also, increasingly, have a negative impact on the economies of coastal countries, fuel corruption and create conditions in which further crime – including serious and organized crime can be perpetrated. The transnational element of fisheries crime is important from a jurisdictional perspective when it comes to law enforcement efforts. The transnational aspect of the fisheries crime can derive from elements such as: the nationality of the fishers (who may be of various nationalities and are often recruited by criminal groups due to their knowledge of the high seas and ability to move undetected across borders); the flag of the vessel; the waters in which the fisheries crime takes place (for example, the Exclusive Economic Zones of coastal States or on the high seas); the port where the vessel docks or where the catch is landed, etc. Criminal activities in the fisheries sector are often regarded as synonymous with illegal fishing, which many States do not view or prosecute as criminal offences, but rather as a fisheries management concern, attracting low and usually administrative penalties. Organized criminal organizations thus engage in fisheries crime with relative impunity due both to low risk and high profits and uncoordinated, ineffective domestic and cross-border law enforcement efforts. It is important for the region to change this trend and ensure that there is no impunity to such crimes at sea. In this context, UNODC GMCP has been promoting legal reform and training maritime criminal justice practitioners on the Law of the Sea and transnational organised maritime crime matters in the region. The support has comprised of legal assessments conducted with regard to piracy and maritime offences, establishing legal frameworks, and support in developing solid legislation in line with the UN Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and other international maritime instruments. In West and Central Africa, GMCP is working currently on improving the criminal justice action and responses in Gulf of Guinea countries under several projects focusing the US-funded projects on strengthening law enforcement and criminal justice system response against crimes in the fisheries sector, and maritime security and the rule of law to solve the lack of coordinated criminal law enforcement response and to prosecute cases of piracy and other maritime crimes in accordance with the Yaoundé Code of Conduct in the region. There is a need for increased focus on identifying those who both commit predicate offences on the water and those who profit from such transnational organized criminal activities. It is the latter actors that should be targeted for a successful prosecution, with a view to ensuring their activities cease, their assets seized, taxes are paid, and suitable stringent penalties are imposed. In addition, the UNODC GMCP has been promoting legal reform and training maritime criminal justice practitioners on the Law of the Sea and transnational organised maritime crime matters in the region under 2 EU-funded regional projects called SWAIMS and PASSMAR. The support has comprised of legal assessments conducted with regard to piracy and maritime offences, establishing legal frameworks, and support in developing solid legislation in line with the UN Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and other international maritime instruments. Lastly, to further complement the foregoing programming initiatives, the GMCP will be implementing a new project funded by Italy aimed at further supporting maritime law enforcement efforts in countering piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. In line with this project, the purpose of the consultancy is: – To mentor procecutors from Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania and Sierra Leone in strengthening their legal response to crime in fisheries. To do so, the incumbent will lead and supervise the work of a pool of consultants on the subject matter. – To provide subtantial inputs and recommandations during virtual meetings with prosecutors from designated countries to strengthen the exchange of information, networking and continuing knowledge development related to the prosecution of unlawful activities in the fisheries sector. – To push forward the Legal Reform in Sao Tome and Principe by updating/revising the country’s national legislative framework against maritime crimes and other criminal activities at sea. – To deliver trainings on law of the sea and support on the organization of the simulated trials in selected countries. – To provide substantive training on law of the sea and maritime crimes during a Table-top Exercise being organized during the training week of the OBANGAME 2024 Express in Cabo Verde. – To assess, provide efficient recommandations and lessons learned in a substantial draft report under the EU funded SWAIMS project implemented by GMCP for further interventions in future projects.

Qualifications/special skills

An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Law, Criminology, Police Administration, or a similar field with specific focus on international maritime affairs, international security policy, criminal justice and / or the application of the law, is required. A first level university degree in similar fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. At least ten years of progressively responsible professional experience in the field of countering maritime crime and implementing law of the sea is required Proven experience in legal research and analysis, proposals and training plans, and excellent drafting skills is required Experience in development work and legal systems in West Africa is required Proven experience in dealing with national and regional counterparts from various cultural backgrounds is desirable

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, fluency in oral and written English, French and Portuguese is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations Secretariat language is an advantage.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.