Maritime piracy and armed robbery against ship!!!

Maritime piracy and armed robbery against ship are one of the contemporary challenges of the maritime industry. These two phenomena have a global impact on maritime trade and security. Nowadays, the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean are considered high risk areas in terms of piracy and armed robbery against ships activities. In this regard, both the international community and the coastal States of the region have deployed every effort to try to find ways to address the problem. Being part of the region, Madagascar faces the same challenges like the coastal States of the Eastern Africa and the Western Indian Ocean region in terms of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships threat level, and the organization as well as the response capacity to tackle these crimes. The following research paper proposes a piracy response model for Madagascar by analyzing the manifestation of the modern maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships, the existing international and national legal framework on the matter, the experiences of the international community and regional coastal States in addressing the Somalia case and the current operational arrangement Madagascar in addressing the issue. Considered to be at the basis of any solutions to maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships, the legal and the operational aspects are thoroughly discussed. The first part of the research paper analyzes the international legal framework on maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships, the national legislation models of Madagascar’s neighboring countries on the matter, and the existing Malagasy legal framework. Recommendations are proposed to reform the legislation and the necessity of improving the judicial capacity. The second part of the research paper focuses on how to improve the operational arrangement to combat maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships in Madagascar by looking at the international and regional operational initiatives in the Eastern Africa and Indian Ocean Region, assessing the current operational response of Madagascar and suggesting solutions for the improvement. It is acknowledged that without political will and support the legal and operational solutions will not be efficient and achieved. Throughout the research paper, the intricacy of addressing maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships and the necessity of federating and integrating several components are highlighted, moreover the value of coordination and cooperation at the national, regional and international levels is underlined.