Greece highlights at the UN the need for coordinated action for maritime security
New York – On the sidelines of the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly, Greece organized an event on the theme of “Ensuring Freedom of Navigation: Maritime Security and Coordinated Actions”.
The event, which was attended by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexandra Papadopoulou, the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization Arsenio Dominguez, representatives of member states and the private sector, highlighted the issue of maritime security, a priority for Greece during its current term on the UN Security Council.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Papadopoulou, in her introductory remarks, referring to Greece’s leading role in global shipping, underlined the importance of maritime security, as well as the reasons why Greece chose to highlight it as a top priority during its current term on the Security Council.
The Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has highlighted the freedom of navigation as a fundamental principle governing human activity at sea. In this spirit, he highlighted the paramount role of the Law of the Sea and the Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) presented three guidelines for addressing the challenges: institutionalized response, accountability and investment in resilience. He emphasized that only through strong institutions, but also a clear definition of legal responsibility (in theory and practice) can we shield States against maritime crime.
The Representative of the Greek company DIAPLOUS, Mr. Nikolaos Georgopoulos, in turn, presented the rescue operation of the tanker Sounion in the Red Sea, as an example of successful cooperation between state and private entities, with a decisive contribution from Diaplous, but also through the utilization of diplomatic channels and operational tools of regional organizations.
In a packed hall of the Organization, this parallel event, which follows a series of Greek initiatives on the issue, most recently the discussion at the UNSC last May, sent a resounding message about the need to strengthen maritime security. Our country will continue its efforts to promote this important issue at the international level, both during and after its term at the UNSC.
