33 The Secretariat was requested to:
.1 convey the outcome of the workshop to the West African seminar and workshop for information and action; and
.2 bring to the attention of the Maritime Safety Committee, at its seventy-first session in May 1999, the amendments proposed by the Brasilia and Singapore seminars and workshops inviting it to take action as appropriate.
REPORT OF THE SEMINAR AND WORKSHOP
34 During the national reports, the following points emerged, among others:
.1 some coastal/port States are not in a position to arrest and prosecute in cases of piracy on the high seas because they have no provisions in their domestic legislation to do so;
.2 many cases of piracy and armed robbery against ships are not investigated because the masters of the ships involved either failed to report the attacks to the appropriate authorities or did not do so in time to allow the law enforcement agencies to collect important evidence to be able to prosecute; and
.3 some of the attacks on ships in the region were carried out by political dissidents whose aim was to raise funds for political or military activities. In doing this, some of them might have the sympathy of some members of the law enforcement agencies.
35 The seminar and workshop noted with appreciation the report by the representative of the International Chamber of Commerce (IMB) of the assistance his organization regularly receives from MRCCs in the region in piracy and armed robbery against ship-related cases. It noted, in particular, that through the co-operation of the Chinese MRCC, his organization was able to locate three hijacked ships in 1998.
ADOPTION OF RESOLUTIONS
36 The seminar and workshop considered draft resolutions on:
.1 prevention and suppression of piracy and armed robbery against ships (resolution 1);
.2 appropriate punishment for the crime of piracy and armed robbery against ships (resolution 2); and
.3 expressions of appreciation (resolution 3),
and adopted them unanimously (see annex 7).
