标签： Africa

The 11th annual Our Ocean Conference opened this week in Mombasa, Kenya, marking the first time an African nation has hosted the landmark global gathering focused on reversing decades of damage to the world’s oceans. The event, which brought together hundreds of senior delegates from 56 Commonwealth nations, the United States, the European Union, and climate-vulnerable small island states across the Caribbean and Pacific, opened with a unified call to turn long-stated ocean conservation pledges into tangible, on-the-ground action — starting with immediate execution of the historic High Seas Treaty.

Formally named the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, the treaty entered into force in January this year after securing ratification from 60 countries around the globe. For the first time in history, the agreement establishes a binding legal framework to create fully protected marine areas in international waters, a critical step toward hitting the global 30×30 conservation target that aims to safeguard 30 percent of the world’s land and oceans by 2030.

Speaking at the opening of the Commonwealth Ocean Ministers’ Roundtable during the conference, former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry highlighted the slow pace of progress despite the treaty’s entry into force. While the global community has now hit a milestone of protecting 10 percent of the world’s oceans, Kerry noted that only 3 percent of that area qualifies as highly or fully protected. Most existing ocean protections, he argued, remain nothing more than lines drawn on official maps, with no meaningful enforcement or conservation measures in place.

Kerry further criticized unregulated industrial fishing activity, pointing out that large distant-water fleets travel thousands of miles from their home ports and deploy massive nets that capture non-target marine life indiscriminately, devastating vulnerable open-ocean ecosystems. He urged all nations that have not yet ratified the treaty to complete the process immediately, and called on parties that have already ratified to begin full implementation without delay. Key decisions shaping the treaty’s long-term governance framework are scheduled to be made next year, making the coming months a critical window for action.

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Maritime Affairs, Hassan Joho, echoed this call, emphasizing that global conservation efforts must shift from making promises to delivering measurable results. Since the first Our Ocean Conference was held in 2014, the global gathering has generated more than 2,900 separate conservation pledges totaling over $169 billion in committed funding. Joho stressed that the core challenge now facing the global community is turning these financial and policy pledges into effective, long-term management of fragile marine ecosystems that benefit coastal communities and national economies alike.

The 56 member states of the Commonwealth collectively control 36 percent of the world’s total ocean jurisdiction and hold stewardship over nearly half of the planet’s coral reefs, giving the bloc an outsized role and unique responsibility in global marine conservation. For its part, Africa is increasingly emerging as a leading voice in global ocean governance, a shift Kerry highlighted during his remarks. He praised the continent for leading transboundary conservation efforts, pointing specifically to a landmark commitment by eight Gulf of Guinea nations to sustainably manage 100 percent of their collective national waters by 2030.

“Africa, a region long framed as a victim of unregulated ocean exploitation, is now stepping forward to lead global conservation action,” Kerry said.

As host of this year’s conference, Kenya has already implemented a series of progressive ocean policies: it has adopted integrated coastal zone management frameworks, expanded the total area of its national marine protected areas, and ramped up enforcement efforts to crack down on illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. The East African nation’s 400-mile coastline and extensive exclusive economic zone support key economic sectors including commercial fishing and coastal tourism, which sustain livelihoods for millions of Kenyans.

As delegates continued negotiations in Mombasa, many attendees noted that the policy and regulatory decisions made over the coming months will determine whether the High Seas Treaty becomes a transformative tool for global marine conservation, or joins a long list of unfulfilled international environmental promises.

This coverage from the Associated Press receives philanthropic funding from multiple private foundations, with the AP retaining full editorial control over all content.

Six months after Israel made history as the first UN-recognized nation to formally acknowledge Somaliland’s independence, the self-declared state has inaugurated its first diplomatic mission in the Middle Eastern country — placing it in Jerusalem, a choice that has amplified already fierce global debate over the move.

The embassy opening took place at a West Jerusalem technology park during an official state visit by Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, who held high-level talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During the meeting, Netanyahu spoke of what he framed as a shared historical bond between the two peoples, and praised Somaliland’s decision to site its embassy in Jerusalem, which Israel claims as its undivided eternal capital.

Netanyahu drew a direct parallel between the two polities’ aspirations for global recognition: “Just as you expect nations to recognise your sovereignty, your identity, your own rights, your own national rights. The same thing we have vis-à-vis our capital. It’s only been the capital of the Jewish people since King David. That’s only 3,000 years ago. So, for some countries, it’s a belated recognition. For you, it was instant.”

Abdullahi returned the praise, hailing Netanyahu for his “courage” in extending recognition to Somaliland last December, and outlined a range of potential areas of bilateral collaboration. He highlighted Somaliland’s untapped natural resource wealth — including rare earth minerals and crude oil reserves — and noted the country’s strategically positioned coastline along the entrance to the Red Sea, which offers major geostrategic value for Israel in the Horn of Africa. For Israel, the partnership secures a rare stable friendly partner in a strategically critical region that has long been dominated by actors hostile to Israeli interests.

The entire diplomatic exchange has been met with fierce condemnation from multiple stakeholders. Somalia, which formally claims Somaliland as an integral part of its sovereign territory, has condemned any official engagement with what it calls the “secessionist administration of the northern region of Somalia”, framing the embassy opening as a direct violation of Somalia’s national sovereignty. Somalia’s foreign ministry has issued an urgent call for all global actors to uphold international law and condemn actions that undermine the unity and territorial integrity of the Somali state.

Israel’s original recognition of Somaliland in December 2024 was already deeply controversial globally, drawing sharp criticism from dozens of countries and major international bodies including China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the African Union. The decision to open the embassy in Jerusalem, rather than Tel Aviv where the vast majority of foreign missions remain located, has drawn further rebuke from the Palestinian Authority. In a statement carried by official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the Palestinian foreign ministry condemned “the opening of the alleged embassy by the so-called ‘Somaliland’ in the occupied city of Jerusalem”, calling the move a “flagrant violation of international law and relevant resolutions of international legitimacy”. The Palestinians have long laid claim to East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War and formally annexed in 1980, as the capital of their future independent state. The international community almost universally does not recognize Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem, and most countries retain their embassies in Tel Aviv, despite the 2018 decision by former U.S. President Donald Trump to relocate the U.S. mission to Jerusalem. A small handful of countries including Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, and Fiji currently maintain embassies in Jerusalem.

Somaliland has operated as a de facto independent state since 1991, when it separated from Somalia following the collapse of the central government in Mogadishu that plunged the rest of the country into decades of civil conflict and instability. Over the past three decades, Somaliland has established functional democratic institutions, held multiple peaceful national elections, issued its own independent currency, and built a professional national security force, maintaining far greater stability than most regions of southern Somalia. Even so, prior to Israel’s recognition late last year, no UN member state had formally recognized Somaliland’s declaration of independence.

Nigeria’s armed forces have announced the successful rescue of Amina Abubakar, the widow of a retired major general who died in kidnappers’ custody over the weekend, more than two weeks after the couple were abducted from the country’s northwestern Katsina State.

The pair—Maj Gen Rabe Abubakar and his wife Amina—were first taken hostage by unidentified armed groups at the end of May. In a public statement released Monday, defense officials confirmed that Amina was shot by her captors during the rescue operation as the kidnappers retreated under advancing troop pressure. She is currently receiving ongoing medical care at a military hospital.

The rescue was confirmed by the couple’s daughter, Bilkisu, via a WhatsApp post that expressed gratitude for the outcome. “We are deeply grateful to Allah for His mercy and protection,” she wrote. “Our mummy has been rescued from the hands of evil by the Nigerian Army. We pray that Allah grants her good health, complete recovery, peace of mind, and strength after everything she has been through.”

Maj Gen Abubakar’s death, announced by Katsina State officials on Saturday, has been attributed to pre-existing chronic health complications including diabetes and high blood pressure. His remains were interred the same day his death was made public.

Samaila Uba, director of defense information, explained that the rescue followed weeks of intensified search and clearing operations targeting criminal networks in the region. “During sustained offensive operations and pressure mounted on the criminal elements, troops made contact with the bandits… leading to the successful recovery of Mrs Abubakar,” Uba said. He added that military leadership is prioritizing Amina’s recovery and extending all necessary support to the family, and that operations will continue to hunt down the perpetrators of the abduction.

No organized group has yet claimed responsibility for the kidnappings. Northwestern Nigeria has long grappled with persistent insecurity rooted in the activities of local criminal gangs known colloquially as “bandits,” who regularly carry out ransom-fueled kidnappings, cattle rustling, and violent attacks on isolated rural communities. The region also hosts a presence of militant jihadist groups, and the United States carried out an airstrike targeting an alleged militant camp in neighboring Sokoto State last Christmas.

Just 10 days before Amina’s rescue, a video circulated online showing the retired general and his wife issuing a public appeal to the Katsina State government. The pair called for the government to release detained bandit members and return seized livestock in exchange for their own freedom.

President Bola Tinubar voiced his reaction to Maj Gen Abubakar’s death over the weekend, saying he was “shocked” by the news. The president described the general’s killing as a stark reminder of the ongoing threat that armed criminal groups pose to national security and civilian life across Nigeria.