Through AALCO 2023, Yasonna Laoly Brings Illegal Fishing Issues As Organized Crimes

Minister of Law and Human Rights (Menkumham) of the Republic of Indonesia, Yasonna Laoly/ Photo: IST

JAKARTA - Indonesia has proposed a concept note to categorize illegal fishing as a Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) or cross-bordered crime in the 2023 Asian Africa Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO).

The Minister of Law and Human Rights (Menkumham) of the Republic of Indonesia, Yasonna Laoly, explained that so far the issue of illegal fishing has been seen as an administrative problem and not a legal problem. Indonesia through the Ministry of Law and Human Rights encourages AALCO member countries to include illegal fishing as an organized crime. The financial impact of illegal fishing in Asia and Africa is quite large. Economic losses due to illegal fishing in the ASEAN region in 2019 reached US$6 billion, where Indonesia and Vietnam became the countries experiencing the biggest losses.

Another report states illegal fishing resulted in US$2.3 billion losses per year in four African countries, including Gambia and Senegal which are AALCO member states.

"Seeing the huge financial impact of illegal fishing activities, we invite AALCO member countries to include illegal fishing as a cross-bordered crime that can be ensnared by international law. AALCO must be able to protect its members' interests from pressure from other parties who state that illegal fishing is just an administrative matter. Cooperation and support between countries are keywords to ensure that the sea wealth of AALCO member countries, including Indonesia, is not further eroded," said Yasonna.

Yasonna emphasized that AALCO as an intergovernmental organization in Asia Africa has great power to voice the interests of Asian African countries in various fields.

AALCO is the result of the Asia Africa Summit which was held in Bandung in 1955. A year later, this organization was officially established and since then it has been active in discussing issues that have attracted the attention of its member countries in various fields such as international law, law of the sea, trade law, and others.

The issue discussion is carried out through the annual Session which will be held in AALCO member countries. This year, The 61st AALCO Annual Session will be held in Bali on 16 October 20, 2023. This forum is the right forum for Indonesia and other AALCO member countries to discuss important issues related to international law policies and voice the interests of Asian African countries at the global level. AALCO should be able to become partners in line with other global organizations that have strong bargaining positions. This bargaining power is important so that we are not subject to policies that harm the interests of Asian African countries, said Yasonna. Some of the main discussion agendas on The 61st AALCO Annual Sessions include issues related to violations of international law in Palestine, environmental issues and sustainable development, trade laws and international investment, asset recovery. **