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Somalia: Security Council mandates action against pirates for
another year
30 November 2009 – The Security Council today renewed for another 12
months the authorization for States and regional organizations
fighting piracy off the Somali coast to enter the strife-torn
country’s territorial waters and “undertake all necessary measures
that are appropriate in Somalia” provided they have the transitional
government’s consent.
In a resolution adopted unanimously under Chapter VII of the UN
Charter authorizing the use of force, the 15-member body also noted
with concern that escalating ransom payments and the lack of
enforcement of the arms embargo imposed by the Council in 1992 are
fuelling the growth of piracy.
It called on all States to fully cooperate with the monitoring group
on the embargo and reiterated its appeal to countries and regional
organizations with the capacity to do so to deploy naval vessels,
arms and military aircraft in the fight again a scourge that has
over the years frequently disrupted the delivery of UN humanitarian
aid as well as routine shipping. This year the pirates have been
operating ever further out to sea, sometimes hundreds of miles away
from the coast.
Noting the “crisis situation in Somalia,” which has been without a
functioning central government and plagued by factional conflict
since 1991, “and the limited capacity of the Transitional Federal
Government (TFG)” to interdict or prosecute pirates, the Council
renewed earlier calls to those States fighting piracy off the Somali
coast to help plug the vacuum.
They should do so by concluding arrangements whereby countries
willing to take custody of pirates, particularly those in the
region, would station law enforcement officials on the patrol ships
to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of persons detained
as a result of the international operations, provided the TFG
consents.
The Council called on Member States at the request of the TFG “to
strengthen capacity in Somalia, including regional authorities, to
bring to justice those who are using Somali territory to plan,
facilitate, or undertake criminal acts of piracy and armed robbery
at sea.”
Earlier this month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that piracy
would not be defeated by military means alone. “We will find a
solution only by addressing the broader political and security
situation,” he said in a message to the UN International Maritime
Organization (IMO), stressing the need to support the “fragile” TFG.
He noted that since the start of the international naval escort
system two years ago, not a single ship heading to Somalia with UN
World Food Programme (WFP) aid has been attacked. “WFP has been able
to scale up its operations, providing much-needed food assistance to
nearly 3 million people,” he pointed out.
Source:UN
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