UN must take central role in global fight against piracy

In a change from an earlier draft, the 66 nations participating were no longer listed and the proposal for UN involvement to tackle the situation off Somalia was described as being “noted” rather than agreed.
It is understood that many of the national delegations at the meeting did not explicitly back the contents of the statement.
The meeting, organised by the Malaysian government, had delegations from 66 countries as well as one from the European Union and from the International Maritime Organization.
The statement also noted the work being made on an improved international legal framework for prosecuting pirates.
“Efforts are being undertaken to assess the international legal framework to ensure its effectiveness in addressing piracy and armed robbery against ships,” it said.
On several occasions, pirates captured by naval forces deployed off Somalia have been released due to lack of a legal jurisdiction to prosecute them.
There was also a call to tackle the root causes of piracy in Somalia, which lie on land – not at sea.
“Empowering the Somali people and enhancing the socio-economic fabric of Somalia should be undertaken to ensure a lasting solution to the problem,” the statement said.
At the meeting, Federation of Asean Shipowners’ Association (Fasa) secretary-general Daniel Tan called for the UN to intervene on land to bring stability to the failed state.
“The United Nations should seriously see to it that a credible and stable government is established in Somalia and that the poverty of the people is eradicated. The huge expense incurred through the deployment of military resources in the gulf and the ransoms paid out should be put into better use,” Mr Tan said.
“Fasa backs proposals for littoral states to establish a regional maritime sea and air patrol to protect vessels in affected areas from pirate attacks.
Multi-lateral government cooperation and the sharing of piracy information among them is the right way forward to combat the piracy menace,” he said.
In a speech to the opening of the meeting on Monday, Malaysia’s minister for foreign affairs Anifah Haji Aman also backed the role of the UN.
“Malaysia also feels that the UN must take a leading role, using close consultation with the African Union and other relevant parties to ensure the immediate and full implementation of the Djibouti Agreement,” he said.
“Malaysia is willing to be a part of the UN-led process and has offered to serve as a member of the contact group on piracy off the coast of Somalia.”
Malaysia was in a unique position to contribute towards finding a solution to the Somali problem given its experiences with fighting piracy as a littoral state of the Malacca Strait, Mr Anifah said. He also noted that the situation off Somalia was “starkly different in many ways”.
There was little more shipowners could do to defend their vessels against piracy, Mr Tan said.
Ships transiting off the coast of Somalia already use several security measures including maximising speed, evasive manoeuvres and the use of fire hoses and other non-lethal devices.
“Short of turning our vessels into armed craft, we have already taken all possible steps to safeguard our crews, our cargoes and our ships,” he said.
“Ultimately, any measures adopted by the industry to combat pirate attacks can only be a stop-gap measure. I seriously doubt there are any more measures that the industry can employ to repel any potential pirate attacks unless you are strongly suggesting that seafarers should also be combat-trained to fight these pirates.”