Skelton calls for U.N. antipiracy league

Skelton calls for U.N. antipiracy league Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee called for establishment of an international counter-piracy league under the auspices of the United Nations, during hearings Thursday.
   “The United States must remain a leader in these efforts. But at the same time, we know that neighboring nations must get involved and the collective weight of the international community must be felt in this regard,” he said.
   Pointing to 293 pirate attacks in 2008, with 111 of them occurring in the Gulf of Aden or the East Coast of Somalia, Skelton praised establishment of Combined Joint Task Force-151, which he said has brought together naval forces of U.S. allies and countries such as Russia and China.
   “It has helped focus the attention of many nations in pursuit of our joint interest in maintaining free movement of vessels in the Gulf of Aden,” he added.
   Efforts of the Kenyan government through agreements with the United States and the United Kingdom to ensure greater prosecution and to raise the cost of doing business for these pirates should be applauded, Skelton said.
   Also, the international shipping community has made some progress in improving and disseminating their best practices to avoid pirates.
   'There will be no lasting solution to the problem of piracy in the Gulf of Aden until Somalia's failed state is addressed. Piracy could not exist on this scale and with this level of brazenness if there was effective governmental control of that nation,” he said.