U.N. authorizes additional anti-piracy measures
The United Nations Security Council on Monday passed a resolution calling on states and regional organizations fighting piracy to conclude agreements with countries, especially in the Arabian Sea region, willing to take custody of pirates and to put their own law enforcement officials on board as “ship riders” to prosecute detained suspects.
It also opened the possibility for forces in the area to go after pirates on land by authorizing the use “of all necessary measures that are appropriate in Somalia, for the purpose of suppressing acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea.”
The regional ship-rider approach is similar to one that has proved successful in fighting drug traffickers in the Caribbean.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also told the Security Council that the problem of Somali piracy could not be divorced from the need for comprehensive peace to the war-torn country that has been without a functioning central government since 1991.
“Our anti-piracy efforts must be placed in the context of a comprehensive approach which fosters an inclusive peace process in Somalia and assists the parties to rebuild security, governance capacity, address human rights issues and harness economic opportunities throughout the country,' he said.
Ban Ki-moon recommended strengthening the African Union Mission in Somalia to prevent chaos after Ethiopian troops withdraw from Somalia at the end of the year.
A multinational force with full military capabilities to squelch armed attacks would be preferable to a traditional peacekeeping force, he said, but no member nations or international organizations have offered to take the lead or participate.
If the enhanced African Union Mission proved successful, it would pave the way for deploying U.N. peacekeepers and for the Security Council to set up a Maritime Task Force or add a quick reaction component to the current anti-piracy efforts to launch operations into Somalia in support of U.N. humanitarian activities.