UN official says more warships needed to deter piracy off Somali coast

[News_Editor]

UN official says more warships needed to deter piracy off Somali coast

2010-11-10 08:39:10 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, on Tuesday told the United Nations Security Council that more than warships and military efforts are necessary to deter piracy off Somali coast.

Pascoe called for simultaneous action on three fronts to combat piracy: deterrence, security and the rule of the law, and development. The Under-Secretary-General added that piracy is a menace that is outpacing efforts by the international community to stop it.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) reported that over 438 seafarers and passengers and 20 ships are held by pirates as of last Thursday. The amount represents an increase of almost 100 victims in less than a month.

"We need to continue to fight this battle in the broadest manner, focusing simultaneously on deterrence, security and the rule of law, as well providing economic alternatives for Somali youth," Pascoe added.

The UN official remarked that as long as piracy is a lucrative activity it will continue to proliferate in a region where other economic options are bleak. Pirates ask for ransom payments between tens to millions of dollars.

"Economic rehabilitation and the creation of alternative livelihoods, especially the development and rehabilitation of coastal fisheries, must be at the center of our efforts to fight piracy," the Under-Secretary-General said.

Pascoe welcomed the efforts by the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia in disrupting piracy actions. He also applauded the steps taken by Kenya and Seychelles to prosecute suspected pirates and imprison convicted offenders.

However, he expressed his concern over the pirates’ expanding reach in the African coastline and proposed including improvements in the collection of evidence and other investigative activities following arrests at sea, as well as finding long-term legal solutions to solve the problem.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2010-11-10

[gotlost]

This is a no brainier, but the UN as usual is spineless and gutless.

[Ulysses G.]

And corrupt!

[cdnvic]

I think using warships as they were intended would deter piracy a lot more than more warships letting pirates off with a warning.

[slapout]

When you consider all the restrictions/rules of engagement that are being followed, it is no wonder they have problems catching the bad guys.

[geriatrickid]

The Russians have been the only ones documented to have disposed of the pirates. maybe some other countries like China have, but who knows?

The issue is that that once the pirates are captured they are turned over to countries like kenya for trial, but Kenya and some others are fed up. They don't need , nor want to carry the burden of the trials and incarceration. The UN hasn't asked countries with a vested interest to pay the costs of Kenya.

It is unfair and unreasonable that countries like Denmark, Australia and Canada are expected to provide naval vessels to deter the pirates and yet the countries that actually have a vested interest in terms of either selling or purchasing the oil, have shirked their responsibilities. Korea and Japan need to take responsibility. India and the middle east oil exporters has to accept more of the burden of defending the shipping lanes and paying the costs.

In any case, the UN announcement is intended to counter the introduction of a 20 vessel provate navy that will be financed by the shipping industry and the insurers, These vessels will protect the commercial fleets and dispose of the pirates.

[hobanse]

Shame on the world and nobody ask, how Somalia`s Fisherman became pitates!

Ever since a civil war brought down Somalia's last functional government in 1991, the country's 3,330 km (2,000 miles) of coastline — the longest in continental Africa — has been pillaged by foreign vessels. A United Nations report in 2006 said that, in the absence of the country's at one time serviceable coastguard, Somali waters have become the site of an international "free for all," with fishing fleets from around the world illegally plundering Somali stocks and freezing out the country's own rudimentarily-equipped fishermen.

According to another U.N. report, an estimated $300 million worth of seafood is stolen from the country's coastline each year.

"The first pirate gangs emerged in the '90s to protect against foreign trawlers,"

Beyond illegal fishing, foreign ships have also long been accused by local fishermen of dumping toxic and nuclear waste off Somalia's shores. A 2005 United Nations Environmental Program report cited uranium radioactive and other hazardous deposits leading to a rash of respiratory ailments and skin diseases breaking out in villages along the Somali coast. According to the U.N., at the time of the report, it cost $2.50 per ton for a European company to dump these types of materials off the Horn of Africa, as opposed to $250 per ton to dispose of them cleanly in Europe.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1892376,00.html

So, blame the world pirates and the indurtry mafia, not Somalia fisherman

[Ulysses G.]

You seem to have forgotten the most important part of the article...

...In the meantime, Somali piracy has metastasized into the country's only boom industry. Most of the pirates, observers say, are not former fishermen, but just poor folk seeking their fortune. Right now, they hold 18 cargo ships and some 300 sailors hostage — the work of a sophisticated and well-funded operation. A few pirates have offered testimony to the international press — a headline in Thursday's Times of London read, "They stole our lobsters: A Somali pirate tells his side of the story" — but Lehr and other Somali experts express their doubts. "Nowadays," Lehr says, "this sort of thing is just a cheap excuse."

I have to admit that you are a valuable source of... alternate points of view. So far, you have championed pirates and terrorist groups. Next, I look forward to your excuses and justifications for those poor, misunderstood serial killers.

Edited November 10, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[Ulysses G.]

I think using warships as they were intended would deter piracy a lot more than more warships letting pirates off with a warning.

Agreed.

[A_Traveller]

^ Please stop stealing bandwidth from other sites. The terms and conditions of the source site of the above battleship image state

Do not link to any graphics on these pages. Please download them to your hard drive then use them.

. If you want to decorate your posts, then download the image and then upload it to your TV account for publishing in your post. This is true for other sources as well.

Regards

[slapout]

The UN should consider bringing in the Nigerians who seem to be adapt a high sea activity. The old saying "it takes a thief to catch one" could probably apply here also. At least you get a couple of the problem children in the same play pen and doubt that either side would have trust enough to for a alliance.

[koheesti]

Declare the sea off limits. Post signs all around the coast. Then have target practice. No, it isn't perfect. Yes, some innocent people will die. It happens everyday around the world. That's life.

[cdnvic]

^ Please stop stealing bandwidth from other sites. The terms and conditions of the source site of the above battleship image state

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. If you want to decorate your posts, then download the image and then upload it to your TV account for publishing in your post. This is true for other sources as well.

Regards

1.It's a simple bit of code if they want to prevent images from being hotlinked.

2. For all you know, that could be his site.

Please stop trying to play moderator.

[chuckd]

^ Please stop stealing bandwidth from other sites. The terms and conditions of the source site of the above battleship image state

Do not link to any graphics on these pages. Please download them to your hard drive then use them.

. If you want to decorate your posts, then download the image and then upload it to your TV account for publishing in your post. This is true for other sources as well.

Regards

1.It's a simple bit of code if they want to prevent images from being hotlinked.

2. For all you know, that could be his site.

Please stop trying to play moderator.

Thank you, Cdnvic.