Two UN agencies call for co-ordinated action against Somali pirates
Secretary General of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Efthimios Mitropoulos announced in London yesterday that the IMO would seek official sanction for foreign warships to pursue pirates into Somali waters.
This drastic action is defined in Article 107 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea - to enter the country's territorial waters when engaging in operations against pirates or suspected pirates and armed robbers endangering the safety of life at sea.
Providing permission is granted by the Somali Transitional Federal Government, foreign warships and other ‘ships in government service’ will be permitted to chase pirates deep into Somali waters and make arrests, instead of standing by and taking no action as at present.
Mitropoulos was addressing a press conference in London during which he and Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, another UN organisation, announced in a joint communiquй that a joint call was being made for concerted and co-ordinated international action to address the threat of piracy and armed robbery against ships in international waters off the Somali coast.
Sheeran explained that piracy and robbery was preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid to Somalia, with two-WFP contracted ships that were delivering aid being taken hostage by pirates this year along with a number of other commercial vessels. On land roadblocks controlled by militia groups have hampered the delivery of food convoys.
Transportation by sea ought to be cheaper and safer, said Sheeran, but the recent increase in attacks has resulted in higher delivery costs and a dramatic reduction in the use of ships.
“Today we’re calling on the people of the world to put these pirates out of business,” he said
Mitropoulos was expected to meet UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon today (Wednesday) and the subject of Somalia comes up on the UN Security Council agenda for next week. Mitropoulos said he did not think the Somali Transitional Federal Government would object to the request but would see it as an act of compassion by the UN.
This drastic action is defined in Article 107 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea - to enter the country's territorial waters when engaging in operations against pirates or suspected pirates and armed robbers endangering the safety of life at sea.
Providing permission is granted by the Somali Transitional Federal Government, foreign warships and other ‘ships in government service’ will be permitted to chase pirates deep into Somali waters and make arrests, instead of standing by and taking no action as at present.
Mitropoulos was addressing a press conference in London during which he and Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, another UN organisation, announced in a joint communiquй that a joint call was being made for concerted and co-ordinated international action to address the threat of piracy and armed robbery against ships in international waters off the Somali coast.
Sheeran explained that piracy and robbery was preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid to Somalia, with two-WFP contracted ships that were delivering aid being taken hostage by pirates this year along with a number of other commercial vessels. On land roadblocks controlled by militia groups have hampered the delivery of food convoys.
Transportation by sea ought to be cheaper and safer, said Sheeran, but the recent increase in attacks has resulted in higher delivery costs and a dramatic reduction in the use of ships.
“Today we’re calling on the people of the world to put these pirates out of business,” he said
Mitropoulos was expected to meet UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon today (Wednesday) and the subject of Somalia comes up on the UN Security Council agenda for next week. Mitropoulos said he did not think the Somali Transitional Federal Government would object to the request but would see it as an act of compassion by the UN.