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UN chief says international efforts curbing piracy off Somalia

RIA Novosti

10:36 17/11/2009 UNITED NATIONS (RIA Novosti) - International antipiracy operations off Somalia's coast have led to a decline in the number of successful ship seizures in the region, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said.

In a report to the UN Security Council issued on Monday, the UN chief said the deployment of navy vessels and aircraft "is playing a critical role in stabilizing the situation at sea," and has "considerably reduced the number of successful incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea in the region, especially in the Gulf of Aden."

A total of 306 incidents of piracy were reported worldwide in 2008, including 136 in the East African region, Ban said in the report. Three hundred incidents were reported between January and September this year, including 160 in East Africa. As of October 27, eight vessels and 178 sailors were being held hostage, the report said.

The International Maritime Organization said 44 ships were seized by pirates in 2008, with more than 600 sailors held for ransom. The secretary general's report said that in the first nine months of this year, 34 ships were hijacked and in excess of 450 seafarers were taken hostage, but added that only two successful hijackings had been reported between July and September.

Ban also called for an integrated approach to strengthen the transitional Somali government and the African Union Mission in Somalia on land.

Somalia has been without an effective government since 1991 plagued by fighting between rival warlords, famine and disease, which have claimed the lives of up to 1 million people.

The UN chief urged development of law and security bodies to support the peace process, including by investigating and prosecuting those suspected of acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea.

He welcomed the initiative by Interpol and the countries involved in the international antipiracy operations to look into restricting the financial mechanisms that provide funding for the pirates' activities. He also called for more steps from Somali authorities to ensure a better living for their people to address the roots of piracy.