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UN extends action against piracy

23 December 2008

The United Nations Security Council has extended the action that can be taken against piracy originating from Somalia by authorising member states to take action on land, as well as off the coast of Somalia. The UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1851 on 16 December 2008, as part of the international response to piracy.

In speaking to the US-led resolution, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said that anti-piracy efforts "must be in the context of an approach that fosters the peace process in Somalia." Ethiopia plans to remove its troops from Somalia by the end of 2008, and this "could easily lead to chaos" in the country, he said. He thanked the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and individual member states for their efforts and resources to fight piracy and armed robbery at sea.

The resolution also enables states to make agreements with countries willing to take custody of pirates to facilitate their legal investigation and prosecution.

The continuing threat of piracy was brought home by the seizure of four ships in the Gulf of Aden on the very day that the UN adopted this resolution. Somali pirates hijacked an Indonesian tugboat, a Turkish cargo ship, a Chinese fishing vessel with 30 crew, and a yacht.

The latest seizures add to the 15 ships and up to 300 crew still held by Somali pirates. These include the giant oil tanker Sirius Star, seized south east of the coast of Kenya on 15 November, as well as the Ukrainian Fania with a cargo of old Soviet tanks and military hardware, captured on 25 September.

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All attacks and suspicious sightings should be reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre, Tel: +603 2031 0014 (24 hours), Email: imbkl@icc-ccs.org

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