UNITED NATIONS December 17, 2008 (AFP) — The UN Security Council on Tuesday unanimously adopted a US resolution authorizing for the first time international operations against pirates on land in Somalia.
The text, co-sponsored by Belgium, France, Greece, Liberia and South Korea, is the fourth approved by the council since June to combat rampant piracy off Somalia's coast.
Resolution 1851 authorizes for one year states already involved in fighting piracy off Somalia to "take all necessary measures that are appropriate in Somalia" to suppress "acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea."
Unlike previous resolutions, the current text empowers states combating piracy to conduct operations on land in Somalia.
However to overcome objections from countries such as Indonesia, the sponsors dropped an earlier reference in the text to "ashore" or "including in its (Somalia) airspace."
The vote took place at a high-profile ministerial session attended by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Chinese deputy foreign minister He Yafei and UN chief Ban Ki-moon.
Rice hailed adoption of the resolution, saying it sent a "strong signal to combat the scourge of piracy" and stressing the need "to end the impunity of Somali pirates."
She also announced that Washington intends to work with partners to set up a contact group on Somali piracy and underscored the importance of addressing the root cause of the Somali piracy problem, referring to the insecurity and lawlessness in the Horn of Africa nation.
She said that though Washington was committed to continuing backing the African Union force in Somalia, it was time "to authorize a UN peacekeeping operation" in the country.
Ethiopian troops, who intervened in Somalia in 2006 to prop up the weak transitional government, will be withdrawn early next month, leaving the ill-equipped and under-strength 3,400-strong AU force on its own to face a resurgent Islamic rebellion.
The resolution also calls upon states and international organizations "to establish an international cooperation mechanism to act as a common point of contact between and among states on all aspects of combating piracy and armed robbery at sea off Somalia's coast ... (and to consider) creating a center in the region to coordinate information relevant to piracy off the coast of Somalia."
Indonesia's UN Ambassador Marty Natalegawa however made it clear that "the fight against piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia needs to be undertaken in full compliance with international law, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea."
In his remarks, Ban welcomed the council's actions to combat Somali piracy and said he would submit recommendations "on ways to ensure the long-term security of international navigation off the coast of Somalia."
But the UN boss stressed the need to address the broader security challenge in Somalia.
He said the most appropriate response was "a multinational force (MNF), rather than a typical peacekeeping operation."
Ban said he had approached 50 countries and three international organizations for contributions to such a force.
He added that the council could explore the possibility of setting up a maritime task force or adding to the current anti-piracy operations "a quick reaction component."
Somali pirates hold at least 17 ships, including an arms-laden Ukrainian cargo vessel and a Saudi supertanker carrying two million barrels of crude oil.
NATO has also dispatched naval forces to the region, joining other national navies in place, but increasingly bold and well-equipped pirates have continued their attacks.
The pirates have carried out more than 100 attacks in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean since the start of this year.
Meanwhile Nicole Widdersheim, head of the charity Oxfam International's New York Office warned that: "efforts to tackle piracy and protect commercial interests in the Indian Ocean should not be mistaken for effective action to tackle the desperate humanitarian crisis in Somalia."
"Expanding anti-piracy operations inside Somalia risks further complicating the conflict and could exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis," she added














 

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