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Draft U.N. resolution urges countries to send forces to fight piracy off coast of Somalia
Fri. October 03, 2008 02:17 am.- By Bonny Apunyu. -
(SomaliNet) According to a draft obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, a proposed U.N. resolution calls on all countries with a stake in maritime safety to send military ships and aircraft to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia.
The draft says the UN Security Council measure would also call on ships and planes to use "the necessary means" to stop acts of piracy.
Meanwhile, the French-drafted resolution was expected to be put to a vote early next week, council diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions are taking place in private.
The draft resolution expresses grave concern at "the recent proliferation of acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea against vessels off the coast of Somalia." It also notes with concern "that increasingly violent acts of piracy are carried out with heavier weaponry" using mother ships and more sophisticated methods of attack.
The resolution was circulating as Somali pirates holding a hijacked Ukrainian cargo ship loaded with tanks and heavy weapons said Thursday they will not release it for less than $20 million and warned they would fight back against any commando-style rescue attempts.
A half-dozen U.S. navy warships have surrounded the MV Faina, which was seized last Thursday off the central coast of Somalia.
The new draft resolution only applies to pirates off Somalia, whose 1,880-mile coastline is the longest in Africa and near key shipping routes that connect the Indian Ocean with the Red Sea.
Most pirate attacks occur in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, to the north of Somalia. But recently pirates have been targeting Indian Ocean waters off eastern Somalia. More than 60 ships have been attacked in the notorious African waters this year.
The draft resolution urges all states and regional organizations to continue taking action to protect U.N. World Food Program maritime convoys, which are vital to bring humanitarian assistance to as many as 3.5 million Somalis who will reportedly be dependent on food aid by the end of the year.
A resolution adopted by the Security Council in May called on states and regional organizations "to take action to protect shipping involved with the transportation and delivery of humanitarian aid to Somalia."
In early June, a resolution adopted by the Security Council authorized countries, for a period of six months, to enter Somalia's territorial waters and use "all necessary means" to stop piracy.
The new draft resolution has no time limit.
It calls on "states interested in the security of maritime activities to take part actively in the fight against piracy on the high seas off the coast of Somalia, in particular by deploying naval vessels and military aircraft, in accordance with international law" and to use "the necessary means."-AFP
News Category: Somalia
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