I erkendelse af, at den hidtidige indsats ikke har virket, lancerer FN nu en samlet plan, der skal bekæmpe pirateriet ud for Somalias kyst. Den skal beskytte international handel og sikre leverancen af livsnødvendige forsyninger til verdens sultende.
LONDON, 3 February 2011:
“We are neither proud of, nor content with, the results achieved so far, the Secretary-General of the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO), Efthimios Mitropoulos, said at the official launch at his agency’s London headquarters on World Maritime Day.
He added that the past year alone saw 286 piracy-related incidents off the coast of Somalia, resulting in 67 hijacked ships, with 1.130 seafarers on board; while a recent study estimated the cost to the world economy from disruptions to international trade at between 7 billion and 12 billion US dollar.
One of the prime objectives of the new plan is “to promote greater levels of support from, and coordination with, navies” off Somalia.
Here patrols by the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and UN member states already provide “vital protection” for UN vessels delivering logistical support to the African Union force in Mogadishu, which seeks to help stabilize the war-torn country, and for UN food shipments to the 2,4 million Somalis who urgently need it.
– We were appalled by Wednesday’s news that pirates had executed, apparently in cold blood, a seafarer on the Beluga Nomination, a ship which had been attacked and hijacked last month, 390 miles off the Seychelles, Mr. Mitropoulos said.
– This year, we are resolved to redouble our efforts and, in so doing, generate and galvanize a broader, global response to modern-day piracy, he stated.
The IMO chief added that more needs to be done, including the tracing of money and the imposition of sanctions on the proceeds derived from hijacked ships, if the ultimate goal of “consigning piracy to the realms of history” is to be achieved.
Formally launching the plan, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a long-term strategy of deterrence (afskrækkende), security, rule of law and development to fight the scourge (svøbe).
Somalia has not had a functioning central government for the past 20 years during which it has been torn apart by factional warfare, most recently involving Al Shabaab and other Islamist militias.
– Although piracy manifests itself at sea, the roots of the problem are to be found ashore, Mr. Ban said, adding:
– In essence, piracy is a criminal offence that is driven by economic hardship, and that flourishes in the absence of effective law enforcement.
Ransom payments (løsepenge for gidsler) add up to hundreds of millions of dollars, creating a “pirate economy” in areas of Somalia that make them more resistant to efforts to develop alternative livelihoods, the Secretary-General said.
He noted that despite the deployment of significant naval assets (marineenheder) to the region, the number of hijackings and victims has risen significantly.
– More needs to be done. We need to move beyond the impressive deterrence efforts, and to make sure that they are carried out in concert with the other elements of the strategy on land. We need to support alternative livelihoods and the rehabilitation of coastal fisheries, Mr. Ban said.
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