UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Tuesday to urge stepped up international action to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia, calling on all countries with a stake in maritime safety to send naval ships and military aircraft to confront the seaborne criminals.
The resolution also calls on ships and planes to use "the necessary means" to stop acts of piracy. It was adopted under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter, which means its provisions can be enforced militarily.
The French-drafted resolution expresses grave concern at "the recent proliferation of acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea against vessels off the coast of Somalia" and reiterated its condemnation of such attacks.
The resolution says the pirates and robbers pose a "serious threat ... to the prompt, safe and effective delivery of humanitarian aid to Somalia," where as many as 3.5 million Somalis will reportedly be dependent on food aid by the end of the year.
It notes that shipping companies will not deliver food to Somalia without maritime escorts, and urges all states and regional organizations to continue taking action to protect U.N. World Food Program maritime convoys.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters Wednesday that "three million people are in danger of starving" because nearly 90 percent of the food that feeds them arrives by sea on WFP ships.
"Navy vessels from the Netherlands, France, Denmark and Canada have been escorting our ships safely into the ports. Canada's tour of duty ends on October 23. As yet, no nation has volunteered to take Canada's place," he said. "Without escorts, those ships will not arrive. Without that aid, more people will die."
Canada extended its escort service for a month in September and before that, the World Food Program said some ship owners had already started canceling contracts with the U.N. food agency because of fear of pirate attacks. WFP said that since last November, a succession of Canadian, Dutch, Danish and French frigates have been escorting WFP ships without incident.
The resolution also notes with concern "that increasingly violent acts of piracy are carried out with heavier weaponry, in a larger area off the coast of Somalia" using mother ships and more sophisticated methods of attack.
Somali pirates are still holding a Ukrainian cargo ship loaded with tanks and heavy weapons hijacked late last month. They initially demanded a US$20 million ransom and warned they would fight back against any commando-style rescue attempts. A half-dozen US navy warships have surrounded the MV Faina.
The resolution only applies to pirates off Somalia, whose 1,880-mile (3,025-kilometer) 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.
French Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said "events of the past months have shown that the pirates now pose a threat both to Somalia and the entire international community."
A resolution adopted by the Security Council in May called on states and regional organizations ¡ª coordinating with each other and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and with the agreement of Somalia's transitional government ¡ª "to take action to protect shipping involved with the transportation and delivery of humanitarian aid to Somalia and U.N.-authorized activities."
Somalia, a nation of around 8 million people, has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other.
Islamic militants with ties to al-Qaida have been battling the shaky transitional government and its Ethiopian allies since their combined forces pushed the Islamists from the capital in December 2006. Within weeks of being driven out, the Islamists launched an insurgency that has killed thousands of civilians.
A resolution adopted by the Security Council in early June authorized countries, for a period of six months, with advance notice, to enter Somalia's territorial waters and use "all necessary means" to stop acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea.
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, in conformity with international law."
The new draft says the pirates also threaten international navigation, the safety of commercial maritime routes, and legal fishing.
Ban told reporters "the international community is now very seriously looking at how to help their (Somalia's) security concerns through deployment of (an) international stabilization force."
"I'm in the process of identifying potential troop contributing countries who can provide troops and funds or resources and other tools," he said. - AP
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