What Would Make the Multi-National Anti-Piracy Efforts Off Somalia More Effective?

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) voted unanimously on 30 November 2009 to extend for another 12 months a mandate for member countries to conduct anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia, to include “entering the territorial waters and undertake all necessary measures that are appropriate in Somalia”. Earlier the same month during a session on “Piracy and the situation in Somalia”, the UNSC members criticised the practice of paying ransom and stated that the coordinated fight by navies from several countries had failed to deter the pirates. They called for more “crucial and robust” ways to fight the pirates, who were at that point of time in November 2009 detaining 11 ships and 254 crew members. More than a year after the international community became seized with the problem towards the end of 2008, there is need to review the situation and come up with measures to make the multi-national effort more effective.