NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) – The Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) held its sixth plenary meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on Thursday.
The CGPCS members agreed that piracy off the coast of Somalia is still a serious threat to international navigation as the pirates have expanded its operations from the Gulf of Aden to areas of the Indian Ocean. The Somali pirates have shown in recent weeks that they are capable to seize ships regardless of their size as in the cases of Maran Centaurus, a Greek oil tanker, and Samho Dream tanker.
Participants of the sixth meeting said that a viable solution would not be obtained after the effective address on the root causes on land. For this, it is necessary well-coordinated efforts in the field of regional capacity-building by all international players involved in a joint effort with Somalia's authorities.
During the meeting, the representative of Somalia proposed the Security Council Resolution 1918 which requests that the UN Secretary-General will produce a report on the possible mechanisms to address the issue of imprisonment and prosecution of pirates, including options for creating special domestic chambers, a regional tribunal or an international tribunal.
Also, one of seven projects aimed at countering piracy, was approved by the Trust Fund Board. Six of these projects are focused on prosecuting and also in strengthening institutions. Of equal importance, is the strategic communications project seeking to help local partners to disseminate anti-piracy messages within Somalia.
The group stated that it is important that the international community focuses on restricting support for pirates by inhibiting the networks that support piracy. These efforts should include tracking and freezing the assets of pirates to deter their operations, it is important to disrupt the financing and illegal proceeds of pirates.
The seventh plenary session of the CGPCS will be held in New York and will be chaired by the Republic of Korea.
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