Ready to work with UN for legal mechanism to counter pirates: Puri

United Nations: India has called upon the international community to address the “serious” problem of hostage-taking by pirates, saying it is ready to work with UN Security Council members on a draft resolution on the necessary legal mechanism for prosecution and detention of pirates. Piracy off the coast of Somalia remains a serious problem facing the international community, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri said at a UN Security Council debate on Somalia here. He said as of 31 August, the Somali pirates held 19 ships  and 405 hostages. [caption id=“attachment_84499” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Steps taken by India, including anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and deployment of ships in Eastern and North Eastern Arabian Sea, have helped neutralise several attempts of piracy. Reuters”]  [/caption] Given the expanding problem, the international community must work towards adopting a comprehensive counter-piracy strategy. Puri said such a strategy should include an UN-led anti-piracy force to conduct naval operations, enactment of national laws to criminalise piracy, effective sanitisation of the Somali coastline as well as identifying safe corridors and buffer zones. Steps taken by India, including anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and deployment of ships in Eastern and North Eastern Arabian Sea, have helped neutralise several attempts of piracy. “While we will continue our counter-piracy operations, there is also an urgent need for the international community to address the serious problem of hostage-taking by pirates and consequent humanitarian problems faced by the hostages and their families,” Puri added. He said India hoped that the secretary general’s report on piracy, due in October, would contain concrete recommendations on all aspects of the problem of piracy, including hostage-taking and plight of hostages. Addressing the worsening humanitarian situation in Somalia, Puri said combating maritime piracy is an important issue “intrinsically linked with security situation” in the country. The Transitional Federal Institutions in Somalia have not paid adequate attention to this problem and should work to put into place mechanisms including adoption of a legal framework against piracy, hostage-taking, payment of ransom and appointment of a counter-piracy coordinator, Puri said. “We will engage constructively with the members of the Security Council on the draft resolution on legal mechanism for prosecution and detention of pirates… We also stand ready to help in capacity building of the TFIs and the states in the region for effective measures against piracy off the coast of Somalia,” he added. Puri said India sees as a positive sign the signing of the Kampala Accord and its subsequent approval by the Somali Parliament. India welcomed the high-level consultative meeting on ‘Ending the Transition in Somalia’ early this month in Mogadishu. “We reaffirm our support to this process… This alone would enable a genuine, inclusive and comprehensive national reconciliation to take place in Somalia for ending two decades long instability and insecurity”. Puri added that the opportunity presented by the withdrawal of Al Shabaab from Mogadishu should be utilised by the transitional institutions to increase its effective presence all over Mogadishu through delivery of basic services. More than half of the Somali population is in the grip of the humanitarian crisis. Nearly 2.8 million people are living in the hardest hit areas controlled by Al Shabaab, where access of humanitarian agencies is severely restricted. India urged all Somali groups to provide unfettered access to the humanitarian agencies and facilitate the delivery of aid to all those in need. India has provided humanitarian assistance of eight million dollars to the countries afflicted with severe famine and drought in the Horn of Africa, including Somalia, Kenya and Djibouti, through the World Food Programme.  This is in addition to the 1.5 million dollars contributed by India to the AU Trust Fund for Somalia and 0.5 million dollars to the UN Trust Fund for augmenting the AU Mission in Somalia. PTI