Piracy off the coast of Somalia will only be defeated when the rule of law is restored in the troubled Horn of Africa country, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a report to the Security Council on Wednesday. “There is a critical need to tackle the problem of piracy with a multifaceted approach to ensure that the political process, the peacekeeping efforts, the strengthening of law enforcement institutions and capacity-building initiatives work in tandem,” Ban wrote in his first report to the council on last year's resolution authorizing “all necessary means” to fight piracy off Somalia. The 111 attacks in the critical sea corridor linking the Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean that occurred in 2008 represent an increase of nearly 200 per cent over the previous year, Ban wrote, adding that there have been seven reported incidents from the beginning of 2009 until the end of February. According to the report, the most prominent pirate fleets are based in the fishing communities of north-eastern and central Somalia and are organized in a way that reflects clan-based social structures. As an example, the report describes the “Eyle Group” based in Puntland, which at the end of 2008 was holding six vessels hostage with their crews and was estimated to have earned $30 million in ransom up to that point. “It is widely acknowledged that some of these groups now rival established Somali authorities in terms of their military capabilities and resource bases,” Ban wrote. He also urged member states to keep the U.N. informed of their anti-piracy efforts and said the United Nations secretariat will continue to play a central role in information and coordinating anti-piracy efforts. The U.N. chief stressed that it is vital to protect the safety of World Food Program vessels carrying food to some 2.5 million Somalis.
