UN council allows Somali anti-piracy fight on land

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, and British
Foreign Minister David Miliband talk before voting for a
draft resolution against Somali piracy in the United
Nations Security Council at the United Nations in New
York, Tuesday Dec. 16, 2008. (AP Photo)

17 December, 2008

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday authorized countries fighting piracy off the Somali coast to take action also on Somalia's territory and in its airspace, subject to approval by the country's government.

A surge in piracy in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes has pushed up insurance costs, brought pirates in the Horn of Africa country tens of millions of dollars in ransom and prompted foreign navies to rush to the area to protect merchant shipping.

But analysts say the international action has done little to deter the pirates, partly because the forces chasing them have not had the authority to take the battle onto land, where the pirates are based.

Tuesday's U.S.-drafted resolution, passed unanimously by the 15-nation council, extends that authority to countries that Somalia's interim government has told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon are cooperating with it to combat piracy.

Such states, it says, "may undertake all necessary measures in Somalia, including in its airspace, for the purpose of interdicting those who are using Somali territory to plan, facilitate or undertake acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea."

The measures, however, would have to be "consistent with applicable international humanitarian and human rights law" -- an apparent gesture to some council members who have expressed fears that civilian casualties could result.

The resolution was passed at a Security Council session attended by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who were at the world body for talks on a range of world issues.

Although the role of the Somali government was repeatedly stressed in the resolution, that government has little power. The country has been in virtual anarchy since the collapse of a dictatorship 17 years ago. Islamists control most of the south and feuding clan militias hold sway elsewhere.

It was also not clear what kind of forces would engage in land or air operations against the pirates or whether the U.S. military would participate.

The resolution called on states to "take part actively" in the fight against piracy off Somalia.

One paragraph urged such states to make agreements with countries willing to take custody of captured pirates to take law enforcement officials from those countries onboard their naval vessels to aid the investigation and prosecution of those detained. (By Patrick Worsnip, Editing by Mohammad Zargham)