UN approves sanctions on Somali pirates

[November 21, 2008]  UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to impose sanctions on pirates, arms smugglers, and perpetrators of instability in Somalia in a fresh attempt to help end years of lawlessness in the Horn of Africa nation.

The 15-nation council endorsed a British plan for a council panel to recommend people and entities whose financial assets would be frozen and who would face a travel ban. It also reaffirms an arms embargo.

Enforcing the sanctions poses steep challenges, however, as those responsible for much of the anarchy plaguing the country are well outside any traditional finance system.

"The prime goal is to provide a framework to stem the flow of arms into Somalia, which is such causing such mayhem there," Britain's U.N. Ambassador John Sawers said. "There are other problems -- off the coast of Somalia with piracy. There are problems in Somalia itself..."

Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991 when clan warlords ousted a longtime dictator. The current government, formed in 2004 with the help of the U.N., has failed to protect citizens while it battles a growing Islamist insurgency.

The council action was followed by discussion on the deteriorating situation in Somalia -- both on land and at sea, which includes some of the world's most important shipping routes.

U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Raisuddin Zenenga reflected the view of many speakers when he said: "Piracy, as well as the recent terrorist attacks against international targets, are only symptoms of the fundamental problem which is the state of anarchy in Somalia."

He said the multinational effort being mobilized to fight the pirates off Somalia -- involving the European Union, NATO countries, Russia, India and others -- should be replicated to mobilize an international force to tackle the security problems in Somalia itself.

U.S. deputy ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo called for immediate steps to stabilize the deteriorating security situation, which threatens political progress and an Oct. 26 cease-fire agreement between the Somali government and the insurgents.

She stressed that piracy is "a direct result of the lack of rule of law and desperate economic conditions on the ground."

DiCarlo urged the international community strengthen the beleaguered 3,450-strong African Union force in Somalia to protect food shipments. The African Union also urged the U.N. to quickly s0nd peacekeepers to Somalia.

In the past two weeks Somalia's increasingly brazen pirates have seized eight vessels including a huge Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million worth of crude oil. Several hundred crew are now in the hands of Somali pirates.

The United States circulated a draft resolution Thursday afternoon that would extend the authorization for countries to pursue pirates in Somalia's territorial waters and use "all necessary means to repress acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea." That is the same wording in the current mandate which expires on Dec. 2 and would be extended for a year.

Britain's Sawers said council members need to look carefully at the renewal "to ensure that the mandate for the naval operations gives those in the field the means needed to suppress and deter piracy."

Efthimios Mitropoulos, secretary general of the International Maritime Organization, expressed concern at the escalating incidents of piracy off Somalia and the ferocity of the attacks, which already have claimed the lives of two seafarers and threaten seaborne trade.

He urged the Security Council to extend its authorization for ships from countries helping to fight piracy to enter Somalia's territorial waters. And he urged the council to adopt "clear rules of engagement" to fight the pirates.

[Associated Press; By EDITH M. LEDERER]

AP writer John Heilprin at the United Nations contributed to this report.

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