Hiiraan Online
Zahra Rashid
Friday, January 04, 2013
In a statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, the US, which chairs the Counter-Piracy Contact Group (CPG), noted significant reductions in attacks and hijackings. The CPG called for a renewed international commitment to combating piracy through military, law enforcement, and development activities.
According to the group, the ongoing work is set to dismantle piracy networks, with particular focus on the leaders, financiers and of piracy. The group also recommended the need to maintain present levels of operational activity in order to keep pressure on pirates and consolidate recent gains.
In a meeting held by the group in New York in December, 2012, the ad-hoc organization stressed the need for greater cooperation between all stakeholders on the prosecution of pirates, and the liberation of seafarers from pirate captivity. Hiiraan Online learned that the contact group also recognized the need to strengthen mechanisms to prosecute pirates who have been apprehended off the coast of Somalia and reiterated the urgent need to investigate and prosecute anyone who incites or intentionally facilitates piracy operations.
Additionally, the Contact Group called on Somali authorities to develop a detailed maritime security strategy aimed at disrupting, and preventing piracy activities in Somalia’s seas.