A new UN Security Council piracy resolution; no peace-keeping for Somalia
On Tuesday [16th Dec], the Security Council met to address the situation in Somalia . The Council was considering a US draft resolution on piracy. It was passed unanimously as Resolution 1851. It calls on all states to take an active role against piracy and deploy ships and planes to seize boats involved in piracy or those for which there are reasonable grounds for suspicion. It encourages the establishment of an international co-operation mechanism to act as a point of contact between states on all aspects of action against piracy, and recalls that further recommendations for action will be produced by the Secretary-General within three months. It encourages member states to cooperate with the TFG in the fight against piracy and decides that for the next twelve months those involved in the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea might take “all necessary measures that are appropriate in Somalia”, that is onshore, inside Somalia, to suppress these activities, consistent with applicable international humanitarian and human rights law. This is a considerable advance on the Council’s previous resolution on piracy, (Res. 1846, 2nd December 2008) which calls on states to provide technical assistance to Somalia to enhance coastal security, welcomes the efforts to escort ships, decides such ships can enter the territorial waters of Somalia and use all necessary means to repress piracy as long as authorization has been provided, calls on all to cooperate in investigating and prosecuting of those involved, and urges states to implement their obligations under the 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation. By contrast Resolution 1851 allows for all necessary means .... in Somalia , that is on land as well as at sea.
In connection with this, Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon, after reiterating that responsibility for peace and security in Somalia rested primarily with Somalis, and referring to the problems of humanitarian access to the estimated 1.5 million IDPs, outlined his unsuccessful efforts to investigate possibilities for the deployment of a Multinational Force in Somalia . He said he had approached 50 nations and three international organizations for contributions. No one had been prepared to play the lead role, and only thirteen countries had even agreed to provide anything at all. He therefore proposed three measures to provide security support for the Djibouti peace process. The first was to provide the AU with substantial and credible resources to reinforce AMISOM, including means to deploy the additional battalions pledged by Uganda and Burundi . He stressed that financing would be a major problem, but with the liquidation of UNMEE some assets could be donated to AMISOM. The Secretary-General emphasized that he thought the strengthening of AMISOM rather than any UN peacekeeping deployment was the current realistic option. Secondly the Security Council could consider provision of training for joint TFG/ARS forces, and capacity building for police and judiciary under an overall UN co-ordinated security sector reform strategy. The third suggestion was to add a quick reaction component to the current anti-piracy operations, to be able to launch operations into Somalia in support of UNPOS and AMISOM. The Secretary-General stressed that any such efforts should be placed in the context of a comprehensive approach which encouraged an inclusive peace process and assisted the parties to rebuild security and governance capacity. The UN, the international community, must, he said, send a positive signal that it was willing to provide a security path to complement the political consequence of the Djibouti peace process.
The significance of the Secretary-General’s suggestions is that any agreed UN commitment imposes a formal requirement on UN member states; anything else remains voluntary. This, in fact, underlines both the failure of the international community to agree on any policy for Somalia , and its lack of commitment. In the following Security Council discussions, it was clear that while a majority of those present agreed that piracy in Somali waters was a symptom of the problems and situation of Somalia, and while all classified this as extremely serious, it was not considered serious enough for the UN Security Council to authorise any UN force. It demonstrates yet again why Ethiopia decided to withdraw its forces by the end of the year. The current situation is a combination of neglect and disinterest by the international community and the total irresponsibility of Somali leaders. Ethiopia had hoped that any shortfall in Somali action would be made up for by international action. With that lacking, everything has to depend upon the Somali leadership. Somali leaders, both inside and outside the country must now rise to the occasion. They must take the lead, must be made to take the lead. The international community has consistently failed for the last two years to put its money where its mouth is. Piracy must be stopped, and on land where the origins lie. Real effort must be put behind the Djibouti peace process.
Somalia’s Foreign Minister, Mr. Ali Ahmed Jama, also addressed the Security Council, calling for a comprehensive and holistic strategy to cover piracy, terrorism and the humanitarian problem, and to include the authorization of a robust peace-keeping operation. AMISOM, he said, could be the nucleus of any such force. AMISOM’s mandate is, of course, to be reviewed on 22nd December by the AU Peace and Security Council’s ministerial meeting in Addis Ababa . The Peace and Security Commissioner, Ambassador Ramtane Lamamra, also addressed the Security Council. Noting that the announced withdrawal of Ethiopian forces was fully consistent with the Djibouti Agreement and should be seen as a significant contribution to the resolution of the conflict, he said it provided an opportunity to be taken advantage of. He underlined the importance of a robust mission capable of stabilizing the area. He therefore called on all friends of Somalia to pledge troops, logistics and equipment for a UN-authorized force to stabilize the country and be an integral part of a UN operation. Turning to piracy, Ambassador Lamamra underlined that piracy was part of the larger problem of lawlessness in Somalia . He stressed that AMISOM needed renewed political support and a clear vision from the international community. He wanted to see a strong and clear signal of the commitment of the international community to the peace and reconciliation process in Somalia and the full implementation of the Djibouti Agreement, authorization of a UN international support force in Somalia to include and complement an enhanced AMISOM, the necessary support for AMISOM to reach its authorised strength of 8,000, and assistance to put in place the national unity government and the expanded parliament envisaged in the Agreement. He looked to the Council to take firm and decisive action. This, he pointed out, would have a direct bearing on the ministerial meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council on the renewal of AMISOM’s mandate. This would be held next Monday [22nd Dec], the day after the IGAD Ministerial meeting to be held on Sunday. Kenya announced on Tuesday it would impose travel sanctions on President Abdullahi Yusuf and his family for obstructing peace, as threatened by the 29th October IGAD summit. These could include a ban on travel and a freeze on any assets in Kenya . Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula, announcing this on Tuesday, said a date for activating the sanctions had yet to be decided. It will be recalled that IGAD ministers will be meeting in Addis Ababa on Sunday.
