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28-01-2010

Contact Group on Piracy off Somalia coast counts achievements

Afrique en ligne - The Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia marked its first anniversary at a plenary meeting at the UN headquarters in New York Tuesday, according to a statement obtained by PANA here Wednesday.

The meeting, which was attended by the US and more than 50 countries and international organisations, marked the first anniversary of the group, a growing diplomatic effort that is making steady progress against criminals targeting Africa-bound humanitarian aid shipments and other vessels transiting one of the world's busiest shipping corridors.

The plenary, hosted by Norway, was the fifth gathering of this unique international partnership, established in January 2009 by 24 nations and six international organisations to coordinate an effective international response to piracy in the Somali Basin and surrounding waters following the adoption of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1851.

Since then, the Contact Group has doubled in size, a testament to the global consensus that piracy poses a shared security challenge to maritime safety.

Among its accomplishments in its first year, the Contact Group has coordinated operations of an unprecedented international naval effort from more than 20 countries working together to escort vessels and patrol the vast waters of the region and partnered with the shipping industry to improve practical steps merchant ships can take to avoid, deter, or delay pirate attacks and encouraged their adoption through the New York Declaration, a parallel political commitment developed outside the Contact Group by ship registry states to implement these internationally recognized best management practices.

The group has also developed an International Trust Fund to defray expenses related to prosecuting suspected pirates and other Contact Group initiatives.

 


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