What's In Blue

Posted Tue 15 Mar 2011

Insights on Somalia Piracy

There has been some movement on the Somalia piracy resolution. It appears that Russia has now had bilateral consultations with all Council members and a draft could be circulated this week.

A number of areas still need to be resolved including the issue of prosecutions and the establishment of the three courts–one in Somaliland, one in Puntland and an extra-territorial court.

If consensus on a more wide-ranging draft proves difficult one possibility may be to narrow the focus of the resolution to key legal issues. There is also some talk of having the Secretary-General provide further details on the setting up of these courts.

The main differences in how to proceed appear to be among the P5, with the UK and US arguing for a more cautious approach and Russia and China more ready to move ahead with the establishment of the courts. The elected members appear generally supportive of the proposals contained in the Russian draft. A number of speeches made by the wider UN membership during the open debate on Somalia last week also included a strong call for more action on piracy.

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