25 August 2010 – Commending the efforts undertaken so far to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed that more can be done, as the Security Council debated legal options to help bring the perpetrators of such crimes to justice.

“Over the past three years, the international community has made concerted efforts to combat the problem, including by establishing a Contact Group and deploying significant naval assets to the region,” he told the Security Council as it met to discuss the issue. 

“Nonetheless, we can do more,” he added. “In particular, we need to implement the existing legal regime, so the fight against piracy in international waters is effective. 

In a report released last week, Mr. Ban identified seven options for furthering the aim of prosecuting and imprisoning persons responsible for acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, which has been a growing problem in recent years.

In the past seven months there have been 139 piracy-related incidents off the coast of Somalia, he noted. Thirty ships have been hijacked, and 17 ships and 450 seafarers are being held for ransom. 

The first option presented in the report is to enhance ongoing efforts to assist regional States to prosecute and imprison those responsible for acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea.

The second would involve locating a Somali court, applying Somali law, in a third State in the region. 

The third and fourth options would involve assisting a regional State or States to establish special chambers, embedded in the State’s national court structure, to conduct piracy trials. 

Option five would require active engagement by the States of the region and the African Union to establish a regional tribunal to address the scourge of piracy.