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From Tokunbo Adedoja in New York, 04.02.2010
United States yesterday said it had successfully partnered with more than 50 countries and international organisations to confront piracy in the waters off the Horn of Africa but more still needed to be done to bring pirates to justice and make sailing safe.
This was disclosed by its Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs, Andrew Shapiro, in a keynote address at an American University’s Law Review symposium in Washington DC, USA.In his address titled: 'Counter-Piracy Policy: Delivering Judicial Consequences,' the US official said piracy is a lucrative business where young men head for the sea to seize commercial vessels for ransom.
Using Somalia as a case study, he said when pirate attacks succeed, the criminal proceeds from ransoms offer little benefit to Somalia’s shattered economy, adding "and they – not the Somali villagers they rely on – derive the primary economic benefits of their criminal activity - an estimated $30 to $50 million in ransoms to date."
He said many experts even consider this to be a conservative figure given the fact that many companies choose not to publicly disclose their payments."At the high end of estimated costs, a 2008 RAND Corporation study estimated up to $16 billion in direct and indirect costs, if you include factors such as increased insurance premiums, diverted trade, and potential economic impacts of trade and investment in the region discouraged by maritime insecurity," he said.
Noting that United States actively encourages other states to adopt its "no concessions policy" and refrain from paying ransoms, he warned that piracy is driven by these ransom payments, and continued payments will only encourage more kidnappings.
Revealing efforts being made by United States and the challenges being faced to deliver judicial consequences to suspected pirates while strengthening the rule of law through judicial capacity building, Shapiro said, "these are efforts that we feel will both help to combat piracy and yield significant long-term benefits for stability in the wider region."
He said while piracy had long been defined as a universal crime which may be prosecuted by any state regardless of whether the incident involved an attack on their national interests, "prosecuting suspected pirates is not as simple as it sounds at first blush."
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