SC09piracy

France Tustin High Huntington Beach high School Conference (Sam B. and Louis D.)

__Background__ Africa has been a continent in turmoil for many a year now and its people live in poverty and war. Recently a nation in this continent known as Somalia has been on the headlines of every news organization in the world do to its citizens becoming modern day buccaneers. Ever since the end of the Somali Civil War in the early 1990s Somali fisherman have given up their lines and nets for the ak47 assault rifle in hopes of a more lucrative profession. Being no stranger to death and violence they adapted well to their new occupation. Their reasoning for their piracy was that foreigners have taken away their fishing industry and forced them to set sail on a life of crime. Weather this is true or not all nations of the international community agree that the Somalian pirates have become a real menace to international trade because they have expanded their operations to the Gulf of Aden the southern gateway to the Suez Canal. More then sixteen-thousand ships travel in this area transporting oil from the Middle East and goods from Asia to Europe and North America making it one of the busiest trade routes in the world and a pirate's gold mine. The pirates usually travel in speedboats with three two five men to a boat. When they are close enough to their prospective client grappling hooks would be thrown on to the ship and the pirates would quickly board. Since the crews are often times not armed and at their stations attending to the ships’s systems they are quickly overpowered. Another affect of Somali piracy is that ships from the United Nations carrying aid and supplies are not able to enter Somali waters in fear of being attacked by pirates. In order to remedy this problem nations such as France, Denmark, Canada, and the Netherlands have offered their navy’s services in order to escort the UN ships into Somali ports.

__U.N. Involvement__ The U.N. created the International Maritime Organization. There is, therefore, a need for international standards to regulate shipping - which can be adopted and accepted by all. The first maritime treaties date back to the 19th century. The Convention establishing the International Maritime Organization (IMO) was adopted in Geneva in 1948 and IMO first met in 1959. IMO's main task has been to develop and maintain a comprehensive regulatory framework for shipping and its remit today includes safety, environmental concerns, legal matters, technical co-operation, maritime security and the efficiency of shipping. Headquartered in London, in the United Kingdom, the IMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations with 168 Member States and three Associate Members. As it was with terrorism, there were many treaties involving piracy. These treaties include areas that have the highest average of attacks and ways that it may be possible to stop it.

__Country Policy__ France believes that the Somali pirates are a serious threat to international trade. They have the advantage of being seasoned seafarers who know the area in which they are operating and have proven that they are a force to be reckoned with. The lure of a hefty payout if they capture the right ship draws more and more young Somalis into a life of piracy. After all the pirates are the ones with the most money, the best cars, and the beautiful women in Somalia. Somali young men believe that a pirate’s life is a life of glamour. This is reminiscent of the latter days of the twentieth century when young men thought that being a member of the Italian Mafia was glamorous and was reeled in like a fish on a line by seasoned Mafiosi who knew that being a thug was far from glamorous. The same thing is happening in Somalia is it not with young men joining the bands of pirates. France believes that piracy in Somalia needs to be put to an end as soon as possible. France will give any assistance that the international community will require from us.

__Solutions__ With the ransom money they received Somali pirates are outfitting themselves with Global Positioning Systems and other technologies and weapons that would make them more formidable. They are also giving the money to terrorist groups and judging by how much they get for one ship the terrorists could be expecting a steady cash flow that they could use to finance their campaigns of death and destruction. In order to prevent this conflict from escalating France proposes that the crews of ships traveling in hostile waters are sufficiently armed so they can repel boarders. This would be less costly then having naval escorts. France would also like to suggest that shipping companies hire security teams to travel with the crew. These teams are generally made up of highly trained men from the world’s elite military and police units who are not strangers to the sound of gunfire or the sight of dead bodies. These teams would know what threats to look out for and how to combat them. They can also train the crew in the use of weapons that they might have to use against the pirates. France would also like to suggest that the international community help stabilize the Somali government’s position. Much of the cause of Somalis turning to piracy is do to the Somali civil war and the government not having a firm foothold in the seat of power. If the government is strong reforms can be implemented and the rebuilding process can begin. When not if conditions improve the shield of legitimacy the pirates are using to justify their actions will crumble. Meanwhile during what will prove to be a long and arduous rebuilding process France strongly encourages all nations to contribute ships for Somali water patrols and escorting ships carrying humanitarian aid to Somali ports. Combined with civilian ships being armed this will partly solve the problems of guarding against pirates on the vast oceans and protecting ships from the United Nations. France believes that when pirates are captured they should be tried in a court made up of members of the nations that contributed to the Somali rebuilding efforts. We live in turbulent times with many factions that are attempting to crush our livelihood. It is a time where all nations must put aside their differences and work towards one common goal survival. If this does not happen those that threaten to cause chaos will succeed. France hopes that you examine our solutions carefully and that they are considered by all. We look forward to working with you on making our solutions airtight or on a better solution.

Works Cited: http://allafrica.com/stories/200901090878.html http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/10/01/piracy.terror/index.html http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1120/p09s01-coop.html http://www.imo.org/HOME.HTML http://www.imo.org/