Rob Macaire

UK and Kenya: The problem of piracy

Somali pirates have been much in the news recently - not just here in the region, but across the international press.  People are rightly concerned about the threat to trade, not least into Mombasa, and a lot of people have welcomed the robust action taken recently by the US and France.   But of course this is just the tip of the iceberg: there are a lot more piracy incidents going on than hit the press, and likewise a continuous and intensive international effort to tackle them.  I agree with those who say that the problem won't be sorted finally until there is greater law & order and economic development on land.   The UK is a strong supporter of the peace process to reconcile the parties in Somalia and bring more stability and growth to the country.  

But in the meantime, many nations, including ours, are engaged in tackling the piracy threat at sea.  And it is impressive to see the responsible leadership role Kenya has taken, in being willing to take pirate suspects into detention and try them through the courts.   Now other regional countries should join that effort, so that there's a proper sharing of the burden between naval powers patrolling the waters, and regional states who stand to gain most from effective anti-piracy operations.  

A great example of international cooperation to tackle international threats.  So I'm saddened to see some of the misinformation in the press about Kenya being a "dumping ground" or putting itself at more risk by joining this international effort:  a bigger threat would come from not tackling piracy.

I see my colleague John Duncan has been blogging about this from the point of view of the international arms trade - I commend his blog.

Posted at 15:58 20 April 2009 by Rob Macaire  |  Comments[6]