27 Feb 2012

STORY: UN / GUINEA PIRACY

Florentina Adenike Ukonga from the Gulf of Guinea Commission said today that the legal framework for dealing with piracy is “insufficient and ineffective” and called on the need to have an “accepted common definition” of piracy attracting the same type of punishment and establishing a neutral jurisdiction to try those arrested on acts of piracy. UNTV

Posted at: February 27, 2012 6:47 pm

Duration: 02:30

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STORY: UN / GUINEA PIRACY
TRT: 2.30
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 27 FEBRUARY 2012, NEW YORK

SHOTLIST:

FILE, 2011, UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations Headquarters

27 FEBRUARY 2012, NEW YORK

2. Wide shot, Security Council Chamber
3. Cutaway, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, United Nations:
"Piracy and armed robbery against ships increasingly undermine efforts by States in the Gulf of Guinea region to maintain peace, security and stability and to promote socioeconomic development. The threat has become even more alarming as the pirates have become more violent."
5. Cutaway, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, United Nations:
"The Secretary-General's mission fount hat piracy in the Gulf of Guinea has become more systematic, with the pirates resorting to sophisticated modes of operations and utilizing heavy weapons."
7. Cutaway, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (English) B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, United Nations:
"In only the first two months of 2012, the IMO has already recorded then incidents off the coast of Benin, Congo, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria. In addition, we know that not all pirate incidents are systematically reported."
9. Cutaway, delegates
10. SOUNDBITE (English) B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, United Nations:
"While all of Guinea countries, both coastal and hinterland, are determined to counter the growing threat of piracy and armed robbery at sea, limited national and regional capacities undermine their ability to do so effectively."
11. Cutaway, delegates
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Florentina Adenike Ukonga, Gulf of Guinea Commission:
"The legal framework for dealing with piracy is insufficient, ineffective and is different from any one country to the other, ranging from treatment of acts of piracy as minor misdemeanours in some to conspiracy to commit theft in the high seas in others. There is no standardized, adopted and accepted definition of piracy in the countries of the region with the result that when pirates are caught depending on where they are caught and under what circumstances they are caught, they can escape with little or no punishment."
13. Cutaway, delegates
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Florentina Adenike Ukonga, Gulf of Guinea Commission:
"There is therefore the need to have an accepted, common definition of acts of piracy, attracting the same type of punishment in all the countries of the region and possibly the establishment of a neutral jurisdiction that will try those arrested for acts of piracy."
15. Cutaway, delegates
16. Wide shot, Security Council meeting

STORYLINE:

A comprehensive regional strategy is critical if countries are to successfully combat piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, a top United Nations official stressed today, highlighting the threat posed to the security and economic development of States in the region by the scourge.

Briefing Security Council members B. Lynn Pascoe, Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs told the 15-member body that piracy and armed robbery against ships increasingly undermined efforts by States in the Gulf of Guinea region to maintain peace, security and stability and to promote socio-economic development. The threat has become even more alarming as the pirates have become more violent.

Last November Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deployed a team – in response to a request from President Boni Yayi of Benin – to assess the scope of the piracy threat in the Gulf of Guinea and make recommendations for possible UN support in tackling this scourge.

Pascoe said that the Secretary-General's report said that his mission had found that piracy in the region had become more systematic, with the pirates resorting to sophisticated modes of operations and utilizing heavy weapons. Pascoe added that so far, the attacks had primarily targeted the lucrative cargo onboard the ships rather than taking hostages for ransom – the practice off Somalia.

He stated that piracy in the Gulf of Guinea hampers efforts by regional States to engage in peaceful international commerce and to exploit their vast natural resources for the socio-economic development of their countries. Recent reports have suggested for instance that Nigeria is losing an estimated seven per cent of its oil resources to criminal activities, including piracy.

While in 2010, 45 incidents in seven countries were reported to the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO). Last year, the numbers rose to 64 in nine countries. Pascoe noted that in only the first two months of 2012, the IMO had already recorded 10 incidents off the coasts of Benin, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria. And those just the reported cases, Mr. Pascoe noted.

Pascoe also noted that while all Gulf of Guinea countries, both coastal and hinterland, are determined to counter the growing threat of piracy and armed robbery at sea, limited national and regional capacities undermine their ability to do so effectively.

Florentina Adenike Ukonga from the Gulf of Guinea Commission told the Council that there was no standard, accepted definition of piracy in the countries of the region, with the result that, depending on where they are caught, pirates can escape with little or no punishment.

"There is therefore the need to have an accepted, common definition of acts of piracy, attracting the same type of punishment in all the countries of the region and possibly the establishment of a neutral jurisdiction that will try those arrested for acts of piracy," said Ukonga.