Our intellect must have gone on sabbatical. IMO says World Maritime Day 2011 will be observed from 26th to 30th September. The exact date is left to individual governments but at the IMO headquarters in London, it’s on the 29th. We don’t get it. Why call it “Day” when we’re talking here of a week? This year’s theme is “Piracy: Orchestrating the Response”. It’s apropos given the upward spiral of Somali piracy attacks, and it has a nice ring to it. We’re reminded of the London Symphony Orchestra or the Berlin Philharmonic. What we’d like to know is, who’s the conductor?
It can’t be IMO Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos. He presides over meetings, cuts ceremonial ribbons and delivers speeches. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon? The man has pledged UN support for the anti-piracy drive but he’s got his hands full, what with conflicts that keep popping up around the globe. US President Barak Obama? UK Prime Minister David Cameron? German Chancellor Angela Merkel? But they and other world leaders are precisely the targets of the SaveOurSeafarers (SOS) letter-writing campaign.
What’s certain is that frustration and anger over piracy are building up. We see and hear an anti-piracy ensemble with parts that correspond to the sections of an orchestra – string, brass, woodwind and percussion instruments. The instruments, of course, are still being tuned. There’s the European Naval Force Somalia (EU Navfor), which operates under a UN Security Council mandate. There’s the private maritime security sector, which includes legit organisations as well as mercenaries and pirate hunters. There are the individual governments, NGOs, seafarers’ unions and international and national shipping associations.
It’s a full orchestra, one in search of a conductor. ~Barista Uno
Well said, Barista.
It appears that the only truly interested parties that believe that actions speak louder than words are indeed the private, legitimate MarSec sector headed up by IAMSP Members and others.
Although EU Navfor is doing its best without a doubt, it’s underfunded and insufficient for the purpose.
I think the main point to bear in mind is this: NOT ONE ARMED TRANSIT HAS SUFFERED A SUCCESSFUL ATTACK.
Q.E.D.
John
“The only truly successful way
to address the problem in the long
term is through a strategy that
focuses on deterrence, security,
the rule of law and development.
Our common goal must be
a sustainable solution.”
– UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses
the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO)
in London, February 3, 2011
I agree that piracy and piracy-prevention is a big business, and many people and organisations are making fortunes, and guaranteeing their promotions, because of it. Yet whenever I go to meetings about the piracy issue, I keep hearing sympathy expressed for the pirates, because many of them meet the definition of a “child soldier” under U.N. conventions. I never heard anyone except me speak of the deprivation of human rights that pirates inflict on their captive merchant seafarers. The message is very clear, namely, “Pirates have human rights, legitimate seafarers do not”.