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Committee: United Nations Security Council

Topic: Somali Piracy in 2009
Country: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The United Kingdom strongly condemns the dominating presence of Somali piracy
off the Gulf of Aden, an international issue that has the potential to substantially impact any
countries in the UNSC, regardless of their positions or distance from the area. In terms of the
global economy, Somali pirates threaten to disrupt the shipment of approximately 21,000 of
ships traveling through this region every year, along with a commercial worth of billions of
USD in the oil industry. Considering that piracy is a booming profession in Somalia where its
citizens survive off less than 2 USD per day, money and economic terms certainly play a vital
role in this issue. Nevertheless, the United Kingdom would like to direct attention to more
humanitarian aspects, including the safety of hostages on hijacked ships and the disruption of
needed aid to Somalia due to piracy activity. Indeed, not only are large fishing companies
impacted by hefty randoms demanded by Somali pirates, but small stakeholders also have
their lives at stake. Hostages may experience torture and even prosecution if ransoms are not
met, and Somali people have been enduring a difficult time accessing basic humanitarian
supplies due to NGO and relevant organizations worrying about transporting through an area
with such a high activity of pirates. Believing in a better world for all, the United Kingdom
stands in solidarity with hostages and the Somali population, hoping to search for the most
sustainable measure possible to combat this matter.
Thus far, the United Kingdom has greatly contributed to military and administrative
anti-piracy projects in Somalia. With one of the most formidable navy forces in the world, the
United Kingdom has sent several of its vessels to participate in internationally cooperative
operations against Somali piracy, including the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of
Somalia, Operation Atlanta, Combined Task Forces 150 and 151. Furthermore, the United
Kingdom had invested in numerous regional projects in support of enhanced security and aid
to relevant stakeholders on the land.
Still, that is not enough. Resolving a security matter should not solely focus on
suppressing, but completely eradicating the root cause of this issue, especially with Somali
piracy reaching its peak activity level in 2009. This is a prime time to deal with and solve this
decade-old matter once and for all. As one of the countries with the most capability in solving
this matter, the United Kingdom would like to initiate establishing a comprehensive program
in Somalia to purge the rise of future pirate incidents, focusing on not only defense means but
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also education and career opportunities for its citizens. While the United Kingdom continues
to maintain its no-negotiation stance, it also believes that forceful means should not be the
only path to an issue. Upon being captured, Somali pirates that have yet violated international
laws to the point of deserving death penalty shall be imprisoned with their due number of
years in prisons that focus on educating and readying them for other methods of prospering
oneselves, deterring them from tracing their former footsteps. Lastly, it is not the individual
pirates that global security forces should worry about, but the organized and more powerful
masterminds behind the scene. The United Kingdom is deeply committed to investigating and
punishing any forces manipulating this Somali scheme.