Somali’s Defence Minister, Hussein Arab Essa, has announced the formation of a national coast guard to enhance the fight against piracy, following the outcome of the London conference. “The Minister of Defence of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) is pleased to announce significant progress in the fight against piracy,” the minister said in a statement received in Nairobi on Saturday, a day after the London conference was held. “The TFG recognises the importance of securing Somalia’s territorial integrity. Significant effort and resources have already been devoted by the African Union, Somalia’s neighbours and the international community to recover and secure Somalia’s borders, including its shores,” the defence ministry statement added. “We are committed to the speedy eradication of piracy in our waters. It is with great pleasure that Minister of Defence, Hussein Arab Essa, announced with the help of several members of the international community and in partnership with Halliday Finch International that we will deliver the Anti-Piracy Task Force, a National Coast Guard capability with immediate effect,” the ministry said. The new Somali National Coastguard will have land, sea and air components. It will be an integral part of Somalia’s National Security Forces and will operate under the auspices of the Ministry of Defence. “This scourge is destabilising to our coastal communities, damaging to our economy and detrimental to our reputation in the international community,” the defence ministry said. Somalia’s government says piracy is a criminal act under international law that has spread well beyond the shores of Somalia and has been choking both regional trade and international shipping around the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden. The new National Coast Guard will form part of the Somali National Security Forces and will fall under the scrutiny of the Joint Security Committee, convened jointly between the UN and the TFG, to ensure coordination of the security operations. Somalia’s largely unnamed border is suspected to be the theatre of a series of illegal activities, including pollution and toxic waste dumping, and is mostly used for illegal trade and export commodities. “We are also faced with a growing trade in human trafficking, drug smuggling and illegal imports and exports that in no way add to the growth of our economy --despite the disingenuous claims to the contrary of those who profit from this trade,” the ministry said. The minister pledged the government’s commitment to implement the Kampala Accord, which redefines the transitional process in the Horn of African nation. The Kampala accord set up a roadmap for the creation of a permanent governing authority in Somalia, part of a political process that is seen critical in enhancing the fight against illegal activities off the coast of Somalia. Somalia’s authorities said they would continue engagement with the UN-led Kampala Process, currently led by the UN Political Office in Somalia (UNPOS). The International Migration Organisation (IMO) and the UN Drugs Office (UNODC) will also work to coordinate the counter piracy activities, the ministry said. “We are very aware of the need to protect Somalia’s natural resources as was highlighted in the UN Secretary General’s recent report to the Security Council,” the ministry said. The coast guard would work to prevent the plundering of Somalia’s fishing stocks by illegal fishing, stop the dumping of toxic waste in Somalia’s territorial waters and the ability to claim rights to Somalia’s Exclusive Economic Zone, about 250 nautical miles off the territorial border. Analysts say the continuing acts of piracy in Somalia are a result of the political turmoil in the Horn of African nation. “Much effort has also been given to building Somalia’s National Security Forces, both Military and Police, and to build Somalia’s capacity to defeat other obstructionist elements such as Al- Shabaab and their foreign masters, Al-Qaida, who threaten our people and our country,” the minister said.
