Topic: International Cooperation in Combatting Piracy
Country: Angola
Delegate Name: Gregory Poole
School: Forest Hills Northern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Angola position papers GLIMUN 2015 committees
The traveler has always coexisted with the highwayman. When man first ventured forth, someone was waiting to stab him in the back. When man first built roads, someone was waiting to rob him blind. And when man first put to see, someone was waiting to force him off the plank.
But that was then, and this is now. In these days of satellites and rockets, planes and cars, highways and railways, the robber has more trouble on the roads. The thief must be careful in the air. The pirate, though, can be careless.
It is important to note that piracy rarely occurs outside of territorial waters; few ships are hijacked on the high seas, and most are taken close to shore. It is also important to note the rapid decline of piracy in the region of Somalia, where strong international cooperation has managed to combat and reduce piracy with surprising success.
However, the issue of piracy is now moving beyond a few desperate men in a dinghy. There has been a recent rise in piracy in regions such as the Gulf of Guinea, where well-funded pirates act for criminal enterprises. These new pirates are more well-organized, more well-equipped, and more ruthless. These pirates are not after ransom money from cargo or crew. Worrying statistics indicate that many captured crew members are killed within four days of hijackings: BEFORE ransom can be paid. These new pirates target cargo ships, oil tankers especially.
This would not be an especially difficult issue to deal with, were it not for complications. Though an international task force could be cobbled together, it would be completely useless. Most hijackings, especially in the Gulf of Guinea, occur within or very close to ports or docks, and are well within territorial waters. Furthermore, they occur within regions that either suffer from ambiguous territory lines or within the jurisdiction of nations badly equipped to fight them.
Though Angola itself has suffered little from piracy, we can well observe the struggle of our northern neighbors and we fear that piracy may attempt to spread to our own waters. Though it would find a nasty welcome awaiting it, we believe the solution lies in preventative, rather than reactive, measures.
But what measures should, or even can, be taken? Angola believes it is important to remember that it is primarily the responsibility of afflicted nations to fight piracy within their own borders; as with any other form of crime, the responsibility to execute justice falls on the nation affected. Regions like the Gulf of Guinea or the South China Sea, which is also a major hub of piracy, cannot be dealt with in the same way as Somalia; they are two essentially different cases, due to the presence of stable governments.
Though we hold individual nations responsible for piracy within their waters, Angola does not wish to appear distant or cold towards the predicament of many afflicted countries. We believe it is not only a nation’s right, but moreover its responsibility to call upon the international community to provide aid and assistance in either a financial or militaristic form. To this end, we wish to see the Disarmament and International Security Committee form a framework and system through which aid can be requested. Though member nations would be welcome to seek assistance through alternative means, an organized structure or framework could help streamline the process and increase accessibility for smaller countries.
Fellow delegates, a new approach is needed, one more modular and dynamic than has been seen in the past, if we are to successfully combat this rising threat of piracy.
