UN calls for worldwide criminalisation of piracy
The 15-member council unanimously agreed on a call for tougher legal weapons to be used The UN Security Council on Monday called on states around the world to criminalise piracy as a way of stepping up the campaign against record numbers of sea attacks.The 15-member council unanimously agreed on a call for tougher legal weapons to be used against piracy that is now rife off the coast of Somalia and is spreading to other regions around Africa. A resolution passed by the council 'strongly' urged all states to make piracy a national crime and called for all 193 UN members to report by the end of the year on action they have taken to halt pirates, particularly those operating off Somalia.The Security Council has been debating whether to back special anti-piracy courts in Somalia and other countries in East Africa. Hundreds of accused pirates are now in detention in jails around the world.Source: AFP
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