The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Alistair Burt)
I wish to inform the House that the International Piracy Ransoms Task Force, established by the Prime Minister at the London conference on Somalia in February, yesterday presented its conclusions to the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia.
The taskforce was constituted of 14 members: Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Liberia, Malaysia, Norway, Panama, Spain, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. This broad-based membership included some of the world’s largest flag states, the countries at the forefront of the military response to piracy, and those nations whose seafarers are most commonly at risk from pirate attack.
Since the taskforce was launched, there has been a dramatic reduction in piracy activity: reported attacks have declined from 176 in 2011 to 35 as of November 2012. Successful attacks have fallen even more dramatically, with ransom payments in 2012 falling by more than 700% from their level in 2011. However, this positive trend is fragile and reversible, and the taskforce agreed that the international community needs to maintain its efforts across the board to drive down the threat to global security and prosperity. The ultimate goal for the international community must be to reach a position whereby pirates are no longer able to receive or profit from ransom payments.
The taskforce identified a range of options for reducing and avoiding ransom payments and bearing down on those who demand ransoms to ensure that they are not rewarded. It concluded that work should urgently be undertaken to:
develop a new strategic partnership between flag states, the private sector and law enforcement agencies that brings together those tackling piracy and those subjected to it in a united effort to break the piracy business model;
develop a more co-ordinated approach to information sharing to provide evidence to pursue and prosecute all involved in piracy;
strengthen co-ordination between flag states, the private sector and military responders to prepare for potential hostage situations; and
encourage implementation of anti-piracy measures, including greater compliance with best management practice.
The Government firmly support and endorse the conclusions of the international taskforce. They recognise that an internationally co-ordinated and implemented approach will be vital in achieving the goal of bringing an end to the role of ransoms in piracy. The Government will continue to work as a leading member of the contact group and with industry in taking forward the implementation of the taskforce’s recommendations.