Link to article: https://allafrica.com/stories/202404190231.html
In wake of a $5 million pay payout from a Bangladeshi company to Somali Pirates to ensure the release of MV Abdullah and 23 captured crew members, the EU has felt the need to react to increased piracy concerns. The EU issued an official and very stern warning of paying ransom to pirates, as these payments could fuel future hijackings in the Indian Ocean and nearby gulf area. The EU’s intentions were to bring light to the persistent threat of piracy in the region and the need for international cooperation to combat the growing problem. These warnings are just a small piece of the international community’s challenge of combating piracy and ensuring maritime security.
The EU’s call for a stoppage of ransom payments is an attempt to protect the region from facing an expanded piracy problem. Any ransom payments are counterproductive to the international goal of stopping piracy to ensure security and protection. The Somali pirates, as the issue currently stands, serve as threats not just to the people of Somalia, but ships from any state around our world that travels through the Indian Ocean. With access to more money through ransoms, the piracy problem will only increase unless the inflow of money is stopped and a greater emphasis is placed on arresting the many pirates troubling the waters in the region.
The growing piracy issue in the region represents many human rights violations. The right to life and security in travel are among multiple human right violations that are occuring in these pirate invasions and captivities. The problem in bringing justice to these is that the pirates are independent and not tied to any specific country or organization. This limits the international community because the pirates are not bound to any agreements and are illegal in nature. It will take definitive military presence to combat the problem and will have to come from more than a select few countries. However, a stoppage of payments to the pirates is a step in the right direction and is about as far as financial resolutions can go.