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Collaborating to Combat Piracy The Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia. by MS. DONNA L. HOPKINS Coordinator, Counter Piracy and Maritime Security U.S. Department of State Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Piracy occurs in every region of the seafaring world, but maritime piracy emanating out of Somalia has posed a unique set of challenges to the international community. The large-scale, hostage-ransom busi- QHVV PRGHO LQ 6RPDOLD H[LVWV GXH WR D XQLTXH FRQÁX- ence of geopolitical factors: ♡ state failure in a country with a long coastline affords a safe haven along a critical and heavily ♡ a region where its neighbors are unable or unwill- ing to intervene. WUDIÀFNHG VHD URXWH Combating piracy requires enforcing the rule of law, but Somali authorities in these regions are either unwilling or unable to exercise meaningful jurisdic- tion over their citizens, territory, or territorial waters. Genesis The international community has conducted naval counter-piracy operations under formal mandate off the Horn of Africa since 2008. The European Union's "Operation Atalanta," NATO's "Operation Ocean Shield," and the Coalition Maritime Forces' coun- ter-piracy Combined Task Force 151, are all making efforts to protect World Food Programme shipments and other maritime trade from pirate attacks with a high degree of tactical success. As shipping in the region has increasingly come under threat of hijacking, nations such as Australia, China, Russia, Japan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New www.uscg.mil/proceedings Zealand, Singapore, and Thailand have dispatched naval forces to escort their merchant shipping and to collaborate with other navies to provide safe transit for international shipping. However, it was obvious early on that a multi-faceted approach would be required to deal with the cause and effects of Somali piracy, since the issues brought about by this maritime crime could not be solved by naval operations alone. So, the United States and other nations pressed to establish the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia in 2008, which has since become the focal point of international efforts to address maritime piracy emanating from Somalia. )URP LWV LQFHSWLRQ WKH FRQWDFW JURXS ZDV VSHFLÀFDOO\ intended to address piracy, although its participants have always recognized that piracy is but a symp- tom of the larger problem—the inability of Somali authorities to control Somali territory. By contrast, the International Contact Group (ICG) on Somalia, which operates under the direction of the United Nations 3ROLWLFDO 2IÀFH RQ 6RPDOLD ZDV FUHDWHG LQ WR address the crippling political, economic, social, and institutional conditions in Somalia wrought by two decades of civil war. Maritime piracy presents acute challenges to interna- WLRQDO FRPPHUFH DQG VHFXULW\ WKDW GHPDQG VSHFLÀF and targeted actions, including capacity building in regional states and political, judicial, and military Spring 2012 Proceedings 15 Background