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actions that are beyond the purview of the ICG to undertake or oversee. As a result, the two contact groups share certain goals, the most important of which is the eventual restoration of legitimate and effective authority in Somalia. However, the two groups operate very dif- ferently, in that the International Contact Group on Somalia is a U.N. entity with a special representative who reports to the U.N. Secretary General, while the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia is an ad hoc group of nations and organizations that is QRW FRQYHQHG ÀQDQFHG VWDIIHG E\ QRU VXEMHFW WR WKH conventions and protocols of the United Nations. • LPSURYLQJ VWUDWHJLF FRPPXQLFDWLRQV WKURXJK public affairs and public diplomacy. The intervening plenary sessions have documented VLJQLÀFDQW SURJUHVV LQ WKH ÀJKW DJDLQVW SLUDF\ 7KH success rate of pirate attacks has sharply decreased, due to effective naval patrols and greatly improved shipping self-protection measures. Working Groups Most of the substantive work in the contact group WDNHV SODFH LQ WKH ÀYH ZRUNLQJ JURXSV HDFK FKDLUHG by a volunteer nation in collaboration with interna- tional organizations that are chartered to implement programs of work related to the issues at hand. All working group meetings are open to all contact group members, and the program of work undertaken along with the positions or decisions developed by these groups are reported at plenary meetings for valida- tion by the contact group at large. Truly an international effort, the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia is not overseen or managed by any one country, but instead operates as a community of interested states with an evolv- ing structure of working groups that report to a ple- nary body chaired on a rotational basis by volunteer nations. Egypt, Japan, Greece, Norway, Korea, Turkey, and Singapore, in addition to the United States, have chaired plenary meetings. The Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Spain, and India will chair upcoming sessions. The United States operates as an informal secretariat for the contact group, maintaining partici- pant contact information and archives, but does not direct the form or substance of the contact group's deliberations. Modus Operandi 7KH 8QLWHG 6WDWHV FRQYHQHG WKH ÀUVW PHHWLQJ RI WKH Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia at the U.N. in January of 2009, after extensive consulta- tion with other governments on its form, structure, DQG IXQFWLRQV 'HFLVLRQV PDGH DW WKLV ÀUVW SOHQDU\ session helped to advance international and national efforts endorsed by piracy-related U.N. Security Council resolutions and sharply focused the interna- tional community's counter-piracy efforts along sev- eral lines, including: • LPSURYLQJ PLOLWDU\ FRRUGLQDWLRQ • GHOLYHULQJ MXGLFLDO FRQVHTXHQFHV IRU SLUDF\ • LQFUHDVLQJ VKLSSLQJ VHOI DZDUHQHVV DQG VHOI SUR- tection, 16 Proceedings Spring 2012 Working Group 1 of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (WG1) is chaired by the United Kingdom. This group was originally tasked to improve military coordination and information sharing among nations seeking to combat piracy, and has since taken on coordination of the many and varied efforts to build institutional capacity related to countering piracy in Somalia and its neighboring states. WG1 acts as the interface for the contact group, which is a political body, and the shared awareness DQG GHFRQÁLFWLRQ PHFKDQLVP ZKLFK LV WKH PHDQV E\ which the various military counter-piracy missions coordinate operational and tactical actions. Shared DZDUHQHVV DQG GHFRQÁLFWLRQ PHHWLQJV DUH FR FKDLUHG by the Coalition Maritime Forces and European Union Naval Forces, held quarterly at the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain. Denmark chairs Working Group 2, which focuses on legal issues related to piracy, in particular judicial consequences for suspected pirates. Comprised of legal advisers from contact group nations and orga- nizations, WG2 provides practical legal guidance to states on issues related to the apprehension, prosecu- tion, and imprisonment of pirates. WG2 also works closely with U.N. technical agencies, in particular the 8 1 2IÀFH RI 'UXJV DQG &ULPH; WR DGYDQFH SURJUDPV designed to enhance the judicial capacity of regional states to investigate, prosecute, and imprison pirates. Working Group 2, with support from participating states, started a focused effort to build regional capac- ity in affected states to counter piracy, and the contact www.uscg.mil/proceedings