Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) |13 November 2017
Chairman welcomes renewed resolution on anti-piracy by UN Security Council
Ambassador Barry Faure, current chairman of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS), has welcomed the UN Security Council Resolution 2383 (2017) decision on November 7, 2017 to renew for another year international naval forces to continue the fight against piracy off the coast of Somalia.
“This decision as announced by the UN Security Council follows on the strong recommendations that were made by the CGPCS at its 20th Plenary held earlier in the year in Mauritius, that the international community not lose ground on the achievements of the community which to date has seen a drastic reduction in acts committed by pirates within the region and off the coast of Somalia,” said Ambassador Faure, CGPCS chairman and secretary of state for maritime security at the department of foreign affairs.
The 20th Plenary affirmed and commended Seychelles for its steady and successful chairing of the CGPCS, as well as member states and regional organisations and other partners who have supported anti-piracy missions since the first UN Security Council Resolution 1851 of 2008 supporting efforts for international maritime forces to take action against Somali pirates.
“To date the CGPCS community, from large nations to small island states, foreign military naval units, private organisations and NGOs, have all come together with one aim, and that was to see an end to piracy in our region. We agree, however, that as long as there is instability in Somalia, that the risks of piracy will remain; and this is why we reiterate the call for the continuation of international naval presence,” added Ambassador Faure.
Seychelles has chaired the CGPCS for two years as of December 31, 2015 and will hand over to the COI with Mauritius as chair, on January 1, 2018.
Seychelles assumed the chairmanship on January 1, 2016 with Minister Joël Morgan becoming the chair until he handed over to Ambassador Faure, this in December 2016.
Seychelles took over the chairmanship from the European Union and became the first regional state to assume leadership of the CGPCS.