S/PV.7805 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of Somalia to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2016/939, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by France, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain, Ukraine, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay and the United States of America. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2016/843, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on the situation with respect to piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia. The Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

The draft resolution received 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2316 (2016). I give the floor to the representative of Somalia.

I would like begin by congratulating you, Sir, on assuming the presidency of the Security Council for the month of November. I would also like to express my thanks and esteem to the outgoing President, the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, for his able guidance of the Council’s work in the month of October. Somalia extends its deepest gratitude to the members of the Security Council for their valuable support in Somalia in all areas, including addressing piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia. The robust commitment of the international community has resulted in a massive reduction in piracy in recent years, and we particularly welcome the recent release of several long-held hostages and call for the release of all remaining hostages. We ask Member States and international organizations for continued support to address the root causes of piracy, as the Secretary-General’s most recent report notes: “The drivers that have triggered piracy remain unchanged since 2005. The lack of economic opportunity has been identified by the Federal Government and international partners as the principal driver of pirate recruitment.” (S/2016/843, para. 8) Additionally, we welcome the acknowledgement in the text that the phenomenon of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in Somalia’s exclusive economic zone results in a loss of revenue and can lead to destabilization in coastal communities. We welcome the adoption of resolution 2316 (2016) and want to assure the Council of our full cooperation on all matters, including piracy.