Warships Alone Will Not Curb Piracy Off the Somali Coast: Lessons from Puntland, State of Somalia

Abstract

The global piracy concern in Somalia has forced governments to field warships to protect one of the world’s busiest maritime routes. During the past 6 years, over 200 ships were hijacked and ransoms of millions of US dollars have changed hands, with incrementally growing risks, reflecting the ineffectiveness of currently pursued strategies. Combating piracy in the African Horn should essentially include concerted actions on the underlying socio-economic and governance challenges that nourish these incidents. Through field visits, interviews and case studies, this paper explores the impact of piracy in Puntland and illustrates the detrimental effects caused to educational intuitions; the increasing risk behaviours among youth and the overburdening of the fragile law enforcement efforts. For fear of being branded pirates, the fishing industry has come to a standstill, rendering this important livelihood redundant. To build an in-land anti-piracy response in a country in complex emergency, the Puntland state should be assisted to sponsor robust post-emergency recovery and development programmes, as these hold a great deal of importance in eradicating this danger. This paper focuses on the neglected root causes and recommends the enhancement of government capacity and community based socio-economic intervention to effectively fight the piracy off the African horn.