By Daniel Bases
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Counciladopted unanimously on Monday a long-delayed resolution givingcountries the right to combat rampant piracy off the coast ofSomalia.
Security Council members on a flight from Nairobi toDjibouti told reporters agreement was reached on Friday afterFrance agreed to Indonesia's demands that anti-piracy actionsundertaken off the coast of Somalia would not set a precedentfor any other country.
Envoys of the 15-nation Security Council are on a missionto Africa and met in Djibouti with members of Somalia'stransitional government and opposition.
"Our concerns have been taken on board," Indonesia'sambassador to the United Nations, Marty Natalegawa, toldreporters.
The resolution, the first draft of which was circulated inApril, is aimed at combating a surge in ship hijackings forransom off the coast of Somalia in waters that have become oneof the world's most dangerous shipping zones.
Just last week, pirates hijacked three ships in the area.
"The issue of piracy is beyond our present means andcapabilities," Somalia's President Abdullahi Yusuf said in aspeech he gave to the council envoys in Djibouti prior to thevote in New York.
The French had "wanted to highlight the scourge of piracyas a global problem," U.S. envoy Alejandro Wolff toldreporters.
Council diplomats said the French backed down after facingresistance from the Indonesians, who refused to allow thepossibility that anti-piracy actions by foreign marine orsecurity forces could take place in their coastal waters.
The resolution affirmed that authorization for action"applies only with respect to the situation in Somalia," andshould "not be considered as establishing customaryinternational law..."
Somalia has been without an effective central governmentsince the 1991 toppling of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
Kidnapping and piracy are lucrative businesses and mostSomalis treat their captives well in anticipation of a ransom.
Monday's resolution authorizes states to enter Somaliterritorial waters and use "all necessary means to repress actsof piracy and armed robbery."
It was originally sponsored by France, the United States,Britain and Panama, under whose flag many merchant ships sail.Twelve other concerned countries that are not on the councillater signed on as co-sponsors of the resolution, includingJapan, South Korea and Spain.
(Additional reporting by Louis Charbonneau in Djibouti;Editing by Bill Trott)
