When it comes to combating piracy, how is international law limited?
International law is very clear in prohibiting piracy, but the problem is enforcing these laws, apprehending pirates and preventing attacks. Even if outside countries have an interest in controlling piracy, they do not always have the right to take action in the territory of other sovereign nations. Pirates thrive when there is no government to stop them. Somalia is a collapsed state with no functioning government and therefore lacks the ability to shut down piracy. Q: What is being done to stop maritime piracy? A: The strongest attempt so far is a U.N. Security Council resolution from December 2008 that authorizes other countries to use force in Somalia’s territory and waters to combat piracy. This is a new development and sets a precedent for future occurrences, should piracy become a significant problem in other parts of the world.
