Nations committed to combating piracy along the Horn of Africa now have the authority to capture and prosecute pirates on land, according to a new resolution passed Tuesday by the United Nations Security Council. U.N. Security Council Resolution 1851 addresses maritime security issues, specifically off the coast of Somalia, which has seen a significant spike in piracy incidents this year. Previously, international anti-piracy operations could only take place by sea, providing impunity to pirates who escaped by land. The new resolution allows nations to pursue pirates by "all necessary means," on land as well as at sea. Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Secretary of State, addressed the Security Council on December 16, 2008, emphasizing the necessity of Resolution1851. Stating that maritime operations alone are insufficient to combating piracy, she called on governments to lead and coordinate efforts to fight piracy by sharing intelligence and working with partners through a common point of contact. Rice stressed that while the resolution is an important step forward for anti-piracy operations, building security and stability in Somalia is vital for long-term success. "We must address the root of the piracy problem," she said. "Piracy is a symptom. It's a symptom of the instability, the poverty, the lawlessness that have plagued Somalia for the past two decades." She explained that bringing peace and normalcy to Somalia will promote economic development in Somalia, making the act of piracy less appealing. "Offering the Somali people an alternative to piracy and criminality is, in the long run, the best sustainable strategy for combating piracy," Rice added. The text of the U.N. Security Council resolution says that nations, in coordination with Somalia's Transitional Federal Government and the United Nations, "may undertake all necessary measures that are appropriate in Somalia, for the purpose of suppressing acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, pursuant to the request of the TFG, provided, however, that any measures undertaken pursuant to the authority of this paragraph shall be undertaken consistent with applicable international humanitarian and human rights law ..." Following is the transcript of Rice's address to the U.N. Security Council; Press remarks following the U.N. Security Council Meeting on Somalia; and the complete text of Resolution 1851. TRANSCRIPT: UN Security Council Meeting on Situation in Somalia U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice December 16, 2008 http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2008/12/113269.htm SECRETARY RICE: Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. Secretary General. And thank you very much to all my colleagues for participating in this very important Security Council session on piracy. Obviously, we are here because the outbreak of piracy and the increasing threat to commerce, to security, and perhaps most importantly, to the principle of freedom of navigation of the seas is one that should concern every nation-state. And I do believe that the resolution that we have passed today will help us go a long way toward a coordinated response to the scourge of piracy. We have noted that several factors have been limiting the effectiveness of our response, although a number of countries have been responding. The United States has been a part of that response, as has the EU, NATO, and a number of other countries in this chamber. But because there has been no existing mechanism for states to coordinate their actions effectively, I believe that our response has been less than the sum of its parts. I would like to announce that the United States intends to work with partners to create a Contact Group on Somali piracy. We envision the Contact Group serving as a mechanism to share intelligence, coordinate activities, and reach out to other partners, including those in shipping and insurance industries. And we look forward to working quickly on this initiative. A second factor limiting our response is in the impunity that the pirates enjoy. Piracy currently pays. But worse, pirates pay few costs for their criminality. Their dens in Somalia provide refuge from the naval ships in the Gulf of Aden, and as we saw with the hijacking of the Sirius Star 500 nautical miles from Mombasa, and with the recent unsuccessful attacks even further south off the Tanzanian coast, pirates are adapting to the naval presence in the Gulf of Aden by traveling farther to attack unsuspecting ships. To make piracy costlier and more difficult to undertake, the United States, with the agreement of the Somali Transitional Federal Government, believes that the Security Council's authorization today that states may pursue pirates into their places of operation on land will have a significant impact. History has demonstrated again and again that maritime operations alone are insufficient to combating piracy. Mr. President, we also have a problem concerning the steps that must be taken to facilitate the delivery, detention, and prosecution of captured pirates. Through international law reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Security Council Resolutions 1846 and 1816, and the 1988 Convention on the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, SUA, the international community already has sufficient legal authority and available mechanisms to apprehend and prosecute pirates, but sometimes the political will and the coordination has not been there to do so. This problem of capacity is especially pronounced in the regional states. Their proximity to piracy makes them an obvious choice to cite prosecutions, but many lack the necessary judicial and law enforcement capacities to do so. So we call on all states, particularly those victimized by Somali piracy, to contribute generously to building the legal capacity of regional SUA states. In the resolution, we also ask the United Nations to explore what can be done to build legal capacity in those states. At the same time as we expect regional states to play a critical role, victim states also need to bear equal responsibility for prosecuting pirates. States who flagged hijacked vessels, whose nationals own hijacked vessels, or who have crew members on hijacked vessels, must honor their SUA obligations in relation to receiving and prosecuting suspected pirates. Fourth, we must ask the maritime industry to promote capabilities to enhance ship self-defense. Once a hostage situation develops, the stakes in military operations increase. Consequently, an important part of counter-piracy efforts must be measured in enhancing self-defense capabilities of commercial vessels, increasing the odds of success against pirates until warships arrive. Finally--and a number of colleagues have spoken to this--we must address the root of the piracy problem. Piracy is a symptom. It's a symptom of the instability, the poverty, the lawlessness that have plagued Somalia for the past two decades. The Djibouti peace process has achieved some political headway in the last few months. And I thank you, Secretary General, for your excellent special representative, Ambassador Ould-Abdallah. But the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation on the ground is threatening that progress and threatening it every day. The international community must make it a priority to work with the TFG, both to stabilize its internal situation and to work with the alliance for the rehabilitation re-liberation of Somalia, and the African Union mission in Somalia to help stabilize the country's security situation. In this regard, let me note that the United States does believe that the time has come for the United Nations to consider and authorize a peacekeeping operation. This has been requested by the AU. It has been requested by countries that are taking the brunt of the difficulty on the ground. And while the conditions may not be auspicious for peacekeeping, they will be less auspicious if chaos reigns in Somalia and we have to turn at some point to peacemaking. Prevention is the issue here. And while the United States will do everything that it can to continue the support of AMISOM indeed, the United States provided $67 million for training and equipping and deploying AMISOM last year we will continue to do that, and we will buttress our support to AMISOM. But I am afraid that the history of support for forces of this kind is not a very good one. What happens is that we are not able to sustain the voluntary contributions, we're not able to sustain the voluntary training, we're not able to sustain the mechanisms to make certain that the work is flowing smoothly. That is why we have a peacekeeping operation in the UN, because it draws on the full resources of the member-states in a way that is not voluntary, but that is compulsory, to do the work of this Council. And so, Mr. Secretary General, the United States will be, with other states, continuing to raise in consultations not yet for consideration by the Council but in consultations, the need for a peacekeeping force in accordance with the request of the African Union that we do so. Let me just say finally that once peace and normalcy have returned to Somalia, we believe that Somalis can start down a path to real economic development. Offering the Somali people an alternative to piracy and criminality is, in the long run, the best sustainable strategy for combating piracy. As a part of this strategy, the United States believes in working with the international community to help Somali fishermen prosper by preventing illegal fishing and dumping in Somalia--Somali territorial waters. With our meeting today and the resolution, we have sent a strong signal of commitment to combat the scourge of piracy. This current response is a good start, but we must do much more to defend freedom of navigation and trade. The shipping industry will be an important partner in those efforts. But let us make no mistake: It is governments that must lead, and we need to coordinate our efforts through a common point of contact. We need to end the impunity of Somali pirates. We need to support regional states in building capacity to prosecute pirates effectively. And we need to work to build security and stability in Somalia so that the Somali people can finally enjoy the blessings of peace and the rule of law and development. Thank you very much. TRANSCRIPT: Press Remarks Following U.N. Security Council Meeting on Somalia U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice December 16, 2008 http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2008/12/113272.htm SECRETARY RICE: I've just attended a very successful Security Council session on piracy. The Security Council adopted Resolution 1851, which is a very strong resolution that deals with issues of detention of pirates, with the prosecution of pirates, with the ability to use all necessary means on land as well as at sea, because we know from history that it isn't really possible to contain this problem just as a maritime issue. We talked a good deal about the need for coordination on intelligence, on information sharing. The United States is going to lead a Contact Group on Piracy on the Somali Coast. We also talked about the need for commercial shipping to take means that are defensive means, some of which are readily available, so that the pirates cannot turn a situation into a hostage situation, because once a hostage situation comes into being, obviously the stakes go up. So it was a very fulsome discussion. But ultimately, all members spoke to the need to deal with the root cause of the problem, which is the instability in Somalia. There is great support, as the United States supports the Djibouti process and the hopes for peace as Somali factions begin to try and chart a course ahead. I also want to note that we are calling on the members of the Transitional Government to deal with their own internal matters. There needs to be a stable government there, and they need to deal with their own differences, because the Somali people deserve that. Finally, we talked about the security situation. We very much respect and support AMISOM, the AU force, for what they are doing. And the United States has been a big supporter. We've trained helped with training and logistics and financial support. But we believe that a proper UN peacekeeping force, as is called for by the African Union, is a necessity here. While AMISOM is doing very good work and we will continue to support it, we have a history with voluntary contributions and voluntary training that, with a situation as urgent as the one in Somalia, we actually have an apparatus within the United Nations that can deal with that kind of situation. And so the United States believes strongly that we ought to have a Security Council resolution as soon as possible. In fact, we believe that by the end of the year we should try and have such a Security Council resolution. And so we'll take that matter up separately. It was not something that we took up today. We are still in consultations. QUESTION: Madame Secretary? SECRETARY RICE: Yes. QUESTION: Over the last 24 hours, there's been another two hijackings off the coast of Somalia. I'd like to get your reaction to that. And also, do you see the eventuality of U.S. troops going ashore in Somalia to catch the pirates? SECRETARY RICE: Well, I don't want to take a kind of speculative look at this. I think it's better not to comment in theory. We the United States is a part of an international effort. We do have naval forces that have been involved in this effort. What this does, though, is to authorize that the sea the boundary of the maritime cannot become a safe haven boundary for pirates. And so what we do or do not do in issues like hot pursuit or so forth, I think we'll have to see and you'll have to take it case by case. So I don't want to commit in a speculative way or in a hypothetical way to anything for the United States. But again, the authorization was a very important authorization. As to the two incidents that have taken place, I think it just shows the increasing problem that this is. The pirates are a threat to commerce. They are a threat to security. And perhaps most importantly, they are a threat to the principle of freedom of navigation on the seas. QUESTION: Madame Secretary? SECRETARY RICE: Yes. QUESTION: On the Six-Party Talks, the last round of meetings last week ended with no new declaration from North Korea. How do you leave this to your successors, and how do you respond to those who say that this has been a failure? SECRETARY RICE: Well, we leave in place first of all, we are going to continue to work on it until the very last day. But we leave in place a Six-Party framework in which at least five parties are completely agreed as to what the verification mechanism has to look like. I might just note that we have an agreement with the North Koreans about a verification protocol, but there were a number of issues that had to be clarified in order to make sure that that verification protocol was going to be workable. And those assurances were given to us by the North Koreans. We, in fact, reported those assurances to the Chinese chair before this Six-Party round took place. And what happened in Beijing was that the North Koreans at the at this last session wouldn't write them down. And at some point, those assurances are going to have to be written down. But there is, in fact, a verification protocol and a set of assurances that the five are agreed to and that the North Koreans, at least privately, before we lifted the terrorist designation, had also agreed to. And so we'll just have to work through this. I might note, too, that the disabling first, the shutdown of the reactor and then the disabling of the reactor has been an important step forward in dealing with the plutonium program. But we have a lot of questions about the highly enriched uranium route for North Korea. We have a lot of questions about proliferation. And we believe that the mechanism of the Six Parties and an associated verification protocol will be the best way to resolve those questions and to get to the bottom of the entire nature of the North Korean program. And I just might note, too, that the September 19th agreement of a couple of years ago lays out a path for the completely denuclearization of North Korea and of the Korean Peninsula, and that agreement is an agreement among the Six Parties. So I think we leave a pretty good framework, but we'll continue to see if we can get the North Koreans to write down the assurances that they gave us. QUESTION: Secretary Rice? SECRETARY RICE: Let me take this gentleman right here. QUESTION: Two things, Madame Secretary. First of all, military a U.S. military commander in the area has expressed reservations about going ashore, so I'm wondering if that means that the resolution lacks teeth and if there is a disagreement between the State Department and the Pentagon on the use of force. SECRETARY RICE: I wouldn't be I would not be here seeking authorization to go ashore if the United States Government, perhaps most importantly the President of the United States, were not behind this resolution. And therefore, any voices about this are voices that need to be understood in the context that I was sent here to get authorization to go ashore so that we did not create a dividing line that was a maritime-to-land sanctuary for the pirates. And that is a position that is supported by the United States Government as a whole. This gentleman has-- QUESTION: The Secretary General said that he approached 50 countries, through organizations, I believe, asking for troops and he couldn't get them. So I know that you were a little bit critical in saying that there should be some mechanism put in place to sort of force that issue. But if you can't get the countries to contribute troops, how do you -- SECRETARY RICE: The issue here is that, first of all, there is a force on the ground, the AMISOM force; and one of the possibilities is to blue-hat the to rehab the AMISOM force and to add forces to it, and there are a number of countries that have expressed their willingness to consider being a part of such a force. I don't think that one is going to raise a large multinational force of countries from all over the world for Somalia, but the African countries have expressed a lot of interest in doing what they can in Somalia and they've also expressed their through the AU the need for a UN peacekeeping force. And the Africans the African representatives here, including South Africa, spoke in favor of a peacekeeping force. QUESTION: Secretary Rice, would the U.S. commit troops to a UN peacekeeping force, and do you know if Barack Obama supports your push for a UN peacekeeping force? SECRETARY RICE: Well, the President of the United States is the President of the United States, and we are seeking this and we believe that this is the best answer. I do know that no American administration is going to want to see chaos in Somalia. We've been there, we've done that; it didn't look very good. And finally, the Somalis actually have a legitimate process underway that needs to be supported. Now, I want to emphasize again, we did not seek a peacekeeping force today. The purpose of today was to deal with the piracy issue, and we're going to continue consultations. But we cannot get into a situation in which a security vacuum is left in Somalia and all of the good work of Djibouti is undone and we go back to two years ago, prior to the Ethiopian offensive. That would not be a good circumstance to find ourselves in. And I really don't imagine American forces being a part of a peacekeeping operation. American forces are pretty busy these days. Yeah. QUESTION: Madame Secretary, I wonder if we could get you to look more philosophically at diplomacy at the end of 2008 going into 2009 after your eight years in the government, and to see in a new world that is not unipolar, not multipolar, what we can what lessons we can draw out of especially today's discussion about Somalia and a piracy issue, kind of in the spirit of your friend Alexander Downer, who liked to say that the Owl of Minerva takes flight at dusk. At the dusk, what do you reflect on? SECRETARY RICE: (Laughter.) Well, let's see. Is it dusk yet? Midnight. In any case, I think that the United States, under President Bush, has actually used the mechanisms and the councils of the United Nations more than they've been used maybe ever, whether it is insisting that Security Council resolutions that have been passed be respected, whether it is seeking to deal with human rights and tyranny cases like Zimbabwe or Burma, whether it is the kind of really remarkable day that we've had today where we've had one resolution that was sponsored by the United States and Russia on the Middle East, something that I think might not have been foreseeable just a very short period of time. And I think, by the way, that is a product of the last several years of diplomacy on the Middle East that really have brought the international community to a joint understanding and strategy of what needs to be done to achieve the two-state solution that Bush outlined. That's why Russia and the United States were able to sponsor this. And then finally, this piracy case, it's a kind of interesting story because we were down at the APEC, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Council, and the President and I talked to half a dozen leaders down there, including President Hu Jintao, President Medvedev, and others, and we got such strong and resounding agreement that somehow, even though the international community had already gotten very strong authorities on piracy, we didn't seem to be coordinated; people didn't seem to know, we weren't sending a deterrent message to the pirates through our unity. And this has been a remarkable process of getting a very strong, unanimous resolution on a common threat. And so I'm very proud of the multilateral diplomacy that we've been able to do and that the President has been able to support. It's been a good couple days at the UN. Yes. QUESTION: Following up on your answer, you said the U.S. has been sure that UN sanctions, et cetera, are followed. Is Pakistan following the UN Security Council's ban on the Jamaat? The Foreign Minister just said this weekend that charitable organizations of the Jamaat-ul-Dawa will not be closed down. Is this a violation of international cooperation? SECRETARY RICE: Well, the Pakistan is going to have to untangle a difficult circumstance with the Jamaat-ul-Dawa they are because I understand that there are so-called charitable activities. But we learned the United States learned the hard way that sometimes these are too intertwined with organizations that have terrorist ties and that have just been designated here. And so we will be pressing all member-states to adhere completely and to the letter of the designations that the United Nations has taken. And because I know the Pakistani Government to be a government that wants to deal in good faith with the world it's a new civilian government that is a legitimate government that wants very much to be respected in international politics and, by the way, wants to deal with the terrorism problem that is itself having dire consequences in Pakistan I expect that there will be great will be cooperation. QUESTION: (Inaudible.) SECRETARY RICE: We're continuing to pursue it the 123 agreement. We're continuing to pursue it. Yes. QUESTION: On Somalia -- SECRETARY RICE: Yes. QUESTION: Does the U.S. favor imposing sanctions on Eritrea for its role in the internal conflict? And with the president now firing the prime minister, who is actually authorized in Somalia to authorize this? SECRETARY RICE: Well, look, first of all, we believe that the prime minister of Somalia can only be relieved by the parliament, and therefore we recognize him. And we've made that clear to the president of Somalia. Secondly, they need to work together. They have too many problems to be involved in these kinds of spats. I mean, the people of Somalia deserve better than this. And I just sat in a session in which the international community pledged all kinds of support to Somalia, all kinds of help to Somalia. Whether we agree or disagree among ourselves about exactly what kind of force can bring security, everybody in there wants to see security for Somalia, wants to see the Djibouti process work. The least that the leaders of Somalia can do is be equally committed to that cause, and we're sending that message very strongly. As to Eritrea, we will examine it. We do believe that there are difficulties being caused by the policies of Eritrea, and we'll look at what actions we should take. Thank you very much. Thank you. QUESTION: (Inaudible) does this resolution mean that-- SECRETARY RICE: Thank you. QUESTION: -- you can intervene militarily in Somalia? SECRETARY RICE: We there is a very there is a very clear, longstanding understanding in international politics about the role of UN Security Council resolutions in this regard, and the fact that it is the Transitional Federal Government that is desirous of not having their territory used for safe haven for pirates. And so that is what has just taken place here in the Council. Thank you very much. Complete text of Resolution 1851 (Passed on December 16, 2008) http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/sc9541.doc.htm The Security Council met today to consider the situation in Somalia. It had before it a draft resolution (document S/2008/789), sponsored by Belgium, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Liberia, Panama, Republic of Korea and the United States, which reads, as follows: "The Security Council, "Recalling its previous resolutions concerning the situation in Somalia, especially resolutions 1814 (2008), 1816 (2008), 1838 (2008), 1844 (2008), and 1846 (2008), "Continuing to be gravely concerned by the dramatic increase in the incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia in the last six months, and by the threat that piracy and armed robbery at sea against vessels pose to the prompt, safe and effective delivery of humanitarian aid to Somalia, and noting that pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia have become more sophisticated and daring and have expanded in their geographic scope, notably evidenced by the hijacking of the M/V Sirius Star 500 nautical miles off the coast of Kenya and subsequent unsuccessful attempts well east of Tanzania, "Reaffirming its respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and unity of Somalia, including Somalia's rights with respect to offshore natural resources, including fisheries, in accordance with international law, "Further reaffirming that international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 (UNCLOS), sets out the legal framework applicable to combating piracy and armed robbery at sea, as well as other ocean activities, "Again taking into account the crisis situation in Somalia, and the lack of capacity of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to interdict, or upon interdiction to prosecute pirates or to patrol and secure the waters off the coast of Somalia, including the international sea lanes and Somalia's territorial waters, "Noting the several requests from the TFG for international assistance to counter piracy off its coast, including the letter of 9 December 2008 from the President of Somalia requesting the international community to assist the TFG in taking all necessary measures to interdict those who use Somali territory and airspace to plan, facilitate or undertake acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, and the 1 September 2008 letter from the President of Somalia to the Secretary-General of the UN expressing the appreciation of the TFG to the Security Council for its assistance and expressing the TFG's willingness to consider working with other States and regional organizations to combat piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia, "Welcoming the launching of the EU operation Atalanta to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia and to protect vulnerable ships bound for Somalia, as well as the efforts by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and other States acting in a national capacity in cooperation with the TFG to suppress piracy off the coast of Somalia, "Also welcoming the recent initiatives of the Governments of Egypt, Kenya, and the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to achieve effective measures to remedy the causes, capabilities, and incidents of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia, and emphasizing the need for current and future counter-piracy operations to effectively coordinate their activities, "Noting with concern that the lack of capacity, domestic legislation, and clarity about how to dispose of pirates after their capture, has hindered more robust international action against the pirates off the coast of Somalia and in some cases led to pirates being released without facing justice, and reiterating that the 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation ("SUA Convention") provides for parties to create criminal offences, establish jurisdiction, and accept delivery of persons responsible for or suspected of seizing or exercising control over a ship by force or threat thereof or any other form of intimidation, "Welcoming the report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia of 20 November 2008 (S/2008/769), and noting the role piracy may play in financing embargo violations by armed groups, "Determining that the incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea in the waters off the coast of Somalia exacerbate the situation in Somalia which continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security in the region, "Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, "1. Reiterates that it condemns and deplores all acts of piracy and armed robbery against vessels in waters off the coast of Somalia; "2. Calls upon States, regional and international organizations that have the capacity to do so, to take part actively in the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, in particular, consistent with this resolution, resolution 1846 (2008), and international law, by deploying naval vessels and military aircraft and through seizure and disposition of boats, vessels, arms and other related equipment used in the commission of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, or for which there are reasonable grounds for suspecting such use; "3. Invites all States and regional organizations fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia to conclude special agreements or arrangements with countries willing to take custody of pirates in order to embark law enforcement officials ("shipriders") from the latter countries, in particular countries in the region, to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of persons detained as a result of operations conducted under this resolution for acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, provided that the advance consent of the TFG is obtained for the exercise of third state jurisdiction by shipriders in Somali territorial waters and that such agreements or arrangements do not prejudice the effective implementation of the SUA Convention; "4. Encourages all States and regional organizations fighting piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia to establish an international cooperation mechanism to act as a common point of contact between and among states, regional and international organizations on all aspects of combating piracy and armed robbery at sea off Somalia's coast; and recalls that future recommendations on ways to ensure the long-term security of international navigation off the coast of Somalia, including the long-term security of WFP maritime deliveries to Somalia and a possible coordination and leadership role for the United Nations in this regard to rally Member States and regional organizations to counter piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia are to be detailed in a report by the Secretary-General no later than three months after the adoption of resolution 1846; "5. Further encourages all states and regional organizations fighting piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia to consider creating a centre in the region to coordinate information relevant to piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, to increase regional capacity with assistance of UNODC to arrange effective shiprider agreements or arrangements consistent with UNCLOS and to implement the SUA Convention, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and other relevant instruments to which States in the region are party, in order to effectively investigate and prosecute piracy and armed robbery at sea offences; "6. In response to the letter from the TFG of 9 December 2008, encourages Member States to continue to cooperate with the TFG in the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea, notes the primary role of the TFG in rooting out piracy and armed robbery at sea, and decides that for a period of twelve months from the date of adoption of resolution 1846, States and regional organizations cooperating in the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia for which advance notification has been provided by the TFG to the Secretary-General may undertake all necessary measures that are appropriate in Somalia, for the purpose of suppressing acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, pursuant to the request of the TFG, provided, however, that any measures undertaken pursuant to the authority of this paragraph shall be undertaken consistent with applicable international humanitarian and human rights law; "7. Calls on Member States to assist the TFG, at its request and with notification to the Secretary-General, to strengthen its operational capacity to bring to justice those who are using Somali territory to plan, facilitate or undertake criminal acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, and stresses that any measures undertaken pursuant to this paragraph shall be consistent with applicable international human rights law; "8. Welcomes the communiquu issued by the International Conference on Piracy around Somalia held in Nairobi, Kenya, on 11 December 2008 and encourages Member States to work to enhance the capacity of relevant states in the region to combat piracy, including judicial capacity; "9. Notes with concern the findings contained in the 20 November 2008 report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia that escalating ransom payments are fuelling the growth of piracy in waters off the coast of Somalia, and that the lack of enforcement of the arms embargo established by resolution 733 (1992) has permitted ready access to the arms and ammunition used by the pirates and driven in part the phenomenal growth in piracy; "10. Affirms that the authorization provided in this resolution apply only with respect to the situation in Somalia and shall not affect the rights or obligations or responsibilities of Member States under international law, including any rights or obligations under UNCLOS, with respect to any other situation, and underscores in particular that this resolution shall not be considered as establishing customary international law, and affirms further that such authorizations have been provided only following the receipt of the 9 December 2008 letter conveying the consent of the TFG; "11. Affirms that the measures imposed by paragraph 5 of resolution 733 (1992) and further elaborated upon by paragraphs 1 and 2 or resolution 1425 (2002) shall not apply to weapons and military equipment destined for the sole use of Member States and regional organizations undertaking measures in accordance with paragraph 6 above; "12. Urges States in collaboration with the shipping and insurance industries, and the IMO to continue to develop avoidance, evasion, and defensive best practices and advisories to take when under attack or when sailing in waters off the coast of Somalia, and further urges States to make their citizens and vessels available for forensic investigation as appropriate at the first port of call immediately following an act or attempted act of piracy or armed robbery at sea or release from captivity; "13. Decides to remain seized of the matter."