STRATEGIES TO COMBAT PIRACY IN EASTERN AFRICA

This concept note outlines a proposed workshop organized by the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO), Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) to develop a regional response strategy for law enforcement agents to combat piracy in Eastern Africa.

• Piracy activity in the Gulf of Aden and off the East coast of Somalia increased in 2009 compared to 2008. Total attempted attacks rose from 111 in 2008 to 114 in 2009, and attacks specifically off the east coast of Somalia increased from 19 in 2008 to 43 in 2009. The number of vessels fired upon in these regions rose from 39 in 2008 to 54 in 2009.
• While 815 crew members were taken hostage in 2008, the number for 2009 had already reached 478 at the time of the report.
• Despite United Nations Security Council resolutions in 2008 allowing warships from the US, China, India, Japan, NATO, and the EU to enter Somali waters, the presence of these navies does not appear to have deterred pirates.
• Several factors are cited as contributing to regional piracy: political instability in the Horn of Africa, the failure of the Somalia Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and other administrative units to control their territories, the payment of ransoms, poorly coordinated military responses, and legal difficulties in prosecuting pirates.
• A workshop scheduled for June 29-30, 2009, in Mombasa, Kenya, aims to bring together approximately 35 participants from Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Seychelles, Sudan, and Tanzania to discuss the nature of piracy, legal constraints, and the potential creation of a regional piracy response centre.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2009). STRATEGIES TO COMBAT PIRACY IN EASTERN AFRICA. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PIRATECONCEPTJUN09.PDF

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. STRATEGIES TO COMBAT PIRACY IN EASTERN AFRICA. 2009. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PIRATECONCEPTJUN09.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=STRATEGIES TO COMBAT PIRACY IN EASTERN AFRICA |date=2009 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PIRATECONCEPTJUN09.PDF |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2009strategies, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{STRATEGIES TO COMBAT PIRACY IN EASTERN AFRICA}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2009}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PIRATECONCEPTJUN09.PDF}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }