Contact Group On Piracy Might Be Extended To Include Gulf Of Guinea - Russian Envoy To UN

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th June, 2019) The geographic mandate of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) might be broadened to combat piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy said during UN Security Council consultations on the situation in the Central African region.

"Our country has had a positive experience in international efforts to fight piracy in the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean as part of the Contact Group on this fight off the coast of Somalia. We hope that this experience might be useful for resolving similar issues in the Gulf of Guinea, including in the context of possibly broadening the geographic mandate of the Contact Group to include the Gulf of Guinea," Polyanskiy said on Tuesday.

Polyanskiy pointed out that piracy in the Gulf of Guinea is one of the critical factors of the instability in the Central African region.

"Raids and attacks on international vessels [are continuing], including when Russian sailors were taken hostage," Polyanskiy said.

The CGPCS was established in 2009 in response to a UNSC resolution urging countries to criminalize piracy under their national laws. It represents an international mechanism to facilitate states' communication on the fight against Somali piracy.