UN General Assembly
2006

Somalia hijacked merchant ships in international waters off the coast of Somalia. It was only after protracted negotiations that included use of Kenyan intelligence that the merchant seamen from South Korea and China were released safely to their families. I recount this story of merchant seamen so that all of us in the international community should appreciate that the Somali phenomenon, with no Government in place, is a danger not just to neighbouring countries, but to the whole world. As criminal elements establish their safe enclaves in a country like Somalia, the neighbouring countries and the international community are soon forced to intervene, even militarily, to free hostages, to hunt terrorists or to flush out rebels. In the new global village, we are all neighbours of Somalia. As a front-line State to that country in crisis, we have participated in negotiations to free hostages. We have cooperated in attempts to arrest criminal elements. We continue to host close to a million refugees. We provide life-saving support in terms of medical facilities and supplies. But above all,