Adopting a new resolution, the 15-nation Council stressed the need for UN Member States to engage in a "comprehensive response to repress piracy" and tackle its underlying causes, while also calling on the global community to "take part in the fight against piracy and armed robbery" by providing a consistent military presence to the region.
The Council expressed grave concern over piracy off the coast of Somalia despite a sharp decline in attacks and through the resolution renewed for another year authorisations, first agreed in 2008, for international action to fight the crime near Somali waters in cooperation with government authorities.
It also expressed concern by the extended range of the piracy threat into the western Indian Ocean and adjacent sea areas and increased pirate capacities.
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The Council renewed its call upon states and regional organizations to take part in the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, by deploying military assets and providing basing and logistical support for counter-piracy forces and by seizing and disposing off boats, vessels, arms, and other related equipment used for piracy and armed robbery at sea.
It also called upon member states to cooperate on the issue of hostage taking and the prosecution of suspected pirates for taking hostages.
The total cost to the global economy caused by piracy is estimated at about USD 18 billion a year in increased trade costs, as well as a significant decline in tourist arrivals and fishing yields since 2006.
In addition, pirates off the coast of Somalia and the Horn of Africa have made between USD 339 million and USD 413 million in ransom profits over the past seven years, according to a 2013 analysis published by the UNODC, World Bank and Interpol.