Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 19: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position in Somalia; and the position of aid and media workers in particular. [15379/09]

Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 23: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the safety and security of shipping lanes off the coast of the Horn of Africa, particularly in view of the EU's first mission of naval cooperation. [15386/09]

Ulick Burke (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 47: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the increase in piracy off the coast of Somalia and the implications for the distribution of aid to the region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15856/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 19, 23 and 47 together. I am very concerned by the situation in Somalia, which has been without an effective government since 1991. Since it was established in 2004, the UN-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has made little headway in establishing effective control over the country's territory and restoring peace and security. Continuous instability and conflict, as well as deepening drought, have caused a huge humanitarian crisis. The number of people dependent on international aid almost doubled in the course of 2008 and now stands at more than three million.

A change of leadership at the head of the TFG in January 2009 has been welcomed as a potentially positive step in Somalia's decades-long political crisis. With this political progress has come some slight alleviation of the humanitarian situation; so far this year, 60,000 displaced persons have returned to the capital Mogadishu. The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Mogadishu, which had been closed since July 2008, has now reopened. However, instability in other areas of Somalia continues to cause new displacements. A change of leadership at the head of the TFG in January 2009 has been welcomed as a potentially positive step in Somalia's decades-long political crisis. With this political progress has come some slight alleviation of the humanitarian situation; so far this year, 60,000 displaced persons have returned to the capital Mogadishu. The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Mogadishu, which had been closed since July 2008, has now reopened. However, instability in other areas of Somalia continues to cause new displacements. The new administration faces enormous challenges, not least the fact that it controls little of the country's territory, and that some significant armed groups remain opposed to the President.

Despite this recent progress, Somalia remains one of the most dangerous environments in the world for humanitarian workers, who face random violence, kidnapping, extortion, landmines and banditry. Most international agencies base their operations in neighbouring Kenya, with only occasional visits to Somalia, as it is too dangerous to operate full time in-country. Even so, two international aid workers visiting Somalia from Kenya were kidnapped as recently as 19 April. Of course, it is the Somali people who suffer most from the lack of an effective system of law enforcement or justice – whether they are aid workers trying to help their fellow citizens, human rights defenders or journalists who may have offended one of the many armed groups, or ordinary people just trying to survive.

The absence of any effective law enforcement has also allowed crimes such as piracy to flourish unchecked off the Somali coast. The waters around the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden are the most dangerous in the world for piracy. In 2008, this region accounted for 37% of all global incidents reported to the International Maritime Bureau. The area affected covers more than 2 million square miles and more than 24,000 ships pass through the Gulf of Aden in a year.

Piracy off the Somali coast threatens the delivery of assistance, with many people dependent on the World Food Programme's maritime supply line for food aid. Furthermore, the threat of attacks on ships headed for Mombasa in Kenya presents a significant danger, since Mombasa port is essential to humanitarian operations in Somalia and the wider region. The EU's first ever naval ESDP mission, EUNAVFOR Somalia, is playing its part in international efforts to combat piracy, including facilitating the escort of World Food Program (WFP) ships into Mogadishu. The EU operation is designed to improve safety at sea, accompanying ships of the WFP and monitoring territorial waters. Its activities have resulted in a significant decrease in incidents of piracy and are an ongoing contribution to the free use of the seas in this zone.

Ultimately, both the piracy problem and the insecurity, poverty and humanitarian crisis which affect Somalis are consequences of the fact that Somalia remains a failed state. The only long-term solution would be the restoration of effective government, and the gradual building up of adequate justice and policing systems. The EU is strongly supportive of efforts to restore peace to Somalia, and is the largest humanitarian donor to the country. But peace cannot be enforced from outside, and the Somali people themselves must find a solution. The new President has made a good start by reaching out to all parties and by his openness to dialogue, and I very much hope that his efforts will be rewarded with success.