UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Italy stresses its commitment to working together with its partners, especially African countries, in fighting transnational organized crime at sea, an Italian diplomat said Tuesday.
Speaking at the Security Council debate on "Transnational Organized Crime at Sea as a Threat to International Peace and Security", Stefano Stefanile, deputy permanent representative of Italy to the United Nations, said transnational organized crime at sea is a serious threat to international security, and international and regional cooperation are indispensable to tackle this scourge in all its multiple dimensions, including trafficking of persons, weapons, drugs and cultural artifacts.
"Maritime security is a priority interest of Italy and we are deeply involved in fostering security and supporting the development of related capabilities of partner countries, particularly in Africa," Stefanile said.
There is indeed a clear need for comprehensive capacity-building assistance to African countries in areas such as maritime governance, coast guard authorities and functions, disaster relief, maritime search and rescue, and maritime information sharing and integration. At the same time, efforts are also required to improve legislative, judicial and prosecutorial capacities, the Italian diplomat said.
The development of a sustainable maritime economy is also essential in order to effectively counter transnational organized crime at sea, he said.
Among the various forms of organized crime at sea, the trafficking of persons is a particular heinous crime that the entire international community is called to fight against, he said.
The Italian diplomat said actions to be taken to disrupt criminal networks which take advantage of migrants, promote development and capacity building in countries of departure and transit, address the root causes, thus preventing the smuggling of migrants and the trafficking of persons at sea and create sustainable mechanisms that ensure a much needed shared responsibility among countries receiving migrants.
This is what Italy has done in the past two years through its "Africa Fund", from which considerable resources were used to assist African countries in dealing with migration flows, he said.
Italy actively participates in important counterpiracy operations, the Italian diplomat said. In the Horn of Africa, Italy has been participating in operation EU-NAV-FOR "Atalanta" since its inception, continuously providing one or two naval assets, including the flagship.
In the Gulf of Guinea, the recent activity of an Italian Navy ship announced the start of new capacity building and cooperation programs with national authorities from within the region, he said.
