Children and Youth in Marine Piracy: Causes, Consequences and the Way Forward
According to the Failed States Index Data 2011, created by the Fund for Peace Organization, 6 countries most affected by piratical activity fall within the top 15 most fragile states. This includes Somalia, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Pakistan, Yemen and Nigeria. Piracy is not the main factor as to why these countries are fragile, at the same time, not all fragile littoral states have marine piracy. However, this does demonstrate the importance of looking at the broader social, political and economic environment that enables piracy. Understanding the human factors associated with piracy activity and the root causes is critical to the development of solutions to address piracy.
The Dalhousie Marine Piracy Project (DMPP) has undertaken such an integrated and interdisciplinary approach to addressing the problem of contemporary piracy and its impact on the shipping and coastal communities. In so doing, it comprehensively examined the four interdependent themes of Law and Governance, Socio-Economic, Operational Responses, and Information Management; assessed current literature on the topic of contemporary marine piracy; and, through analysis of that work, highlighted potential areas for policy development and implementation.