The Foreign Service Journal, June 2009

Rights Initiative, a nongovernmental organization that believes states should be legally obligated to protect non-con- flict IDPs under such circumstances. IRRI acknowledges that the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 pro- tocol do not mandate such protection, but points to a new, binding protocol that has come into force in the Great Lakes region of Africa: the Interna- tional Conference of the Great Lakes’ Protocol on the Protection and Assis- tance to Interally Displaced Persons ( www.refugee-rights.org/Publica tions/RRN/2009/February/V5.I1. CanTheICGLR.html ). The protocol addressing the Bujagali Dam Project and establishment of the Bwindi Im- penetrable National Park in Uganda may be a model for wider international adoption, as well. — Betsy Swift, AFSA Intern, and Senior Editor Susan B. Maitra The Somali Piracy Poser Until recently, the idea of pirates in the 21st century sounded outlandish. But the issue forced itself onto the U.S. foreign policy agenda in April, when Somali pirates took over the Maersk Alabama , holding Captain Richard Phillips hostage. After five days, U.S. Navy Seals brought the drama to an end, freeing the captain, capturing one pirate and killing the rest. On April 15, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced a series of initiatives to combat the prob- lem, including the formation of a State Department team to press Somali gov- ernment officials to act against pirates on land, work with international peace- keeping circles to help the county po- lice its own territory, and assist the shipping industry with implementing self-defense measures. An interna- tional contact group will also meet reg- ularly to improve coordination of naval patrols in the region and explore freez- ing pirate assets ( www.state.gov/sec retary/rm/2009a/04/121758.htm ). At this writing, Somali pirates were holding some 16 ships and more than 250 seamen (none American) for ran- som. According to the Malaysia-based International Maritime Bureau, such attacks off the coast of Somalia in- creased tenfold during the first three months of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008, and are continuing at the rate of two to three per week. The vast geographic area involved makes policing very difficult, if not im- possible. Five naval ships, both Amer- ican and others, are currently on counterpiracy missions in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean regions. The European Union, which launched a naval operation in December with at least 12 of the 27-member states, has four to eight warships deployed in the region and is seeking more spotter J U N E 2 0 0 9 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 11 C Y B E R N O T E S 50 Years Ago... T oday, whether or not he aspires to be a deputy chief of mission, every officer of the Foreign Service should, in the course of his career, become acquainted with as many of the tools of his trade as possible. One of these accepted tools is now cultural exchange. — Donald Edgar, from “Cultural Exchange and the Foreign Service Officer,” in the FSJ , June 1959.