Piracy and Social Justice: A Catholic View

Despite being a $16 Billion a year problem, modern piracy doesn’t dominate news headlines. But neither does issues like child soldiers in Sudan or human rights in the Dominican Republic. Never the less, piracy is an important issue that is a result of poverty or extreme political or social instability in countries such as Somalia, Nigeria, Bangladesh or Indonesia.

The main hotspot for piracy in the world today is Somalia. Since the 2000 Somali Transitional Government came to power, the rise of pirate attacks has increased dramatically causing the United Nations Security Council to pass resolution 1838 on October the 7th 2008. It states: Gravely concerned by the recent proliferation of acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea against vessels off the coast of Somalia, and by the serious threat it poses to the prompt, safe and effective delivery of humanitarian aid to Somalia, to international navigation and the safety of commercial maritime routes, and to fishing activities conducted in conformity with international law, Noting with concern also that increasingly violent acts of piracy are carried out with heavier weaponry, in a larger area off the coast of Somalia, using long-range assets such as mother ships, and demonstrating more sophisticated organization and methods of attack. In this resolution, the UN sanctioned multinational naval presence from 12 nautical miles off Somalia to the Gulf of Arden and to charge any captures crew members of pirate vessels with being “Hostis Humanu Generis” (Enemies of Humanity) which in most country’s carry’s a life imprisonment sentence. This official United Nations response to the issue of piracy highlights the severity of modern piracy and the effect poverty can have.

Pirates in the modern day don’t fit the traditional image of rebellious teams of sailors who operated outside the restricting realm of the law. In reality, most pirates today don’t become fabulously wealthy. They eat poorly and die young. They are often forced into piracy because of their extreme poverty.

The Catholic Church historically has crusaded against poverty. The eradication of poverty was one of John Paul II’s main goals. On May the 1st 2000, at the Homily at the Jubilee of Workers, John Paul II stated in his address “Extreme poverty is perhaps the most pervasive and paralysing form of violation of human rights in our world”