Friday, October 28, 2011
Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd on Friday used a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) forum on Indian Ocean piracy to announce the conference to be hosted in Perth in 2012.
Piracy has surged this year, with Somali pirates in particular stepping up their attacks despite increased efforts to curb them.
As at early October, an estimated 316 people from 15 vessels were being held hostage by pirates.
The Perth conference will explore ways to help Somalia and other affected countries address the drivers of piracy.
"Piracy off the Horn of Africa has seen murders and hundreds of seafarers taken hostage," Mr Rudd said in a statement.
"Piracy has also increased the costs of international trade and done enormous harm to regional countries' fishing and tourist industries."
Mr Rudd's announcement comes just days after the United Nations Security Council urged all UN member states to make piracy a crime.
"More must be done to prosecute, convict and imprison pirates," Mr Rudd said.