The council voted unanimously for a Russian drafted resolution to step up the international battle against the growing threat from piracy off the Somali coast.

The pirates are currently holding dozens of vessels and hundreds of hostages. An international navy is trying to battle the scourge in the Indian Ocean. One of the key elements of the new resolution calls for courts to try pirates in a third country outside of Somalia.

The resolution said the council "decides to urgently consider the establishment of specialized Somali courts to try suspected pirates both in Somalia and in the region, including an extra-territorial Somali specialized anti-piracy court."

Russia's UN envoy, Vitaly Churkin, called the courts "the first practical step in the direction of setting up an effective judicial mechanism, one capable of a credible reliable solution to the problem of bringing pirates to justice."

France's envoy Gerard Araud called resolution 1976 "a considerable and concrete" step forward in the battle against piracy off the Somali coast.

AFP