A/HRC/13/65 page 16 ransom, who see this as a lucrative industry compared to spending many weeks at sea in search of fish. With poor or no Government patrolling, the Somali coast is today home to heavily armed pirates who capture maritime fleets or fishing boats for ransom. 61. The effect of piracy and the income it generates on a pastoralist society such as Somalia can be well imagined. In a society where the weight of tradition is used to regulate social life, piracy is helping to destroy social structures. Pirates who earn a lot of money are playing an increased role in the society that has led, inter alia, to trafficking in persons, in particular of women and young girls. The pirates’ connections with the clan system undermine the efforts of the local authorities to hold them accountable. Advocacy activities engaging community leaders, traditional elders and Islamic scholars to prevent new recruitment and convince pirates to engage in a normal social reintegration have been undertaken by the Government. More than 200 pirates have been arrested and 21 boats, 8 vehicles and large quantity of arms and ammunitions confiscated from pirates. The Puntland authorities have managed to free hostages and repossess fishing boats captured by the pirates belonging to neighbouring Yemeni and Omani fishermen. The political will of Puntland is not sufficient to fight against the phenomenon unless the international community is committed to dealing with the realities on the ground, including the protection of the right to Somalis to fish freely in their water and develop accountability mechanisms against foreign vessels dumping toxic and nuclear wastes in Somali waters. 62. With regard to human trafficking, thousands of Somali teenagers flee war and chaos in south-central Somalia and sail to Yemen, where officials who have long welcomed Somali refugees are now concerned that extremist elements could find growing Somali refugee camps in Yemen a fertile ground for recruiting and human trafficking. Human smuggling is thus a major concern for the Puntland authorities. It is attracting vulnerable IDPs and illegal migrants from Ethiopia and Eritrea to choose this path. 63. The independent expert was pleased to learn from his meeting with Abdi Yasin, the Deputy Minister of Interior of Puntland, whom he met separately in Bossaso, that the latter had not only read the expert’s most recent report to the Human Rights Council, but also taken action to deal with the concern the expert had expressed therein about the terrible detention conditions of the central prison in Garowe, in particular keeping prisoners in shackles. Concerning IDPs, he informed the expert that young pastoralists who once used to walk long distances behind their camels in the vast pastures of Somalia were now playing with millions of US dollars generated by piracy. The consequence of this on Somali society is a matter for serious reflection by all concerned. B. General comments on the human rights situation in Puntland 64. It appears to the independent expert that the Government of Puntland has made some significant achievements in reorganizing police and security forces and shown its commitment to rule of law and democracy. However, a continuous influx of new arrivals of IDPs from the south-central region, piracy and human trafficking are challenging the stability of Puntland. Whatever the reason, the high-handedness of Government’s response to what it considers to be threats emanating from Islamist infiltrators coming from the south remain a matter of concern. There have been reports of arrest/harassment of IDPs, refugees, asylum-seekers, journalists and those involved in the media.