WASHINGTON (AFP) - Representatives of 24 nations will meet next month in New York to look at legal measures in the fight against piracy off Somalia, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday.

Clinton said the United States wanted to "seek more effective ways to hold these pirates criminally responsible for their actions, which threaten not only the lives of merchant seamen, but the security of critical maritime routes."

"There will be, at our request, a meeting of the International Piracy Contact Group in New York City in early May," she told reporters.

"We're going to have to determine the best way to bring pirates to justice after they're captured," she said as she met Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen.

The contact group met for the first time in January. It consists of 24 nations including the regional players along with the African Union, European Union, NATO and United Nations.

Clinton's predecessor, Condoleezza Rice, had called for the contact group to share intelligence and coordinate activities in the absence of an effective government in Somalia, which has lacked central authority for nearly two decades.

The new US administration has pledged to step up the fight against pirates from Somalia after a US cargo ship was seized earlier this month.

US Navy snipers ended the standoff by rescuing captain Richard Phillips and shooting dead three pirates. US forces captured a four pirate, a teenager, who will reportedly go on trial in New York.

US government agencies met on Friday to formulate a common response to piracy after Clinton called for more drastic action against pirates, including seizing their assets or hauling them to court.

Piracy is expected to be a key issue when donors to Somalia meet on Thursday in Brussels.

AFP, April 21, 2009