US State Department
Press release
Friday, July 19, 2013
The Contact
Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia was created on
January 14, 2009 pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution
1851. This voluntary ad hoc international forum
brings together over 80 countries, organizations, and
industry groups with a shared interest in combating piracy.
Chaired in 2013 by the United States, the Contact Group
coordinates political, military, and non-governmental
efforts to tackle piracy off the coast of Somalia, ensure
that pirates are brought to justice, and support regional
states to develop sustainable maritime security
capabilities. The European Union will assume the
chairmanship in 2014.Through its five thematic working
groups, the Contact Group draws on a wide range of
international expertise and adopts a problem-solving
approach to piracy, working closely with Somali officials
from the central government and regional administrations and
officials in Indian Ocean States. Working Group 1, chaired
by the United Kingdom, focuses on operational naval
coordination, information sharing, and capacity building;
Working Group 2, chaired by Denmark, addresses legal and
judicial issues; Working Group 3, chaired by the Republic of
Korea, works closely with the shipping industry to enhance
awareness and build capabilities among seafarers transiting
the region; Working Group 4, chaired by Egypt, aims at
raising public awareness of the dangers of piracy; and
Working Group 5, chaired by Italy, focuses on disrupting the
pirate criminal enterprise ashore, including the illicit
financial flows associated with maritime piracy.
This
unique international partnership is contributing to a
significant decline in piracy off the Horn of Africa. The
last successful pirate attack on a merchant vessel in the
region occurred on May 10, 2012.
Recent
Developments
On July 9, the governments of The
Bahamas and the United States signed a bilateral Memorandum
of Understanding to formalize their joint handling of Somali
piracy cases where U.S. forces capture individuals suspected
of attacks on Bahamian flagged-ships. This MOU between a
major flag state (The Bahamas has the fifth largest merchant
fleet in the world) and a major force provider in
counter-piracy operations marks a significant step forward
in international cooperation. The CGPCS Chair urges states
with similar interests (whether as flag state or force
provider) to consider similar agreements that serve to
formalize and streamline the disposition of piracy
cases.
Piracy Trials and Prosecution
Support
• On July 8, a federal jury in Norfolk,
Virginia convicted three Somali pirates of the 2011 murder
of four Americans aboard the yacht QUEST off the coast of
East Africa; sentencing proceedings will begin later in
July. Eleven of the pirates who attacked the QUEST pleaded
guilty in federal court in 2011 and were given life
sentences. The onshore negotiator working for the pirates
also received multiple life sentences.
• On June 10, a
Kenyan court sentenced nine Somali citizens each to five
years in prison after finding them guilty of violently
hijacking the MV MAGELLAN STAR in the Gulf of Aden in
September 2010. The court issued the relatively short prison
terms in recognition of time served.
• On July 2, seven
suspected pirates apprehended by U.S. forces in February
2009 were convicted in Kenya for the attempted hijacking of
the MV POLARIS and sentenced to four years
imprisonment.
• The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
provided a Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED) to
Tanzanian authorities in support of that country’s two
ongoing piracy trials. The UFED enables the Tanzanian
police’s Cyber Crime Unit to develop its capability to
extract information from the phones of suspected pirates and
those suspected of other transnational organized
crimes.
Apprehensions at Sea
• On
June 5, EU Naval Force warship HSwMS CARLSKRONA and NATO
counter-piracy Dutch warship HNLMS VAN SPEJIK rescued
fourteen Indian sailors after Somali pirates abandoned their
captured dhow in the Gulf of Aden
Prisoner
Transfers
• In Seychelles, the UNODC supported
talks for the next round of prisoner transfers to Somaliland
and Puntland. A total of 23 convicted Somali piracy
prisoners consented to be transferred immediately, while two
elected to wait for their appeals to be heard. UNODC also
supported arrangements for the return of one Somali juvenile
to his family after completing his sentence for piracy and
subject to his informed consent, as well as funding of
defense lawyers for the last group of nine suspected pirates
detained by EUNAVFOR.
Meetings
•
Working Group 2 held its twelfth meeting on April 10-11 in
Copenhagen, Denmark. Discussion focused on three areas: 1)
prosecution and in-depth review of current legal challenges
and solutions, including with regard to human rights issues,
2) implementation of the post trial-transfer system and
prosecution, including the legal framework for prosecuting
piracy organizers and the handling of child pirates, and 3)
use of privately contracted armed security personnel and
Vessel Protection Detachments.
• Working Group 5 held
its meeting on April 12 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Participants
agreed to the Ten Key Principles in Information Sharing for
Identifying and Prosecuting Pirates, which recognizes the
need for international information sharing, cooperation and
coordination to effectively identify and prosecute pirate
financiers and facilitators. WG 5 Chair’s report indicated
it has made great strides in identifying pirate networks and
the identity of financiers and facilitators.
• On May 1,
the Contact Group held its 14th plenary session, chaired by
the United States, at UN Headquarters in New York. In
videotaped remarks, Somali President Mohamud condemned
piracy and announced a new national maritime resources and
security strategy for Somalia, which was welcomed by the
Contact Group and received international endorsement at the
Somalia Conference in London on May 7., along with pledges
of further support to Somalia. Moving forward, the Contact
Group agreed to focus on four cross-cutting areas in
addition to the work of its five working groups:
communication, collaboration with related programs,
strengthened legal efforts to disrupt networks ashore, and
proactive discussion of policy issues associated with the
use of armed security on commercial ships. Djibouti will
host a Counter-Piracy Week November 10-14, culminating in in
the Contact Group’s 15th plenary session.
• On May 2,
the Contact Group and the Colorado-based non-governmental
organization (NGO) Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) co-sponsored a
symposium in New York entitled “Creating Economic
Opportunities for Somalia.” The symposium focused on the
emerging climate for economic development in Somalia.
•
On June 27, Working Group 1 met in Nairobi, for the second
consecutive in the Horn of Africa region. This meeting
complemented the latest round of meetings of the Kampala
Process, at which representatives from the Somali Federal
Government, Somaliland, Puntland and Galmudug came together
with international partners to progress the detail
underpinning the Somali maritime security and resource
strategy endorsed at the 14th plenary session. The WG1
meeting also covered several further topics including an
operational naval update with discussion on the high risk
area, information sharing between capacity-building
stakeholders, a status update on work to coordinate
international actors’ capacity building activity through
the WG1 Capacity Building Coordination Group and web-based
tool, and a series of briefs from EU colleagues on the
status of their regional capacity building
efforts.
Significant developments
•
The Regional Anti-Piracy Prosecution and Intelligence
Coordination Centre formally opened for business with the
joint signing in February of the Partnership Agreement
between the UK and the Republic of Seychelles, adopting an
operating model in accordance with Article 19 of the United
Nations Treaty on Trans-national Organised Crime. Following
the inaugural signings, Australia, INTERPOL, The
Netherlands, and the United States have signed formal
Partnership Agreements, with additional agreements expected
in the coming months. RAPPICC continues to build close
relationships with the European External Action Service, the
Indian Ocean Commission and the International Maritime
Organisation in order to enhance closer-working with regard
to capacity-building.
• The European Commission
announced that it will provide USD $59 million to several
Eastern and Southern African countries to help fight
maritime piracy in Africa. The new EU Regional Maritime
Security program will include assistance for legal and
judicial system development to assist authorities with
prosecuting suspected pirates, as well as material logistic
support to help improve regional maritime surveillance. The
program will also help fund anti-piracy awareness campaigns
in areas where piracy is prevalent, particularly
Somalia.
• The Trust Fund to Support Initiatives of
States Countering Piracy off the Coast of Somalia approved a
package of five projects worth $2 million in support of
anti-piracy efforts in Somalia and other affected States in
the region. The projects will support piracy trial
efficiency, detainee repatriation, skills training for
detainees, equipment to monitor fisheries resources, and
capabilities to investigate illicit financial flows.
•
The UNODC’s Counter Piracy Programme held a planning
conference with the future managers of the new Garowe prison
for convicted pirates transferred home from the States where
they were tried. Junior prison staff training began in June
and will continue until opening day. UNODC also supports the
Prisons Commissioner in developing the management structure,
routines, and orders for prison operation.
• In
Hargeisa, Somaliland, the UNODC-funded
education and skills training work for piracy and other
prisoners continues to make progress. The prisoners are
being taught to weld, make bricks and tailor school and
prison uniforms. The prisoners skills have allowed the
authorities to open the final block with improved facilities
and security arrangement. The prison authorities have
identified areas where the items can be displayed and sold
to the public. As well as providing skills for the
prisoners, this work allows the authorities to raise revenue
to assist with the feeding and other running costs of the
prison.
• Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) released its new
report The Human Cost of Piracy. OBP also published a
study entitled Burden-sharing Multi-level Governance: A
Study of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of
Somalia. The authors conclude the Contact Group “will
be a useful model for collective efforts that address
problems requiring fast and adaptive responses to changing
situations on the ground, and on issues where power
imbalances between actors will not scuttle the collaborative
execution of collective goals.”
Hostages in
custody
Sinking of the pirated M/V
ALBEDO. On July 8, the pirated Malaysian-flagged
and –owned M/V ALBEDO sank at anchor off the coast of
Haradhere, Somalia, endangering the lives of both hostages
and their captors; reports of casualties are as yet
unconfirmed. M/V ALBEDO was seized by pirates on November
26, 2010, and its 15 crewmembers held hostage since that
date. This dangerous situation highlights the enduring
humanitarian plight of abducted mariners, and the Contact
Group calls upon hostage-takers in Somalia to immediately
and unconditionally release the remaining innocent victims
of maritime piracy.
At least 50 hostage seafarers remain
in pirate custody. Only F/V NAHAM 3 is still held by
pirates; M/V ALBEDO sank at anchor off Haradhere on July 8,
2013, and urgent efforts are underway to ascertain the
whereabouts of the crew.
15 hostages from M/V ALBEDO
28
on F/V NAHAM 3 (Oman-flagged), hijacked March 26, 2012
4
held since April 18, 2010 from PRANTALAY 12 and 7 held since
April 16, 2011 from M/V ASHPALT VENTURE