New international fund to help bring pirates to justice
17.09.2009
Seychelles will be able to seek assistance from an international trust fund being set up to help bring pirates to justice in the western Indian Ocean.
The Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS), which coordinates the activities of 45 countries leading the fight against pirates in the region, approved the terms of reference of the fund at its latest meeting at the United Nations in New York last Thursday.
Another topic at the meeting was the legal and other problems that countries such as Seychelles are having in bringing pirates to justice, including the prosecution and detention of suspects and the imprisonment of convicted pirates.
In a press release yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Seychelles became a full member of the contact group at the meeting and was represented by its ambassador to the United Nations Ronny Jumeau.
Although Seychelles is the smallest country in the CGPCS, it is one of the most directly affected, and there is growing international recognition of its increasingly central role in combating piracy in the region.
The trust fund, which will be managed by the United Nations Development Programme, will help meet the costs of investigating incidents of piracy, prosecuting suspected pirates, detaining them after conviction and related activities.
These include paying for or reimbursing the costs of training in legal areas such as gathering evidence for prosecution, the detention, prosecution and trial of suspected pirates, the imprisonment of those convicted, and legal cooperation between states in the region.
Of particular concern to the contact group were the difficulties in bringing pirates to justice. These are putting heavy strains on the investigative, legal, judicial, custodial, financial and other resources of countries of the region, led by Kenya and including Seychelles.
This has led to growing calls from both inside and outside the region for special, regional or international tribunals to try the pirates, and the contact group has a working group on legal issues looking into the matter.
The working group is also developing a set of practical tools such as checklists and guidelines to help countries, military forces and organisations while arresting, transferring, prosecuting, trying and imprisoning pirates.
The working group’s report to the CGPCS highlighted problems prosecuting countries are experiencing with “the collection and handling of evidence, the securing of testimony from witnesses and issues related to detention” – all of which have been encountered by Seychelles.
The contact group also heard a progress report on a “needs assessment mission” led by the United Kingdom which is looking at the help countries of the region, including Seychelles, need to fight piracy more effectively.
A communiqué issued after the meeting said the group “agreed on the need for early action to deliver increased counter-piracy capability throughout the region”.
Several of the delegates at the meeting told Ambassador Jumeau they are impressed by, and very appreciative of, the contribution such a small country with very limited means is making to the fight against piracy and praised Seychelles for taking such a stand.
They said they know very well the problems the country is having because of this, and they committed their countries and organisations to helping Seychelles find solutions.