The council held a debate last week on piracy off the coast of Somalia, at which Seychelles’ ambassador to the UN, Ronny Jumeau, called on the international community to support the regional plan of action to combat piracy.

“A well-supported regional plan will encourage more countries in and around the Indian Ocean to play a more active role in combating, prosecuting and imprisoning pirates, and relieve international partners from outside the region of some of the high costs of stationing naval and other military units in the Indian Ocean,” he said.

Mr Jumeau referred to the fact that on July 26 the Seychelles Supreme Court convicted 11 Somali pirates and sentenced each of them to 10 years in prison, the first time pirates had been convicted by a court of law in Seychelles.

Eight of these men were found guilty of actually committing an act of piracy, but the other three were convicted of “aiding and abetting” piracy, he said. This was possible as Seychelles had amended its domestic laws so that a person does not have to be caught in an actual act of piracy to be arrested and successfully prosecuted.

Another 29 suspected pirates are awaiting trial in Seychelles or transfer to Somalia, said Mr Jumeau.
UN Security Council president Vitaly Churkin of Russia said the council “commends the ongoing efforts of states, including states in the region – in particular Kenya and Seychelles – to prosecute suspected pirates in their national courts” and stressed the need for all countries to criminalise piracy under their domestic law.
 
Many countries that spoke in the debate also praised the example set by Seychelles and Kenya.
The Norwegian representative said: “I wish in particular to thank the governments of Kenya and Seychelles for their leading roles. Norway puts great emphasis on supporting African solutions to the piracy problem.”

Japanese ambassador Tsuneo Nishida said: “Japan highly commends the efforts undertaken by the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, by Kenya and by Seychelles.”

Mexico acknowledged “the political commitment of the states of the region and the progress that has been made, as shown by the cases of Kenya and Seychelles”, while the United Kingdom welcomed Seychelles’ agreement to accept pirate suspects for trial and detention and the first completion of a piracy trial there.
 
Welcoming and praising Seychelles’ and Kenya’s efforts, Brazil however noted: “The burden of prosecuting suspected pirates should not lie solely with states in the region, which are already disproportionately affected by the crisis.”
 
France invited states of the region to accept suspected pirates for prosecution “following the example of Kenya and Seychelles”, especially as countries in the region are the main victims of the deteriorating security off their coasts.
 
Nigeria noted that while combating piracy through national prosecutions by Somalia, Kenya and Seychelles had borne fruit, there were limited resources. Its ambassador called for a “broader coalition of those willing to share responsibility for prosecuting piracy suspects in the manner of Kenya and Seychelles”.

Austria pointed out that while prosecuting pirates was an important element of effective counter-piracy measures, it could also be a burden for regional states, especially Kenya and Seychelles.

The European Union representative said the EU has already expressed its readiness to play an active support role by helping to carry out the regional strategy.

EU chargé d’affaires Peter Schwaiger said the EU is grateful to its partners in the region who are showing leadership in prosecuting suspected pirates captured in the course of operations.
 
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Tanzania, Philippines and the African Union also joined in praising Seychelles and Kenya for taking the lead in bringing pirates to justice in the region.

Mr Jumeau ended his speech by reminding delegates that the current rough seas of the south-east monsoon in the Indian Ocean will die down towards the end of September when there will once again be an upsurge in pirate activity off the coast of Somalia, reaching as far south as Madagascar and as far east as Maldives and India.

“Seychelles has, meanwhile, used the lull in pirate activity caused by the bad weather to show that a lot can be done by the region itself to combat piracy if there is the political will and commitment to do so, accompanied by the necessary international support and solidarity,” he said.