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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7718
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UNCLAS NAIROBI 002661 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/E AND A/S FRAZER 
STATE ALSO FOR IO AND L 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EWWT PREL PINS PGOV SO
SUBJECT: SOMALIA - UN DETAILS PIRACY CONFERENCE PLANS 
 
REF: NAIROBI 2642 
 
¶1.  Summary:  The UN's Somalia political office on November 
25 outlined its plans for a Nairobi conference on Somali 
piracy December 10-11.  The UN has invited high level 
representation from over 50 countries (including the United 
States, previously forward via separate email) and 
international organizations with a stake in the Horn's 
piracy, but it is unclear yet who will come.  Day one of the 
conference will be technical discussions and recommendations; 
the UN hopes political representatives will ratify outcomes 
on day two.  To frame the conference discussions, the UN is 
finalizing a report on Somali piracy, with suggested actions. 
 A summary of the report and conference agenda will be sent 
out by November 26, with the full report available the week 
of December 1.  Kenya is reconsidering its recently announced 
plans to host a separate piracy conference in December 
(reftel).  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  On November 25 the United Nations Deputy Special 
Representative to the Secretary General for Somalia Charles 
Petrie convened a meeting to discuss the UN Somalia office's 
plans for an international conference on Somali piracy, 
scheduled for December 10-11 in Nairobi.  Petrie said Kenya 
was reconsidering their wish to host a separate piracy 
conference this month (reftel); he expected they would 
support the UN-sponsored gathering instead.  To guide the 
conference and make recommendations for combating piracy, 
Petrie said the UN had contracted a study of Somalia's piracy 
which will be finalized the week of December 1, but an 
abbreviated copy, along with the meeting's agenda, will be 
released by November 26 (post will forward as soon as 
available).  Day one of the conference will focus on 
technical discussions and the report's action 
recommendations; Petrie hopes the political representation 
will adopt many of the recommendations on day two. 
 
¶3.  Over 50 countries and many international organizations 
have been invited to the UN-sponsored conference.  In 
addition to countries in the region, Indian Ocean and Pacific 
Rim countries are included, as are Persian Gulf states and 
countries with a naval presence in the Indian Ocean and Gulf 
of Aden.  Regional governments are likely to send ministers, 
Petrie said, but there have been few firm responses yet. 
 
¶4.  Reiterating that a 10-12 page summary of the UN-sponsored 
piracy report will be available by November 26, the report's 
drafting team leader briefly highlighted its research, 
findings, and proposed actions.  The report covers the 
origins of Somali piracy and compares it to other regions' 
sea piracy.  It examines Somali piracy's organization and 
methodology, its destructive economic and humanitarian costs, 
and possible connections to terrorists.  The report surveys 
the applicable international and regional government's laws 
concerning piracy.  Finally, the study contains 39 
recommendations for short-, medium- and long-term actions to 
combat piracy. 
 
¶5.  Petrie stressed the conference will identify concrete 
steps, or "practical actions" that can be taken on the 
ground, and these hopefully will be ratified by the political 
representation on day two.  He welcomed internationals to 
weigh in and help shape the recommendations to make them more 
feasible and achievable, once the report's abbreviated copy 
is released.  Post will forward conference materials as they 
are released. 
RANNEBERGER