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UNCLAS STATE 134960 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EWWT MOPS PHSA PREL KE SO XA XW
SUBJECT: PROGRESS ON U.S. COUNTER-PIRACY AGENDA AT 
INTERNATIONAL PIRACY CONFERENCE 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  The UN/Kenya International Conference on 
Piracy around Somalia was held in Nairobi, Kenya on December 
10-11, 2008. The U.S. delegation was led by Assistant 
Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Mark 
Kimmitt, and included representatives from AF, L, Embassy 
Nairobi's Somalia Unit, and DOD/OSD.  The two prevalent 
themes in statements during the ministerial were the need to 
address the land roots of piracy by stabilizing Somalia and 
the need for greater international coordination in fighting 
piracy.  The U.S. delegation used the conference to build 
support for the December 16th Ministerial meeting at the 
Security Council, and the formation of an international 
Contact Group on Somali Piracy. At the end of the conference, 
Kenyan government representatives offered to enter into an 
agreement with the United States concerning the transfer and 
prosecution of pirates.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) KENYANS OFFER TO TAKE AND PROSECUTE PERSONS UNDER 
CONTROL (PUCs).  During the conference, the UK announced it 
had concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Kenya 
that would facilitate the transfer and prosecution of piracy 
suspects detained by the UK Royal Navy off the coast of 
Somalia.  In a pull-aside conversation at the end of the 
conference, Kenyan Foreign Minister Wetangula told A/S 
Kimmitt that Kenya was prepared to agree to a similar MOU 
with the U.S. immediately. Noting U.S. interest in the 
proposal, Kenyan Acting Ambassador for International 
Organizations Anthony Andanje confirmed this offer. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) CONFERENCE DAY ONE - TECHNICAL EXPERTS RECOMMEND 
USE OF SHIPRIDER ARRANGEMENTS.  On day one, technical experts 
broke into working groups to discuss proposals in four 
categories: (1) Legal Implications/Framework, (2) Enforcement 
Actions, (3) Capacity Building and (4) Commercial/Financial 
Implications. 
 
--  Legal Implications/Framework.  There was extended 
discussion on technical legal issues, primarily relating to 
the applicability of various treaties and instruments to acts 
of piracy.  Many of the experts (including those from Egypt, 
Yemen and China) expressed the view that the UN Convention on 
the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was the sole legal instrument 
applicable to acts of piracy.  In their view, other 
instruments, such as the 1988 Convention for the Suppression 
of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation 
(SUA), had no application.  Other experts, as well as the 
panel chair, expressed the contrary view that while UNCLOS 
was the primary legal regime, SUA and other international 
instruments could be applied in certain circumstances. 
 
--   Enforcement Actions.  Proposals focused on supporting 
the establishment of an effective Somali police force and 
coast guard, encouraging the International Maritime 
Organization (IMO)-sponsored Djibouti regional meeting on 
piracy, supporting efforts to establish regional information 
centers in Kenya and Yemen, and supporting the development of 
ship-riders agreements with regional states. 
 
--  Capacity Building.  The proposals reflected the 
instruction of the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) to 
focus on measures for building capacities within Somalia to 
address the conditions that create an enabling environment 
for piracy.  Proposals included training coastal security 
forces, building port infrastructure, and establishing a task 
force of regional stakeholders to address Somali maritime 
resource management issues at the local community level. 
 
--  Commercial.  Proposals addressed securing Somali 
territorial waters for fishing, facilitating investment in 
Somali coastal areas, and studying the possibility of a 
common policy concerning ransom payments.  The U.S. 
intervened with regard to the first and third proposals, 
arguing that securing fishing waters was not an appropriate 
recommendation for a piracy workshop and that the ransom 
policy language (as originally drafted) was too dismissive of 
the problem. 
 
¶4. (SBU) KENYAN PROSECUTORIAL INFRASTRUCTURE.  Kenyan legal 
infrastructure appears be to be sufficient for prosecution of 
piracy suspects.  Lack of training appears not to be the 
primary issue.  Rather, the Department of Public Prosecution 
(DPP) needs additional resources to address logistical issues 
relating to large investigations and trial (such as 
transporting witnesses and evidence). 
 
¶5.  (SBU) CONFERENCE DAY TWO - MINISTERS FOCUS ON COOPERATION 
AND NEED TO ADDRESS LAND ROOTS OF PIRACY BY STABILIZING 
SOMALIA. The two dominant themes of the ministerial were 
enhancing international coordination and addressing the land 
roots of piracy by stabilizing Somalia. 
 
--  Special Representative of the Secretary General of the 
United Nations to Somalia (SRSG) Ambassador Ahmedou 
Ould-Abdallah cautioned the ministers against focusing too 
much on overall problems in Somalia rather than the immediate 
problem of piracy. 
 
--  France, the UK, Germany, and Russia expressed strong 
support for the U.S.-proposed Contact Group on Somali Piracy, 
while China, India, Turkey, and Egypt explicitly called for 
the UN to coordinate international counter piracy efforts. 
 
--  The Kenyan delegation made strong statements urging the 
international community to do more to combat piracy and 
indicated the GOK was strongly committed to sharing the 
burden.  The Kenyan Foreign Minister expressly pledged "to 
prosecute those that come our way."  Kenya noted the 
complications of prosecuting piracy cases (e.g. witnesses 
from many nations, many states' interests involved) and the 
need for cooperation and assistance in this regard. Kenya 
suggested joint/coordinated naval patrols of Somali coastal 
waters to halt pirate ships coming from Somalia, and offered 
the use of Kenyan ports for this effort. The Kenyan Foreign 
Minister also announced Kenya's intention to sanction Somali 
leaders who were found to be threatening the peace process. 
 
--  Tanzania expressed its strong intent to cooperate in the 
fight against piracy and a willingness to enter into 
ship-rider agreements in order to facilitate prosecution of 
captured pirates. 
 
--  Thailand noted the need for better coordination and 
information-sharing was illustrated by the recent sinking of 
an alleged pirate mother ship by the Indian Navy, an incident 
which resulted in the death of several Thai crewmembers. 
 
--  The Republic of Korea highlighted the need for countries 
to adopt national legislation that criminalizes piracy and 
noted the GROK is considering the contribution of naval 
assets to the counter piracy effort. 
 
--  Egypt proposed the creation of a special international 
piracy court in the region.  On the margins of the conference 
Egypt requested U.S. support for the proposal; the U.S. 
delegation stressed the current U.S. focus on near-term PUC 
solutions (disposition agreements with states in the region), 
but indicated the U.S. could be supportive of assessing the 
feasibility of a special court for piracy as a longer-term 
solution. 
 
--  The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) noted that it is 
actively engaged in a proposal to provide legal training and 
assistance to countries in the region. 
 
--  The African Union called for additional support to the 
African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and development of 
an AMISOM maritime program.  On the margins of the 
conference, AU representatives met with maritime 
representatives from key regional states (Kenya, Djibouti, 
and Tanzania), the EU maritime task force, and the IMO to 
build support for AU maritime role. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) U.S. CALLS FOR GREATER INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION, 
EMPHASIZES RESPONSIBILITIES OF SHIPPING INDUSTRY, AND 
HIGHLIGHTS SUPPORT FOR AMISOM.  The U.S. statement noted 
substantial U.S. contributions to the international effort to 
fight piracy off Somalia, called for greater international 
cooperation and coordination in counter-piracy efforts, 
emphasized the need for industry to take appropriate 
self-protective measures, and highlighted U.S. support for 
broader efforts to achieve peace and stability in Somalia, 
including support for AMISOM.  The U.S. also noted that while 
the ultimate solution to piracy lies in achieving peace and 
stability in Somalia, the Somali people and the international 
community cannot wait for the stabilization and recovery of 
Somalia to begin taking more concrete actions to stop piracy. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) RUSSIA EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR CONTACT GROUP. Head of 
Russian Delegation Vasiliy Titushkin expressed Russia's 
strong support for the U.S.-led Contact Group on Somali 
Piracy. In a pull-aside, he expressed support for the U.S. 
"approach" to the fight against piracy.  He noted that Russia 
would meet with the EU the following week to discuss possible 
Russian participation in Operation Atalanta. Titushkin also 
noted that land-based piracy operations in Somalia might 
require specific legal authority from the Security Council. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) EGYPT EXPRESSES STRONG RESERVATIONS ABOUT 
INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION SUBREGIONAL AGREEMENT. 
The Egyptian and IMO delegations pulled AF and L 
representatives aside to discuss concerns about the draft IMO 
subregional MOU on combating piracy and armed robbery at sea. 
IMO will hold informal consultations with a subset of 
regional States in early January to seek wider grounds for 
agreement prior to a January 26-29 meeting in Djibouti to 
finalize the MOU. 
RICE