VZCZCXYZ0008
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUNV #0650/01 3461332
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 111332Z DEC 08
FM USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8805
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1416
RUEHYN/AMEMBASSY SANAA 0048
RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM 0017
RUEHDJ/AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI 0001
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0008
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1041
RUZEFAA/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHMFIUU/HQ USPACOM
RULSJGA/COAST GUARD WASHDC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC

UNCLAS UNVIE VIENNA 000650 
 
SIPDIS 
 
IO for A/S Hook 
London for Whittlesey 
Office of the Secretary for Defense for DAS/D Douglas 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: UN AU KCRM UNODC RUEHZO UK TZ DJ YM SO KE
SUBJECT: UNODC PROJECT PROVIDES VEHICLE FOR PROMOTING LAW 
ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS AGAINST PIRACY 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.   Piracy has been a growing topic of discussion within the UN 
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and among member states involved 
in that organization.  Many major donor countries which received a 
December 5 briefing on potential UNODC activities in this field 
believe there is an appropriate and targeted role for UNODC in the 
international community's response to piracy near the Gulf of Aden 
and Somalia.  UNODC released during that briefing a useful technical 
assistance proposal for strengthening law enforcement efforts 
against piracy and developing a shiprider capability.  The proposal 
was developed at the request of the U.S. and focuses on addressing 
legal gaps and strengthening the ability of Djibouti, Kenya, Yemen 
and Tanzania to arrest, prosecute and detain pirates.  The UNODC 
proposal deserves favorable consideration for U.S. funding.  Other 
Vienna delegations are looking to the U.S. for a signal of how we 
will approach this project proposal.  END SUMMARY 
 
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GROWING INTEREST AT UNODC 
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¶2.  Given recent media coverage of the growing acts of piracy near 
Somalia and the UN Security Council's resolutions on this topic, it 
is not surprising that UNODC has developed a keen interest in the 
law enforcement response to this threat.  UNODC experts participated 
in the International Expert Group on Piracy Off the Somalia Coast, 
commissioned by Special Representative to the Secretary General to 
Somalia and held in Nairobi from November 10-21.  This group 
explored legal authorities and methods for promoting international 
cooperation against piracy, and will report its findings to the UN 
Security Council-mandated ministerial meeting on piracy being held 
in Nairobi on December 11. 
 
¶3. On December 1, UNODC shared with UNVIE a $1.2 million proposal 
technical assistance proposal for strengthening law enforcement 
efforts against piracy.  The proposal was developed at the request 
of the U.S., and focuses on addressing legal gaps and strengthening 
the ability of Djibouti, Kenya, Yemen and Tanzania to arrest, 
prosecute and detain pirates. 
 
¶4.  At a December 5 meeting of UNODC Major Donors, UNODC formally 
released the proposal to the twenty-one donor countries and provided 
a short briefing on its proposed activities.  UNODC's John Sandage, 
Deputy Director of the Treaty and Legal Affairs Division and the 
in-house coordinator for UNODC on the piracy issue, claims that 
UNODC can get "boots on the ground" in as early as two weeks, 
assuming there is financial support for the project.  At the same 
time, Sandage admitted that UNODC is still in the process of 
securing approval of the four target countries to cooperate in the 
proposed plan of action. 
 
¶5. Some of UNODC's top donors, including United Kingdom, Canada, 
Norway, and the EC, have expressed support for UNODC's venturing 
into this area.  Most agree that this project falls solidly within 
the UNODC mandate and would add value to international efforts 
against the piracy problem.  Norway and the EC office in Nairobi 
have also expressed specific interest -- although no formal 
commitments -- to provide financial support for UNODC's work against 
piracy. 
 
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UNODC PROPOSAL 
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¶6. There are two main aspects to UNODC's proposed short-term work 
against piracy: addressing legal inadequacies to law enforcement and 
building a minimal on-the-ground law enforcement capability.  The 
activities envisioned in these two areas are, to a large extent, 
technical assistance activities which UNODC has extensive experience 
providing to various countries throughout the world.  This includes 
strengthening prosecutorial and investigative abilities, building 
judicial expertise, developing detention capabilities and providing 
legislative and regulatory advice. 
 
¶7. One unique activity would be developing a shiprider capability in 
 
the four target countries.  This proposed activity would address 
current legal obstacles faced by ships that are patrolling the area 
off Somalia.  These obstacles include lack of criminal jurisdiction 
in territorial waters, limitations in law enforcement powers, and 
constitutional, legal or policy restrictions that may make it 
impractical for patrolling ships to board pirate ships and detain 
pirates.  UNODC proposes to work with the target countries to 
develop a shipriding corps that can literally bring relevant 
jurisdiction to the patrolling boats and provide a greater level of 
cooperation with nearby countries. 
 
¶8. UNODC's short-term work may have some complementary affect of 
helping some of these countries strengthen their legislation and 
implementation of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized 
Crime (UNTOC), in addition to the Law of the Sea Convention and the 
Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety 
of Maritime Navigation.  Kenya and Djibouti are parties to UNTOC, 
while Yemen is a signatory. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶9. While we understand that UNODC's proposal represents only a small 
part of addressing the larger problem of piracy, it nicely targets 
the current legal inadequacies that have hindered international law 
enforcement cooperation in this area.  It will allow international 
UNODC experts to position themselves on the ground in relevant 
countries and directly influence the ability and willingness of the 
target countries to take more concerted law enforcement action 
against this growing and troubling crime.  UNODC is making efforts 
to coordinate on this issue with other UN bodies, including the 
International Maritime Organization and UN Development Programme 
(UNDP).  In fact, UNDP funded UNODC participation at the Nairobi 
working group meetings in November and is cooperating closely with 
UNODC. 
 
¶10. COMMENT CONTINUED: With all this in mind, UNVIE urges favorable 
consideration of the UNODC proposal and early identification of an 
appropriate funding source.  We would urge that a U.S. announcement 
of support be coordinated in Vienna with UNODC major donors and 
other interested delegations.  This approach would have the added 
benefit of maximizing prospects for generating counterpart funds 
from other interested countries.  It would also help avoid general 
complaints that the UNODC is launching a new project based solely on 
the request and funding of one country - a complaint that we 
ourselves have made in other circumstances. 
 
SCHULTE