VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPL #0236/01 2050920
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 240920Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY PORT LOUIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4670
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEHAN/AMEMBASSY ANTANANARIVO 0841
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 1037

UNCLAS PORT LOUIS 000236 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/E FOR MARIA BEYZEROV 
AF/RSA FOR BITTRICK 
L/CID FOR LANDSIDLE 
ANTAN FOR DAO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHSA PBTSEWWT MARR MASS MOPS MP
SUBJECT: TRIPARTITE APPROACH REVEALS LEGAL AND LOGISTICAL CONCERNS 
OF GOM PROSECUTING PIRATES 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. On July 20, Charge d'Affaires Virginia Blaser convened a meeting 
with British High Commissioner (BHC), Dr. John Murton, and the 
visiting Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Legal Adviser, 
Katherine Shepherd, along with French Ambassador Jacques Maillard 
and his Minister Counselor, to discuss jointly approaching GOM on 
piracy issues.  This meeting resulted in CDA and the French Minister 
Counselor accompanying BHC and the FCO Legal Adviser to a previously 
scheduled July 22 discussion with GOM officials to explore the 
political will and legal and logistical capacities of Mauritius to 
capture pirates on the high seas.  The meeting revealed that 
Mauritius can currently prosecute pirates in its maritime zone (up 
to 200 nautical miles from its shore), but a change of law or 
ministerial declaration would need to be issued to allow for 
prosecution of pirates captured on the high seas.  While other 
logistical concerns loom, dialogue indicated that GOM is willing to 
explore how it can better contribute to regional anti-piracy 
efforts. 
 
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BACKGROUND 
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¶2. On July 22, Charge d'Affaires Virginia Blaser attended a meeting 
to explore the legal and logistical capacities and concerns of 
Mauritius in regards to capturing, prosecuting, and detaining 
pirates caught in the high seas.  The meeting, chaired by Ms. Doreen 
Fong Weng-Poorun, Permanent Secretary of the Prime Minister's 
Office, was held at the request of British High Commissioner, Dr. 
John Murton, to capitalize on the in-country presence of Katharine 
Shepherd, Legal Adviser UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.  Post 
became involved when CDA invited Murton, Shepherd, and Jacques 
Maillard, French Ambassador, to the Embassy on July 20 to discuss a 
joint approach to GOM on piracy issues. 
 
¶3. In addition to, Fong Weng-Poorun, Murton, Shepherd, and CDA other 
attendees at the July 22 piracy meeting included:   Mr. Jean 
Blattes, Minister Counsellor of the French Embassy; the Commissioner 
of Police; the Head of the National Coast Guard; the head of the 
National Security Service; and representatives of the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, 
Ministry of Shipping, Prime Minister's Office, and the State Law 
Office. 
 
--------------------------------- 
LOCAL LEGISLATION: COURTS HAVE JURISDICTION WITHIN MAURITIUS EEZ 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶4. Mrs. Aruna Narain, Assistant Solicitor General of the State Law 
Office, explained that according to the Merchant Shipping Act (MSA) 
2007, the Courts of Mauritius have jurisdiction to prosecute an act 
of piracy as long as it falls within Mauritius' EEZ.  Commander 
Vishal Kanwar of the National Coast Guard (NCG) then offered that 
both the NCG and the Mauritius Police Force have the right to arrest 
an alleged pirate or offender, so long as the arrest is within 
Mauritius' maritime zone--  the area comprising Mauritius' 
territorial waters and its EEZ.  Narain added that, per section 218 
of MSA 2007, beyond the 200 nautical miles that makes up Mauritius' 
maritime zone, local courts can only prosecute piracy, if the act of 
piracy involved a Mauritian nexus-- either a Mauritian citizen or 
Mauritian vessel. 
 
¶5. Katherine Shepherd, UK FCO legal advisor, noted that being able 
to prosecute maritime offenses up to 200 nautical miles from shore 
was a large area that differed vastly from the UK limit of 12 
nautical miles, but asked what needed to happen to make local 
legislation compliant with condemning piracy as an international 
crime subject to universal jurisdiction.  According to Narain, the 
Government of Mauritius (GOM) would need to amend the law to grant 
local courts jurisdiction on the high seas and be compliant with 
international law (Note: Parliament will be in recess as of August 
and not resume until October, so any new law would not be introduced 
until after October. End Note.).  If deemed necessary by GOM, Narain 
did note that it may be possible for the Minister of Public 
Infrastructure, Land Transport and Shipping, Anil Bachoo, to make a 
regulation, as part of a national policy decision, that would simply 
enact the pertinent international conventions domestically (Note: 
Later, during a July 22 telephone conversation with EMBOFF, Narain 
 
stressed that it would be preferable that GOM amends the law rather 
than resort to regulations in order avoid creating a precedent 
regarding Court jurisdictions.  End Note.). 
 
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LOGISTICAL CONCERNS 
------------------- 
 
¶6. After the legal framework was discussed, Narain raised GOM 
logistical concerns involved with prosecuting and detaining alleged 
pirates.  As a lawyer, Narain was extremely concerned that any naval 
vessels that helped detain suspected pirates would also agree to 
cooperate and provide evidence in trials against them.  Shepherd 
assured Narain that this type of cooperation is common and is 
reaffirmed through protocols in bilateral MOU's (NOTE: USDEL and the 
French representative did not add any comment about US or ATALANTA 
forces as Shepherd's comments seemed to answer GOM concerns. END 
NOTE.). 
 
¶7. Another concern raised was detention costs.  Following a question 
raised by Narain regarding assistance to help detain pirates, 
Katharine Shepherd cited UNODC assistance to the Government of Kenya 
to fortify prisons.  Similarly Shepherd mentioned the assistance the 
UK and other international partners may provide to the Government of 
Seychelles to upgrade its prison facilities. 
 
¶8. Narain also raised the issue of possible terrorism links and 
piracy activities, which both CDA and Shepherd clarified. .  The 
Charge said, in no uncertain terms, that piracy and terrorism are 
two separate issues that would be best to not conflate when there is 
no hard evidence that link the two activities to date.  CDA further 
noted that Mauritius' Terrorism Act is a comprehensive and separate 
law to try acts of terrorism, to which Narain agreed. 
 
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ATALANTA FORCE TO CONDUCT RISK ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶9. The representative of the French Embassy, Mr. Jean Blattes, 
announced that following a meeting held in June in Saint Denis, La 
Reunion Island, in presence of Ambassador Chantal Poiret, (Note: 
Amb. Poiret is in charge of coordinating activities against maritime 
piracy. End Note.), ATALANTA forces will explore the idea of 
extending its coverage zone to include Mauritius by conducting a 
"risk assessment exercise."  Blattes did not give a timeline for 
this exercise but did emphasize that it would be a collaborative 
effort between GOM and ATALANTA Forces. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶10. While it was established that this was an informal "exploratory" 
meeting, the presence of various GOM stakeholders and the dialogue 
among attendees indicates that combating piracy is garnering 
political will in GOM.  Fong-Weng Poorun seemed keen to continue 
these exploratory talks and mentioned that GOM needs to increase its 
efforts against piracy.  Post, the first mission to engage GOM on 
piracy, believes that a concerted effort with like-minded missions, 
private sector, and GOM partners like the Attorney General is needed 
to keep the pressure on GOM to increase its anti-piracy efforts. 
 
BASHOR