VZCZCXYZ0004
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #0697 1981453
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171453Z JUL 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 6943

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000697 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PARM PREF PREL
SUBJECT: UN CONVEYS ITS INTENTION TO PLAY A ROLE IN COUNTER 
PIRACY EFFORTS 
 
REF: USUN 000648 
 
¶1.    (U) This is an action request, see paragraph 5 below. 
 
¶2.    (U)  Summary:  Ambassador DiCarlo and USUN legal 
advisers and UKUN Deputy Permanent Representative Philip 
Parham and UKUN's Deputy Legal Adviser met with the UN Legal 
Counsel Patricia O'Brien at her request on July 15 to discuss 
the UN's intention to play a more proactive role on issues 
concerning piracy off the coast of Somalia and in particular 
on  pirate prosecutions.  O'Brien said that she and the UN 
Secretary General (SYG) believe there is a perception that 
jurisdictional gaps in prosecuting pirates exist and that the 
UN wants to play a role in eliminating such gaps.  While 
saying she was "taken aback" by the tone, she thanked the 
U.S. for its letter.  Based on the letter and her 
understanding that the UK had similar views, she seemed to 
concede that OLA will abandon its idea to conclude framework 
agreements between the UN and countries in the region near 
Somalia on prosecuting and imprisoning pirates.  O'Brien 
acknowledged the points the U.S. made in the letter and said 
that any future action the UN takes on such an initiative 
would be done in a collaborative and cooperative way.  She 
made clear, however, that the SYG was determined that the UN 
would play an active role on piracy issues and asked for U.S. 
and U.K. ideas on ways the UN could play a role that adds 
value to what countries are already doing.  O'Brien conveyed 
that she is considering a UN model bilateral transfer 
agreement and suggested OLA might want to draw on the U.K. 
and U.S. arrangements with Kenya as prototypes that the UN 
could use to help encourage additional similar agreements in 
the region.  O'Brien said that she would appreciate feedback 
from the U.S. and the U.K. on these and any other ideas for a 
UN role by the first week in August after which she would 
like legal experts from OLA, the U.S. and the U.K. to meet. 
End Summary. 
 
¶3.    (U) Parham told O'Brien that the UN is already playing 
a significant capacity building role via UNODC and the IMO. 
He also said that he was unaware of any significant 
jurisdictional gaps and that as piracy is a crime over which 
states have universal jurisdiction there should be no bar to 
domestic jurisdiction.  Noting that the U.S. and the U.K. 
already have bilateral agreements with Kenya, Parham said 
that Turkey and Canada were close to finalizing agreements as 
well.  Parham provided a letter to O'Brien from the UK's 
legal adviser that, similar to the U.S. letter, essentially 
concludes that the UN's idea for a framework agreement does 
not serve a useful purpose.  O'Brien reacted by saying that 
engagement by OLA and the SYG on the issue raises the 
visibility of what the UNODC and the IMO are already doing. 
She also said that there are a wide range of states that are 
not part of the Contact Group on piracy and that the UN needs 
to play a role to assist and engage these states.  Ambassador 
DiCarlo shared Parham's view that the UN is playing a vital 
capacity building role and suggested that an open Security 
Council meeting on piracy might be held in the fall (perhaps 
in November under Austria's presidency) to heighten awareness 
of the contributions of the UN and the Contact Group. 
O'Brien agreed that such a Security Council meeting would 
enhance information flow on the issue, but reiterated the 
need for the UN to play a role. 
 
¶4.    (U) O'Brien said that she thought the UN could play a 
broader role to enhance what states are already doing by 
facilitating model agreements (using the U.K. and U.S. 
agreements with Kenya as a basis) to help states enter into 
bilaterally.  She said that the SYG's support of such 
agreements would encourage states to enter into them.  As 
examples, O'Brien said that Tanzania and the Seychelles have 
the capacity to contribute.  Parham said the U.K. has already 
shared its agreement with Kenya with other members of the 
Contact Group.  O'Brien said that that was the first she had 
heard of this and that the UN in general was not informed on 
the work of the Contact Group.  Both Ambassadors DiCarlo and 
Parham said that if communications gaps exist between the 
Contact Group and the UN, then an open Security Council 
briefing would be a way to eliminate such gaps. 
 
¶5.   (U) ACTION REQUEST:  Please provide Department views on 
OLA's idea of a 
model bilateral agreement, as well as thoughts on what role 
the UN and especially OLA could usefully provide by July 31. 
 
 
 
RICE