Seychelles to become hub for maritime security |20 September 2013

The Regional Anti-Piracy Prosecutions and Intelligence Coordination Centre (Rappicc) based in Seychelles will assume a new role as it gears up to tackle the growing menace of transnational criminal activity in the Western Indian Ocean.
 
The changes to the centre’s mandate were discussed and approved during a meeting in Dubai convened by the Seychelles Minister for Home Affairs and Transport, Joël Morgan, in his capacity as chairman of the Rappicc steering group.

Besides Seychelles, the group comprises the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Australia and the United States of America as signed partners to the Rappicc.

After receiving briefs by the co-directors of Rappicc, namely Gary Crone and Declan Barber, members of the steering group were invited to comment on the proposed plan for the current Rappicc to evolve into a national centre to share and coordinate information on maritime security and transnational crime within the Western Indian Ocean.

The steering group’s meeting took place ahead of a high-level anti-piracy conference organised by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in a partnership between the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, global marine terminal operator DP World and Abu Dhabi Ports Company.

It is important to note that the final communiqué from this conference made specific mention of the critical role that the Rappic has played against piracy in the region.

“The importance of information sharing and transnational cooperation on the criminal investigation of piracy, especially through regional centres such as the Regional Anti-Piracy Prosecutions Intelligence Coordination Center in the Seychelles is critical to deterring, disrupting and prosecuting those responsible for and profiting from piracy”, the communiqué said in part, adding, “the Rappicc initiative represents a significant building block in creating a sound regional criminal justice framework in which a stabilised Somalia can thrive”.

When addressing members of the steering group, Minister Morgan said: “It is important for us to build upon the successes of the Rappicc, driven in no small part by the contributions of each of the partners who came together, adding their expertise to make Rappicc what it is today.”

“We acknowledge as well that as measures to combat the scourge of piracy in this region become more successful and actions by pirate groups against merchant vessels become less and less fruitful, criminal gangs will have shifted their resources and attention to other activities such as human trafficking, arms trafficking, drug smuggling and trade, smuggling of other natural resources, or money laundering within the Western Indian Ocean, operating in a transnational manner in order to evade capture and prosecution,” the minister added.

“The infrastructure in place in Rappicc is therefore prepared to evolve to take on these changes in criminal activities that plague and concern the region while at the same time not losing its focus on the continued threats that piracy poses even as those same gangs redeploy and engage in different tactics to threaten the economic livelihood of so many. We must as well not lose sight that many victims still remain hostage and that those who finance these illegal acts must not go unpunished,” said Minister Morgan.

Following the presentation and proposal submitted for consideration, members present voted in unanimity to support the transition of the Rappicc to a national centre which will engage in and tackle the growing menace of transnational criminal activity in the Western Indian Ocean.  


As for the high-level anti-piracy conference, it was a follow up to two previous ones held in 2011 and 2012.

This third conference, by invitation only, was a platform for the international and regional community to come together with the aim of:

• Continuing to build awareness about the humanitarian and economic cost of piracy, including extending support to seafarers who are suffering from maritime piracy on the frontline;
• Injecting a new momentum in the common search for an effective and enduring solution to piracy through collaboration across political, military, financial and legal arenas;
• Encouraging a comprehensive, inclusive approach that can deliver a long-term, sustainable solution to counter piracy, including land-based solutions;

• Highlighting the significance of enhancing industry-government cooperation in addressing the issue through joint strategies emphasising sustainable long-term solutions.

Opening the conference, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan, the UAE’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, said in part, “While the international community has made great strides in fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia, the UAE believes that maritime piracy, notably in the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean, remains of serious global concern. We are convinced that successfully countering piracy can only be achieved if the international community enhances its efforts to build capacity in the region. With that in mind, we have chosen ‘Countering Maritime Piracy:
Continued Efforts for Regional Capacity Building’ as the theme for this year’s conference.”

The key note address was delivered by the President of the government of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

Minister Morgan also seized the opportunity to meet the Somali President to follow up on the discussions held on the sideline of the conference in London, where Somalia was in focus, and as well to touch on key proposals being made by Seychelles with regard to Somalia and its fisheries, which was of high interest to the Somali delegation.

In his address at the conference, Minister Morgan said: “Our presence here today bears witness to our resilience and determination to play our proper role in the defeat of this scourge of piracy in the region.”  
 
He made the point that Seychelles, as a small island developing state, had been affected on many economic fronts, making it clear that not only had its tourism industry been impacted significantly but its fisheries sector as well, as pirate action groups attacked vessels within Seychelles’ territorial waters as well as at its extreme edges.

“We, in Seychelles, have responded cohesively and with determination to Somali piracy, embracing collaboration with the broader international community and with our partners in the region.  We have introduced strong legislation to counter piracy and criminal money flows, took part actively in the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS), signed several Status of Forces Agreements (Sofas), as well as Transfer of Prisoner Agreements and acted as a hub for counter-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean.”
 
The minister added: “It is appropriate that we recognise today, as the immediacy of the piracy threat appears to abate, the generosity of international donors and partners in building additional capacity within our maritime and criminal justice system and the efforts of international organisations such as UNODC, Interpol and the Indian Ocean Commission on our behalf.”