EUCAP Nestor experts decorated in Seychelles |19 December 2013

Three experts from the EUCAP Nestor team in Seychelles have been decorated with medals for their service to the mission.

The experts to receive the medals are Agatha Bouten, court administration expert; Christina Hanff, mission security officer, and Mathew Pattenden, legal adviser.

“I am delighted to decorate my colleagues for their services to the mission,” said deputy head of mission, Leon Bruin, who was in Seychelles to preside over the ceremony.

“They have each in their own way made a substantial contribution to EUCAP Nestor’s mission of strengthening maritime capacities in the region.”

The ceremony was held in the EUCAP Nestor offices in Victoria and attended by a number of Seychellois and international dignitaries, such as the French ambassador Genevieve Iancu, and the commanding officer of the Air Force, Major Mike Pouponneau.

EUCAP Nestor is a civilian mission, under the so called Common Security and Defence Policy, mandated to assist countries of the Horn of Africa and Western Indian Ocean develop their capacities and capabilities to ensure maritime security, in particular counter-piracy and maritime governance.

The operation in the Seychelles consists of a number of European experts, most of whom are embedded in Seychelles institutions where the experts provide advice and mentor on issues relating to maritime security.