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Archive -Seychelles

New courses to help boost security at sea |28 January 2014

Maritime security is expected to get a big boost in the future with the launch of two new short courses run by the University of Seychelles (UniSey).

The courses --  Maritime Crime and Law Enforcement and Maritime Crime and Correctional Administration – have been developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in partnership with the Australian government.

The launch of these courses took place last week during a ceremony at the UniSey’s School of Business Management at Ma Joie in the presence of members of the diplomatic corps, the vice-chancellor of the UniSey Dennis Hardy, lecturers,  among other guests.

The lecturers are from the Regional Anti-Piracy Prosecution & Intelligence Coordination Centre (Rappicc) and reputed Australian universities namely  Edith Cowan.
 
Over two dozen in-service students from countries of the region, namely Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritius and Seychelles are among the first batch who have followed the courses which were conducted at the UniSey School of Business Management  from January 20 to 24.

A two-hour written exam followed the week-long intensive programmes.
The second batch of students from the region for the programme are expected here in May, according to the UNODC.

These are the first such courses to be developed and delivered in the region thus making Seychelles a centre of excellence for maritime security studies.

In her speech to officially launch the courses, acting Australian high commissioner to Seychelles Julienne Hince hailed the success of effort to bring over students from the region to learn together.

She also talked about the good relations and continued collaborations between Australia and Seychelles and said her country remains committed to maritime security in the Indian Ocean region and Seychelles.

Citing proof of that commitment, she mentioned the Australian navy vessels which are combining their effort to counter piracy and ensure the safety of navigation in the region.

She also noted the increasing number of navy vessels which are visiting Seychelles, the latest being HMS Melbourne which was in Port Victoria over the weekend.

“Australia has provided substantial support to counter piracy effort in the region through the office of the UNODC,” said Ms Hince.

She added that Australia’s combined efforts have produced positive outcomes. A decline in piracy in the Indian Ocean is evidence that counter piracy efforts are having an impact, she said.

She reaffirmed her country’s commitment to continuing collaborations in these fields and wished all the students success.

Two students from the programme, namely Joseph Bibi, a police officer working with Rappicc from Seychelles who was following the Maritime Crime and Law enforcement course and Lovena Aungnoo, a prison officer from Mauritius who followed the Maritime Crime and Correctional Administration course expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to attend the training.

“On behalf of my fellow colleagues I would like to express my sincere thanks to the UNODC, the Australian government, the government of Seychelles through the UniSey, for providing this tremendous opportunity to bring colleagues involved in tackling serious organised crimes such as maritime piracy to work and learn together,” said Mr Bibi.

He added that the opportunity to engage in such activity is not solely focused on learning although of course the skills they have gained will give them an essential edge in tackling serious crimes.

For her part Ms Aungnoo said it has been very fruitful and beneficial.

“We have acquired great knowledge on prison management and how to tackle maritime crimes and handle correctional administration,” she said.

She also expressed her gratitude to the organisers and lecturers.

UNODC representative and programme coordinator Shamus Mangan noted that until now the main forum for delivering training to regional police, lawyers and prison staff has been through regional learning exchanges.

“Although these have been successful, participants have expressed the need for training and support of more sophisticated policy investigations and prosecutions. With this programme we have significantly raised the bar in the level of academic tuition provided. In collaboration with the UniSey courses have been specifically designed to build the capacity of national criminal justice officials to investigate, prosecute and detain suspects of piracy and wider maritime crimes,” he said.

He noted that in addition to the educational component the courses have given the students from the different countries taking part the opportunity to meet and to learn from each other’s experiences.

“Most importantly the training programme provides the students with a recognised accredited award from a respected tertiary education institution - the University of Seychelles,” added Mr Mangan.

He expressed confidence that the knowledge and skills the students acquire and take home with them will greatly help the criminal justice institutions of their respective states to effectively deal with the threats of piracy and wider maritime crimes which affect this region.

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