Anti-piracy fight-Seychelles shares experience with House of Lords EU sub-committee |22 June 2012

Mr Adam made the remarks in a special presentation on piracy to the EU sub-committee on external affairs of the House of Lords, in the United Kingdom last week.

Mr Adam made the presentation at the invitation of the committee’s chairman, Lord Robin Teverson.
The minister spoke on the subject of piracy off the coast of Somalia and the efforts to counter it, in particular the EU’s Operation Atalanta. 

“There have been significant improvements in the coordination of the effort against piracy - more robust actions by EU Atalanta vessels including interventions on land. This has drastically reduced the number of successful attacks but impunity in the long run is still a problem,” said the minister.

In addition to sharing the Seychelles experience in counter piracy efforts, the minister highlighted three areas where greater international focus was required:
In Somalia: (i) improving imprisonment options; (ii) strengthening role of Amisom, particularly through support from the EU.

International community: (i) increasing options for prosecutions; (ii) use best practices established in Seychelles.

The trade: (i) insurance firms to offer better options to shipping companies (e.g. giving a boost to best practices through substantial discounts).

Mr Adam also took this opportunity to applaud the memorandum of understanding signed by President James Michel and British Prime Minister David Cameron in February this year to establish a Regional Anti-Piracy Prosecution and Intelligence Centre (RAPPIC), aimed at targeting the financiers of piracy, as an example of the type of international cooperation needed to effectively fight the scourge of piracy.