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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 12:55 am
Time: 12:55 am
Results for pirates/piracy (africa)
3 results foundAuthor: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Title: Counter-Piracy Programme: Support to the Trial and Related Treatment of Piracy Suspects Summary: The UNODC counter-piracy programme (CPP) began in 2009 with a mandate to help one country - Kenya - deal with an increase of attacks by Somali pirates. That mandate has now widened and the UNODC CPP is working in six countries in the Somali Basin region. The CPP has proved effective in supporting efforts to detain and prosecute piracy suspects according to international standards of rule of law and respect for human rights. But Somali criminals are outpacing international efforts to stem the menace. The root causes of piracy are found on land and tackling them requires security on the ground. As long as piracy is so lucrative and other economic options so bleak, the incentives are obvious. The CPP focuses on fair and efficient trials and imprisonment in regional centres, humane and secure imprisonment in Somalia, and fair and efficient trials in Somalia. The efforts of UNODC and its multilateral partners have had considerable success across the criminal justice sector. Kenya is currently trying 69 suspects, having convicted 50, and Seychelles, despite its tiny size, has undertaken 31 prosecutions and already convicted 22 suspects. Mauritius has declared that it too will assist in the prosecution of pirates. These countries, as well as Tanzania and Maldives, continue to be assisted by UNODC with judicial, prosecutorial and police capacity building programmes. Prisons and other buildings have been supplied in some countries as well as office equipment, law books and specialist coast guard equipment. The Executive Director of UNODC, Mr Yury Fedotov, has called for support to expand his office's regional programme to even more countries; to enable Somalia to upgrade its prisons and courts; and ensure that Somali pirates convicted in other countries can serve their sentences in their home country. With some 740 men currently in detention in 13 countries UNODC is addressing an urgent situation, given that long-term imprisonment places a "very substantial burden" on prosecuting countries. Sentences generally range from 5 to 20 years, although sentences of up to more than 33 years have been handed down. Somalia's prison system has been chronically under-funded and its capacity to prosecute and imprison pirates needs to be urgently strengthened. UNODC has already started this work by completing work on a new prison in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland. By building up weak institutions in the parts of Somalia where we can work, UNODC is helping to address the problem within a rule-of-law framework, and also beginning to build pride and capacity in Somalia's own institutions. "It is clear that the only viable long-term solution to the Somali piracy problem is to restore law and order in Somalia (including in its waters)," Mr. Fedotov said. "It is also clear that this solution is some years off and will require concerted and coordinated international effort." Piracy is feeding off the instability, weak governance and poverty that plague Somalia. By strengthening the rule of law to combat piracy, the UNODC also helping Somalia to rebuild a more just and stable society for all its citizens. Details: Nairobi, Kenya: UNODC Regional Office in Eastern Africa, 2011. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 17, 2011 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/easternafrica/piracy/20110209.UNODC_Counter_Piracy_February_Issue.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Africa URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/easternafrica/piracy/20110209.UNODC_Counter_Piracy_February_Issue.pdf Shelf Number: 121733 Keywords: Maritime CrimePirates/Piracy (Africa) |
Author: Whiteneck, Daniel J. Title: Piracy Enterprises in Africa Summary: Piracy has a long history in all areas of Africa, and the navies of nations affected by that piracy have a long history of counterpiracy operations all around the continent. This report examines the background and development of piracy off Somalia and in the Gulf of Guinea, with a specific look at how recent activities have been organized and how they sustain themselves as ongoing criminal concerns. The ‘piracy enterprise’ consists of several elements, including recruitment of people, finance, intelligence and knowledge of the maritime space, shipping patterns, and the vulnerabilities of targets, as well as tactics and operations, internal organization, connections to the local communities, and the creation of ‘safe havens’ ashore. Piracy in Somalia has evolved from the simple model of coastal residents accosting fishing vessels in Somali waters and extorting payments at gunpoint, to complex criminal pirate groups staging and deploying multiple action groups to seize large commercial ships far out at sea, seize them, take them back to a safe home port, and hold them for months for negotiated ransoms. This paper looks at how the current enterprise is structured and its evolution from humble beginnings. Across the continent, pirates in the Gulf of Guinea are engaged in what can best be described as a crime wave of 'robbery at sea' attacks. A small number of recent attempted attacks have mimicked the more sophisticated tries on commercial vessels and tankers, but the mainstay of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea has been ‘smash and grab’ night strikes on ships at anchor or oil platforms. While this is a different type of piracy/robbery, using the enterprise model reveals much about how it works, why it has not evolved like in Somalia, and what vulnerabilities it has. Details: Alexandria, VA: CNA Analysis & Solutions, 2011. 66p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 19, 2011 at: http://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/OTA%20Piracy%20Enterprises%20in%20Africa%20D0023394%20A2.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Africa URL: http://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/OTA%20Piracy%20Enterprises%20in%20Africa%20D0023394%20A2.pdf Shelf Number: 122783 Keywords: Maritime CrimeMaritime SecurityPirates/Piracy (Africa) |
Author: Schbley, Ghassan Title: Piracy, Illegal Fishing, and Maritime Insecurity in Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania Summary: Long coastlines, porous borders, a lack of government capacity, weak enforcement mechanisms, corruption, and other factors have enabled illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing to thrive in Somalia's waters. The same factors have allowed other transnational threats to develop in Somalia-and spread further south into Kenya and Tanzania. This study, which draws on extensive field research along the East African littoral, identifies and analyzes linkages between piracy and IUU fishing. In addition, the report examines the role of the maritime sector in facilitating the illegal movement of drugs, weapons, and people through the region. This study also highlights the role of small vessels in a system that transports terrorists from al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda's East Africa affiliate, to and from Somalia. Details: Arlington, VA: CNA Analysis & Solutions, 2013. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 12, 2014 at: http://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/IIM-2013-U-005731-Final3.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Africa URL: http://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/IIM-2013-U-005731-Final3.pdf Shelf Number: 133298 Keywords: Border SecurityIllegal FishingMaritime CrimeMaritime SecurityPirates/Piracy (Africa)Wildlife Crimes |