Bowing to pressure from Europe, the governments of the Seychelles and Mauritius have agreed to the setting up of court rooms as well as purpose-built ‘pirate jails’.
An announcement to this effect is expected from British prime minister this Thursday when a meeting will be held in London to work out a plan of action that aims at bringing stability to Somalia.
Bowing to pressure from Europe, the governments of the Seychelles and Mauritius have agreed to the setting up of court rooms as well as purpose-built ‘pirate jails’.
An announcement to this effect is expected from British prime minister this Thursday when a meeting will be held in London to work out a plan of action that aims at bringing stability to Somalia.
According to the reports Britain will work alongside UN officials while looking at a range of measures, including transferring pirates to the Seychelles and Mauritius for trial under international law, and pouring money into internationally managed prisons in Puntland, to the north-east, and Somaliland, in the north.
Delegates will also consider taking captured pirates to the UK for prosecution but Peter Cook, founder of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry, says that having internationally certified prisons in Somaliland and Puntland ensures that pirates stay within Somalia and is ultimately more constructive than someone disappearing into a Western country.
“It will build rather than destroy confidence in the regions, and ensures that there is a rule of law that sets a precedent. Eventually it could work its way down the coast.”
Tom Donnelly, conflict and security adviser for Saferworld, an international think tank, said: “Security is the bedrock of progress in Somalia, but lasting security isn’t going to come just from military intervention, special courts to try pirates, or training Somali police in counter-terrorism tactics. It will come from helping to reconcile Somalia’s many local-level conflicts, so that ordinary Somalis themselves feel safer.”
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