Armed forces minister Harvey to give evidence to EU sub-committee today
The House of Lords EU Sub-Committee on External Affairs is to open a follow-up inquiry on Somali piracy today.
Evidence will come from witnesses including Armed Forces minister Nick Harvey and the Seychelles foreign minister.
Armed forces minister Harvey to give evidence to EU sub-committee today
The House of Lords EU Sub-Committee on External Affairs is to open a follow-up inquiry on Somali piracy today.
Evidence will come from witnesses including Armed Forces minister Nick Harvey and the Seychelles foreign minister.
The committee published a report, Combating Somali Piracy: the EU’s Naval Operation Atalanta, in April 2010, which called for both a more robust approach to prosecution and punishment of pirates, as well as more effort to tackle the root causes of poverty in Somalia, in order to change the perceived risk/reward ratio for potential pirates.
In its follow-up inquiry, the committee will consider what progress has been made by Operation Atalanta and whether the threat of Somali piracy is being reduced.
Today, the committee will hear evidence from Jean-Paul Adam, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Republic of Seychelles; Adjoe Anyimadu, Head Analyst on Somalia, Chatham House; Knox Chitiyo, Associate Fellow, Chatham House; Lee Willett, Head of Maritime Studies, Royal United Services Institute (RUSI); Nick Harvey, Minister of State for the Armed Forces; and Captain David Reindorp, Royal Navy.
The committee will quiz Nick Harvey and Captain Reindorp on the UK’s contribution to Operation Atalanta and that of other EU member states, and also on how successful changes such as stationing armed guards on board commercial vessels has been.
The representatives of Chatham House and RUSI will be asked about the situation in Somalia and whether progress has been made in prosecuting captured pirates.Adam will be asked about the efforts by the government of the Seychelles to capture and prosecute pirates.
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