UAE unveils counter-piracy measures

The UAE hosts international conference against piracy, pledges Dh3.67 million to anti-piracy trust and signs Djibouti Code to bring pirates to justice.

UAE - Dubai - April 18- 2011:   HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, minister of foreign affairs, give a speech during the conference " Global Challenge, Regional Responses: Forging a Common Approach to Maritime Piracy" at Madinat Jumeirah Hotel. ( Jaime Puebla - The National Newspaper )
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DUBAI // UAE ministers unveiled steps the country is taking to combat Somali piracy as they hosted a high-level international conference on the issue.

The two-day event began yesterday at Madinat Jumeirah and is hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and DP World, the world's third-largest ports operator. Hundreds of delegates from 50 nations, including foreign ministers, senior UN officials and industry executives, are attending.

"For the UAE, this conference represents a significant part of our policies and efforts in counter-piracy response," Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Foreign Minister, told delegates.

The Government will today donate US$1 million (Dh3.67m) to a UN counter-piracy trust fund - a significant boost to the $6.9m raised since the fund was established in January of last year.

At least $400,000 was pledged to the fund recently by private companies in the UAE. DP World has donated $100,000 to the fund.

More businesses and governments are expected to announce their offers at a fund-raising session today.

Editorial: A regional solution on the high seas

Last Updated: Apr 19, 2011

The UAE has rightly taken the lead in bringing together partners from all over the world to discuss how nations can best cooperate to diminish the threat of piracy. But while international patrols and joint maritime agreements may temporarily address the issue, the ultimate solution lies in stabilising Somalia.

So far, much of the money has gone to support mechanisms to bring pirates to justice. The UN has trained prosecutors in Kenya and the Seychelles, which have agreed to prosecute pirates in their courts, and is building prisons in the Seychelles and Somalia.

Yesterday, the UAE signed the Djibouti Code of Conduct, an agreement adopted in 2009 by nations in the region to enforce UN resolutions pledging to fight piracy.

The addition of the UAE – one of the last of 21 nations eligible to join – was “long overdue”, Anwar Gargash, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said on the sidelines of the conference.

Dr Gargash said the UAE did not seek to necessarily lead counter-piracy efforts, but wanted to do its part in a multinational response. He said the Government still needed to determine, alongside other stakeholders, how to move forward: hence the reason for the conference.

“The UAE is part of the international community, and the UAE is one part of the chain combating pirates. What we are trying to do, as many other countries are doing, is raise the profile; discuss what are the best ways to go about this in a co-operative effort,” he said. “We certainly have a clear and direct interest.”

Dr Gargash and Sheikh Abdullah stressed the need to target the root problem of poverty in Somalia. This included providing development aid and boosting Somalia’s legal systems and security forces, Dr Gargash said.

Vice Admiral Mark Fox, commander of the US Navy Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain, praised the UAE for staging the event. “They are stepping into a commendable leadership role by hosting this conference,” he said.

In his remarks to the delegates, the UAE Navy Commander Brig Ibrahim Musharakh floated the idea of sending an international force to police the Somali coast. That would constitute a new role for the several dozen navies now participating in counter-piracy operations in the region.

“This force is a suggestion or an idea that could be created in order to safeguard the coast of Somalia and prevent pirates taking out to sea,” he said.

He urged naval forces to establish a “standardised and robust code of conduct for all navies” on how to fight pirates. The code would include, for example, rules of engagement and outline standards for the treatment of prisoners.

Brig Musharakh declined to comment on how the Navy might contribute to international counter-piracy operations, which it does not currently participate in. It serves instead in a separate international task force that patrols the Gulf.

The UAE took another first step in fighting piracy at the start of the month when its special forces worked with the US Navy to rescue a government-owned vessel a day after it had been hijacked in the Arabian Sea.

It detained the 10 pirates found aboard the MV Arrilah-I and plans to prosecute them.

chuang@thenational.ae