UNODC and piracy

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.

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UNODC Counter Piracy Programme Brochure:

- September / October 2011 (PDF)

- June 2011 (PDF)

- February 2011 (PDF)