Norway and Seychelles enter into agreement on transfer of pirates

“We have made great progress in combating piracy off the Horn of Arica, but the risk of it increasing again will remain until there is peace and stability in Somalia,” said Minister of International Development Heikki Eidsvoll Holmås during his visit to Seychelles, where he met convicted pirates.

Mr Holmås signed a memorandum of understanding with the authorities of Seychelles when he visited the island state in the Indian Ocean on Friday 28 June. Under the MoU, pirates who are arrested by the Norwegian frigate KNM Fridtjof Nansen may be transferred to Seychelles for criminal prosecution. Since 7 June this year, Norway has led NATO’s anti-pirate operation off the Horn of Africa. Some 20.000 vessels, including 1000 Norwegian owned vessels, pass through these waters every year. The UN Security Council has urged all states to contribute to the fight against piracy. The aim is not only to safeguard shipping, international trade and the lives of seamen, but also to help to foster a more secure and stable Somalia.

Minister of International Development, Heikki Eidsvoll Holmås met pirates at a Norwegian supported prison at the Seychelles 28 June 2013. Norway is heavily engaged to fight piracy outside Africa's Horn. (Photo: Astrid Sehl, MFA)

“The crime of piracy, which is carried out by poor young men from Somalia, is a major obstacle for the country’s development. It has had a severe effect on the tourist and fishing industries in the region as well as on global shipping. This type of organised crime is not just a regional but also a global problem, and it is important that Norway and the international community continue to cooperate in solving it,” said Mr Holmås. 

“Norway has for some time now been engaged in a broad effort – on land, at sea and in the air – to fight piracy. I am impressed by the way Seychelles has taken responsibility for fighting piracy. This MoU will enable us to enhance our cooperation further,” he added.

The MoU sets out clearly that arrested pirates must be treated in accordance with fundamental human rights. The main aim is that pirates should serve their sentences in prisons of an acceptable standard in Somalia, and, in the long term, that the Somali authorities should have the capacity to prosecute pirates themselves. According to the MoU, pirates transferred by Norway will not be retransferred to any other state without Norway’s prior written consent. 

So far, around 60 pirates who have been convicted in Seychelles have been transferred to Somalia with their consent, and the UN is monitoring that they serve their sentences under proper conditions. Norway is one of the largest donors to the UN’s programmes of prison construction and modernisation in Puntland and Somaliland. Norway is also helping to train prison officers and supporting reform of legislation on prisons.

While he was in Seychelles, Mr Holmås visited a modern prison supported by Norway, which currently houses around 60 pirates. All the convicted pirates he spoke to expressed the desire to serve their sentence in their home country in order to be near their families and friends. Mr Holmås also visited the Supreme Court and the Regional Anti-Piracy Prosecutions and Intelligence Co-ordination Centre (RAPPICC), to which Norway contributes an investigator through Interpol. 

In his meetings with Minister of Home Affairs Joël Morgan and Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Paul Adam, Mr Holmås discussed the risk of piracy increasing again if the international community steps down its efforts at sea. He also emphasised that lasting solutions to the piracy problem could only be achieved on land in Somalia itself, by ensuring security and political stability, social development and jobs. The day before his visit to Seychelles, Mr Holmås was in Mogadishu, where he signed a memorandum of understanding with the Somali authorities on further development cooperation.