DJIBOUTI AND REQUEST FOR IMMEDIATE COOPERATION ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L DJIBOUTI 000361 SIPDIS COMUSNAVCENT BAHRAIN IMMEDIATE SENSITIVE STATE FOR AF/E ACTING DIRECTOR DEBORAH MALAC DOD FOR AF DAS THERESA WHELAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2016 TAGS: PREL MARR PHSA SO DJ SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI AND REQUEST FOR IMMEDIATE COOPERATION ON SOMALI PIRACY SUSPECTS REF: SECSTATE 46195 Classified By: Ambassador Marguerita D. Ragsdale. Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (SBU) Ambassador conveyed to Mahmoud Ali Youssuf, Djibouti's Minister of Foreign Affairs, substance of points provided in reftel during an urgent meeting at her request on March 23. She also converted the cable's instructions into a series of points which she left with the Minister as a non-paper. Pol/Econ accompanied the Ambassador as note taker for the meeting. ¶2. (C) The Minister, who indicated his intention to depart the same evening for Khartoum to prepare for the upcoming Arab League summit, responded that he would consult with higher authorities in Djibouti and have an answer provided to the Ambassador by the deadline of March 27. He commented that piracy is a continuing concern in the Horn and observed that pirates deal in arms, drugs and other types of illegal trade. ¶3. (C) The Minister offered the view that the issue of custody and the handling of captured piracy suspects needs to be discussed within a larger framework involving neighboring countries in the region. He expressed hope that the United States Government and the United States military can be included in such discussions. The Minister conveyed to Ambassador his concern that no legal framework currently exists for dealing with pirates and said no country really wants them because their presence can open up a number of issues, including that of human rights. Djibouti would like to see collective cooperation and a combination of efforts to build such a framework, the Minister said. He also said he believed Italy had first broached the idea of a framework for handling pirates, and that Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique also had expressed interest. ¶4. (C) The Minister commented as well on the state of lawlessness in Somalia and observed that Mogadishu is the largest arms market in the Horn of Africa region. The U.N. arms embargo has not proved sufficient or effective in stopping the illegal arms trade as it has been difficult, in practice, to enforce. RAGSDALE