DJIBOUTI: NO POSITION YET ON INTERNATIONAL PIRACY COURT

C O N F I D E N T I A L DJIBOUTI 000683 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E, PM/PPA, AND IO/UNP DEPARTMENT PASS MARITIME SECURITY COLLECTIVE E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/06/11 TAGS: EWWT PHSA PGOV PREL MARR DJ SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI: NO POSITION YET ON INTERNATIONAL PIRACY COURT REF: STATE 58579 CLASSIFIED BY: J. Swan, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (SBU) DCM and PolOff delivered nonpaper and discussed reftel points with GODJ Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director of Bilateral Relations Mohamed Ali Hassan June 11. ¶2. (C) Hassan said that the GODJ had not yet taken a position on the question of an international piracy court. In many situations like this one, Hassan said, the GODJ preferred to "wait, listen, and discuss," taking the "temperature" of the international environment before making a final decision. Hassan said that while talk of an international piracy court "had been circulating," Djibouti would be very unlikely to come out in front with a bilateral position before more general consensus emerged. Hassan said that the GODJ would be interested in concrete USG proposals for alternatives to an international court; DCM discussed the alternatives presented in the nonpaper. Hassan said that he was particularly interested in the idea of an international trust fund to help defray the cost of national prosecutions. Hassan underlined the importance of finding timely solutions to the question of prosecution, asking, "How long will it take until Kenya becomes jammed [with suspected pirates]?" ¶3. (C) Additionally, Hassan said that he was planning to present the Minister of Foreign Affairs with his idea to form a committee or working group of all countries involved in anti-piracy efforts in Djibouti, together with the GODJ Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Transport. The goal of this group, he said, would be to improve coordination in-country between and among foreign forces and the GODJ. ¶4. (C) COMMENT. Djibouti is unlikely to take an early or vocal stance on the question of an international piracy court, and will probably look to any common positions taken by the African Union, Arab League, or other regional groupings. However, as an increasing number of anti-piracy efforts base their efforts out of Djibouti, the GODJ remains completely vested both in continuing to improve anti-piracy coordination, and in finding effective solutions to the question of prosecution. END COMMENT. SWAN