ACTION REQUEST: MAY 29 MEETING OF CONTACT GROUP

UNCLAS STATE 050499

SIPDIS
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: MARR ECON PREL PGOV EWWT KCRM PBTS PHSA
SUBJECT: ACTION REQUEST: MAY 29 MEETING OF CONTACT GROUP
ON PIRACY OFF THE COAST OF SOMALIA

REF: A. STATE 42291 B. STATE 45157


1. This is an action request; please see paragraph 3.
This demarche is info only for Embassy Nicosia, as Cyprus
has not been invited to participate in the May 29 meeting.

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OBJECTIVES
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2. Reference A announced the upcoming plenary meeting of
the Contact Group on Piracy of the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS)
and Reference B provided talking points for posts to deliver
to governments invited to attend. This cable provides the
agenda, administrative information, and USG positions on the
issues to be discussed

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ACTION REQUEST
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3. Posts are asked to share the attached agenda and
administrative information,and to preview issues to be
discussed with host governments at the appropriate level.
Posts are requested to obtain from capitals by May 21 the
names, titles,and contact information (phone, fax and email)
of persons who will be attending the CGPCS and to forward
this information to the points of contact in the last
paragraph.

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DRAFT AGENDA
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4. The draft agenda is as follows. Participant views on
additional agenda items should be communicated to the points
of contact in the last paragraph.

09:30-10:00 a.m. Registration and Coffee
10:00-10:15 a.m. Introductory Comments and Outline of
Objectives
10:15-11:15 a.m. Brief (1 minute) Remarks by Participants
Desiring to Speak
11:15-11:45 a.m. Break
11:45-1:00 p.m. Reports from Working Groups
-- Working Group 1 and Shared
Awareness and Deconfliction Process
(UK, Chair)
-- Working Group 2 and International
Trust Fund proposal(Denmark, Chair)
-- Working Group 4 (Egypt, Chair)
1:00-2:30 p.m. No Host Lunch
2:30-4:00 p.m. New Business
-- Tasking Proposal for Working Group 3
-- U.S. proposal to create Working Group 5
on Financial Levers
-- Other business as raised by participants
4:00-4:30 p.m. Break
4:30-5:30 p.m. Next Steps and Concluding Remarks
-- Date, Host, and Venue for next plenary
-- Approve Communiqu Language
5:30 p.m. Press Availability for Heads of Delegations


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Administrative Information
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5. The meeting will take place at the United Nations
Headquarters Building,New York City, in Conference Room
Four from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Morning and afternoon
refreshments will be provided by the U.S. outside the
Conference Room;no-host luncheon will be available in the
UN Dining Room or Cafeteria facilities.Special Event building
passes for delegation members not holding UN credentials
will be issued at a reception table inside the building at
the Visitors Entrance. Conference packages will be
distributed inside the Conference Room; only those delegates
requiring passes need visit the reception table. Conference
staff will circulate an attendance roster to collect, and
will subsequently make available to all attendees, delegate
contact information.

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USG Positions
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6. The following paragraphs articulate USG positions on
the primary issues we intend to raise for discussion.
Conference organizers would welcome information from post
in advance of the plenary regarding these views by other
CGPCS participants.

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PRESS THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL FORCES
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7. Operational coordination through regular Shared
Awareness and Deconfliction(SHADE) meetings at the
military operational level has improved the international
community,s ability to deter pirate attacks, especially in
the Internationally Recognized Transit Corridor (IRTC) in
the Gulf of Aden (GOA). The IRTC allows for the west-to-east
transit of commercial traffic in a sanitized zone, limiting
the number of military vessels required to secure the IRTC.
SHADE meetings now occur weekly, co-hosted by the
Coalition Maritime Forces and EU Naval Forces commanders,
with higher-level meetings held every six weeks to ensure
that scarce resources are used effectively. This
coordination
has proved effective and the U.S. would oppose any proposed
mechanism that would duplicate, impede upon, or attempt to
replace the SHADE process. The huge expanse of territory in
the Somali Basin and irregular transit patterns makes an
IRTC - type transit corridor there unworkable. Additional
forces, especially maritime patrol aircraft and unmanned
aerial vehicles, are required to effectively patrol the
Somali Basin. The United States urges CGPCS
participants and others concerned with countering piracy to
provide additional military assets.

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ADOPT NATIONAL POLICIES TO SUPPORT DETENTION AND PROSECUTION
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8. States, especially those with international treaty
obligations to do so,should ensure that they have in
place policies and legislation that permit the detention
and prosecution of pirates. CGPCS Working Group 2 will offer
two papers during the May 29 meeting. The first lists
impediments to prosecution in past cases and the second is a
checklist of steps that states can take to ensure that they
are able to prosecute suspected pirates. Affected states with
the ability to do so, including the states of registry,
ship owners, cargo owners, and crew nationalities of pirated
ships, should favorably consider the prosecution of suspected
pirates in their domestic courts. When the U.S. -
flagged Maersk Alabama was attacked, the U.S. Undertook to
prosecute the suspected pirate. Other affected states have
also prosecuted pirates.

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CREATE WORKING GROUP 5 ON FINANCIAL LEVERS
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9. The United States will call for the creation of a
fifth working group to examine financial levers that
might be used against pirates and their enablers.
Working Group 5 should focus on understanding informal
financial systems as well as the formal systems that
are potentially facilitating the activities of pirates
off the Coast of Somalia. It should examine the
feasibility of disrupting the financing of pirate
operations and pirateleaders through tracking and
freezing of their assets. It should also explore
engaging international bodies, such as the
Financial Action Task Force (FATF),to assist in
developing standards that could be presented to
the CGPCS, as well as bodies that track illicit
financial flows to pirates and their operations.

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AGREE ON NEW TASKING FOR WORKING GROUP 3
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10. The U.S. will continue to work with industry to
promote the implementation of self-protection measures.
The U.S. suggests that Working Group 3 review, on a
quarterly basis, lessons learned from pirate attacks
and update anti-piracy guidance as necessary based
upon new information. In addition, the US also
suggests that Working Group 3 undertake development
of best management practices for use by owners,
labor, and seafarers welfare organizations in aiding
seafarers affected by piracy.

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PROMOTE NO CONCESSIONS POLICY
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11. Concessions to pirates, including the payment of
ransom, encourage piratical activities and hostage taking.
The USG has a long-standing No Concessions policy with
regard to kidnapping and extortion, including piracy.
No Concessions does not mean no action; the USG is
committed to the safe recovery of pirated hostages.
There is flexibility in negotiation processes to influence
hostage-takers, thinking and to try and bring about the
safe release of hostages; the act of talking to and trying
to influence hostage-takers can have beneficial effects
without concessions. The USG discourages concessions by
private parties, but prefers to remain informed if such
discussions are underway.

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MAINTAIN PUBLIC AFFAIRS FOCUS IN WORKING GROUP 4
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12. The U.S. believes that Working Group 4 should focus
on developing public affairs strategies for discouraging
piracy, not on soliciting or managing strategies for
capacity building or nation-state development. While
maritime security and prosecutorial capacity building and
economic development in Somalia will play key roles in
defeating piracy, these are being addressed in other CGPCS
and international fora. The CGPCS tasked Working Group 1
with examining maritime capacity building needs around the
Horn of Africa and East Africa. The United Kingdom has
traveled to the Somalia region to assess maritime capabilities
in the region. The CGPCS should empower Working Group 1 to
continue these efforts. Working Group 2 is the best place to
work on building regional judicial capacity, given the
expertise of the group,s members. Any capacity building
undertaken through the CGPCS must be in response to assessed
needs and coordinated with other regional capacity development
efforts, including the UNODC and IMO as well as other regional
and bilateral capacity development. The International Contact
Group on Somalia, the UN, and bilateral initiatives by UN
member
states are the best mechanisms to help foster economic
development in Somalia. The CGPCS must do a better job
informing the public and those thinking about becoming pirates
of the destructive consequences of piracy to trade and
development in Somalia and the region. Working Group 4 was
formed to perform this function and should concentrate on it.

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Points of contact
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13. Department points of contact for this meeting are
PM/PPA David Foran, 202-647-7162, forandm@state.gov,
Aiyaz Husain, 202-647- 6058, husaina2@state.gov, and
Christina Rosati, 202-647-3034, rosatics@state.gov.
CLINTON