SOMALIA PIRACY: DEMARCHE REQUEST ON UN ROLE ON

UNCLAS STATE 090069

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: UNSC PREL PHUM PHSA EWWT KCRM SO XA XW
SUBJECT: SOMALIA PIRACY: DEMARCHE REQUEST ON UN ROLE ON
COMBATTING PIRACY

REF: A. STATE 85798

B. USUN NY 648

C. USUN NY 697

(SBU) 1. This is an action request. USUN is instructed to
demarche the Department of Political Affairs and Office of
Legal Affairs Senior Staff as appropriate to deliver the USG
position on different UN proposals to become more involved in
combating piracy off the coast of Somalia. Post may draw
from background in paragraphs 3-9 to achieve the objectives
in paragraph 2.

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OBJECTIVES
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(SBU) 2. USUN should pursue the following objectives:

-- Relay USG appreciation for UN's role in suppressing piracy
off the coast of Somalia, including its role in the Contact
Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS);

-- Express our interest in the prompt establishment of an
International Trust Fund (ITF) to support piracy prosecution,
and to be administered by the UN Development Program (UNDP);

-- Note our interest in the several different UN piracy
proposals and Assistant Secretary-General Menkerios,
suggestion to form an additional Working Group of the CGPCS
focusing on "land-based solutions to piracy," but relay the
USG preference for keeping the CGPCS focused on the piracy
problem and dealing with the "root causes" of piracy in other
venues like the International Contact Group (ICG) on Somalia;

-- Encourage the Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) to work with
UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC),and as appropriate, the
International Maritime Organization (IMO),United Nations
Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI),
and other UN organizations to encourage the development of
mechanisms to assist in the tracking and forfeiture of
financial assets either belonging to pirates or used to
finance piracy operations.
-- Urge increased communication between the UN "focal point"
for coordinating UN efforts on piracy and the CGPCS, and
propose that a representative of the UN "focal point"
participate in all CGPCS working group and plenary sessions.
We hope the UN focal point could also prevent overlap and
duplication among UN agencies regarding their counter-piracy
initiatives.

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BACKGROUND - PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTACT GROUP
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(SBU) 3. In New York City on January 14, 2009,
representatives of 28 countries and six international
organizations agreed to form the Contact Group for Piracy off
the Coast of Somalia. No process or mechanism was agreed
upon by which aspirant countries might seek to participate in
CGPCS plenary and working group meetings (Ref A). On May 29,
2009 the CGPCS plenary issued a communique stating "the CGPCS
is a group of countries and organizations with a common
interest in eliminating the scourge of piracy from the Gulf
of Aden and Somali Basin.8

(SBU) 4. The United States promotes the concept of
"participation" in the CGPCS rather than "membership."
Therefore, the United States wishes to make known our intent
to open all CGPCS fora chaired by the United States to any UN
member state wishing to participate, with an important
caveat. It would be inappropriate to engage in CGPCS fora
with any nation subject to country-specific measures imposed
by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for
maritime-related misconduct (smuggling, trafficking, piracy,
or related crimes) or subject to UNSC resolutions authorizing
inspection of maritime cargo related to proliferation
activities or other criminal activity. Iran, North Korea,
and Somalia are currently subject to such sanctions; however,
the United States will continue to encourage the
participation of Somalia, which is both the primary source
and a major victim of piracy in the region, and whose
participation in the CGPCS is critical to the efforts of the
CGPCS to combat piracy in the region. While the United
States recognizes that other chairs may not agree with this
approach, we will continue to advocate to other chairs for
participation by any country that meets the above criteria.
We anticipate that Japan, which will chair the fourth CGPCS
plenary in New York City on September 10, will apply the same
criteria. USUN should respond to inquiries about CGPCS
participation by asking that the interested parties contact
the chair of the meeting(s) they wish to attend.

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BACKGROUND - UN PROPOSALS
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(SBU) 5. UN agencies already participate in the CGPCS, and
various agencies have also put forth proposals to address
piracy.

-- The UN Secretariat has been an observer in CGPCS
plenaries since the inaugural meeting on January 14, 2009.

-- The UN Department of Political Affairs (DPA) and the
International Maritime Organization (IMO) participate in the
CGPCS. DPA participates in the CGPCS and Working Group (WG)
2 on judicial issues. The IMO participates in Working Group
(WG) 1 (on military coordination, information sharing, and
capacity building) and WG 3 (on shipping self-awareness and
other capabilities),and is coordinating efforts to implement
the Djibouti Code of Conduct. The U.S. chairs WG 3.

-- UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) performs a
secretariat role for WG 2. UNODC also has several
outstanding proposals to help develop judicial capacity in
regional states (i.e. Kenya, Djibouti, Tanzania, Oman, Yemen,
as well as Somaliland and Puntland). The European Commission
has pledged $2.3 million to the UNODC proposal to develop
judicial capacity in Kenya, and the U.S. has pledged $250,000
for UNODC anti-piracy assistance programs.

-- The UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) has been
providing some support to the Egyptian chaired working group
on public diplomacy/public affairs (WG 4). UNPOS has put
together a proposal asking for $500,000 for the next six
months to implement Working Group 4's communication strategy.
The USG has already taken steps to implement elements of the
communication strategy through elements of our public
diplomacy programs.

-- UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute
(UNICRI) is seeking funding for its own set of proposals,
many of which duplicate efforts already undertaken elsewhere.

-- The UN Country Team for Somalia (based in Kenya) has put
forward a series of proposals to address the "root causes" of
piracy, and DPA has proposed creating an additional Working
Group of the CGPCS to seek land-based solutions to piracy.

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U.S. Response
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(SBU) 6. The USG is appreciative of the UN's efforts to
contribute to the suppression of the problem of piracy off
the Somalia coast. During a meeting with Deputy UN Legal
Advisor Taskoe-Jensen, Department Officials encouraged OLA to
focus on strengthening the domestic legal capacity of states
to prosecute suspected pirates. We would welcome OLA's
participating in WG2 of the CGPCS. OLA should contact the
Danish chair about attending future meetings.

(SBU) 7. The SYG in his March report pursuant to resolution
1846, stated UNPOS would be the "focal point" for all UN
activities related to piracy, but we understand that the UN
Department of Political Affairs (DPA) has since taken over
this role. We believe a UN focal point to coordinate
activities among all UN entities and facilitate communication
between them and the CGPCS would be extremely useful. A UN
focal point would also be helpful in preventing duplication
among UN agencies regarding counter-piracy initiatives. We
would urge the UN to have a representative of the UN focal
point attend all CGPCS and WG meetings.

(SBU) 8. The U.S. believes that an International Trust Fund
(ITF) will be a useful vehicle for non-state actors such as
industry and special interest groups to contribute to
anti-piracy initiatives such as offsetting the cost of
prosecuting pirates in regional states and building the
judicial capacity of regional states to suppress piracy. We
understand that Germany is working with the UN regarding a
proposal to establish an ITF for piracy, and the U.S. looks
forward to receiving the proposal. The USG would support the
UNDP administering the fund. We do note, however, that the
IMO has already set up a special trust fund to implement
regional capacity building programs set forth in the Djibouti
Code of Conduct, and to which Japan has contributed $15M. We
hope these two efforts, as the IMO has assured us, can
continue to be deconflicted so they do not duplicate efforts
and compete for the same pool of limited resources.

(SBU) 9. During the May plenary of the CGPCS, A/SYG
Menkerios also proposed the formation of an additional
Working Group to examine "land-based solutions to piracy."
It is our understanding that this proposal would focus on
providing alternative livelihoods to Somali youth vice
kinetic operations against pirates ashore. The CGPCS asked
the UN to develop a proposal to deliver to the next plenary
for its consideration. We very much look forward to
reviewing this report. We hope, however, that any proposal
would not duplicate or interfere with efforts by other groups
working on this important issue. While we recognize piracy
is a symptom of the instability, poverty, and lack of rule of
law ashore, we feel strongly that the CGPCS should focus
exclusively on combating piracy and leave alternative
livelihood and other development projects for the UN Country
Team in Somalia, the International Contact Group on Somalia,
and others already working toward this goal.

-- The concept of an informal multilateral venue of
likeminded countries to share information on mapping the
financial infrastructure of pirates and disrupting their
supporting networks has been discussed among several
countries and met with notable support. The U.S. is
coordinating with the UK on developing a notional agenda to
present at the September 10 CGPCS plenary that could serve as
a platform for an initial multilateral meeting.

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If Raised
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-- Some in the CGPCS have recommended that the UN Secretariat
fulfill a secretariat role to the CGPCS. A/SYG Menkerios,
however, was clear at the last CGPCS meeting in May that they
would need additional resources to perform this duty. The
USG will not agree to the use of assessed contributions to
support this Secretariat function. We are willing to
continue to perform this function as a national contribution
to the overall effort. Should the UN be able to raise
sufficient voluntary contributions to finance this
Secretariat function, or should the CGPCS arrive at a
consensus on other alternatives, the USG would be willing to
revisit this issue.

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DEADLINE AND POC
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(SBU) 10. USUN should report back any reaction for the UN by
September 5, 2009. Point of Contact at the Department of
State is Trina Saha, SahaTD@state.gov, 202-647-2641. PM PDAS
Tom Countryman will be in New York City September 9-10 to
consult with USUN and UN senior staff and would welcome
post,s views on the above points and related issues.
CLINTON