Bartamaha (Nairobi):- The European Union has pledged more support for Kenya to continue to prosecute suspected Somali pirates who have been hijacking foreign vessels along the Horn of Africa nation’s coast.

A statement from the EU Delegation in Kenya said since May last year EU and its member states like Germany, France, the Netherlands, as well as Canada and the United States have so far provided a total of over 10 million U.S. dollars to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) program, designed to support trials and related treatment of piracy suspects in the region.

“Out of this, 1.6 million dollars have already been spent in Kenya, with a similar amount earmarked for the subsequent period,” the EU said.

The EU said the contribution to the Kenyan justice system clearly exceeds by far any direct cost that arises for Kenya due to the additional piracy trials.

Piracy is a threat to the East African region and to international transport. The crime damages Kenyan economic interests and the position of the port of Mombasa.

The Kenyan Shipping Council estimates that piracy has increased the monthly cost for imports by 23.8 million dollars and for exports by 9.8 million dollars.

“Although long term solutions need to be found to address the root causes of piracy on land, in the short term the problems need to be tackled by detention and prosecution of the the EU said.

“Left untouched, piracy networks might gain influence and further undermine the state, also on Kenyan ground. Kenya needs a stable Somalia and therefore has interest in joining international efforts to counter piracy,” they warned.

Kenya’s proximity to Somalia prompted insurance companies to hike up their premiums for ships travelling to the East African nation’s ports to mitigate the increased insecurity.

This led shipping companies to take the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope while travelling to the Kenyan ports, with cost of doing business on the Kenyan coast going up by over 40 percent.

Kenya has memoranda of understanding with the EU, the United States, Canada, Denmark, Australia and Britain whereby it takes in suspects intercepted at sea and prosecutes them in courts in Mombasa.

The EU is reportedly seeking to forge similar agreements with other five countries in the region, including South Africa and Tanzania.

To date more than 100 suspects have been transferred to Kenya by the Western warships patrolling the Indian Ocean to combat piracy.

It is only Kenya and the Seychelles in the region that have agreed to take in suspects for prosecution, but both have recently complained about the burden of trying and jailing pirates in their countries.

The agreements allowing foreign naval powers to hand over suspects to Kenya instead of taking them back home for prosecution include financial support from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

Early this year, Nairobi formally announced it wished to stop the prosecution of suspected Somali pirates and cancel the agreements it has to that effect with several countries from Asia and Europe.

The foreign ministry had sent “cancellation notes” to at least two of those powers’ diplomatic representations in Nairobi, arguing it could no longer bear the burden on its prison and court systems.

Kenya had also accused the international community of failing to keep up its obligations in sharing the burden in prosecuting and imprisoning the detained pirates.

But during last week’s meeting, participants welcomed the resolve of the Kenyan government to continue its cooperation, and expressed their determination to take into account any outstanding Kenyan concerns in future cooperation against piracy.

According to the statement, the international partners are looking forward to receiving the government’s recommendations on this issue which are expected within the next few weeks.

“The minister underlined his intention to subsequently meet with MoU signatory countries to discuss areas where the MoUs could be confirmed and enriched, possibly through an addendum to the existing MoUs,” it said.

Sources said the EU nations are reluctant to try suspects captured by the force in busy shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden but the bloc cannot send them to any country where they might face abuse or the death penalty.

According to the EU, the challenge of piracy to the region has been recognized by the UN and its International Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS), as well as major regional organizations including EAC, IGAD and the new Djibouti Code of Conduct under the International Maritime Organization.

“With active Kenyan involvement, the CGPCS is providing practical support to States and organizations in their efforts to ensure prosecution of piracy suspects,” they said.

This, the bloc said, has led to concrete actions to build the capacity in the region, including maritime information exchange, training centers, Trust Funds among others.

The EU said there are no indications that piracy suspects are in any way linked to terrorism or Al Shabaab, a militant group which has waged an onslaught on the transitional government of Somalia.

“On the contrary, they are equally despised by Somali extremists, as piracy is considered un-Islamic. The captured pirates in Kenyan prisons are merely “foot soldiers” of criminal gangs,” the EU said.

Kenya shares its southern border with Somalia, whose coastline has been infected with piracy in recent years.

More than 160 pirate attacks have been reported in the waters off Somalia from the beginning of last year.

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Source:-KCB.

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