Memorandum by the Foreign & Commonwealth
Office
Letter from the Rt Hon Caroline Flint
MP, Minister for Europe at the time of writing
I am writing in response to the Committee's
request for further information following my Explanatory Memorandum
of 17 October on the Joint Action and to inform you of a Council
Decision which will launch the EU military operation against acts
of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia.
I am grateful to your Committee for clearing the
draft Joint Action on the proposed operation before a final English
language version was available (a copy of which has now been sent
to you). I can confirm that the Joint Action was adopted by the
General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) on 10 November
2008. The Council Secretariat is now drafting the Operations Plan
(OPLAN) for this mission. The will OPLAN describe the logistics
of the proposed operation and the Rules of Engagement. We expect
to receive this draft on 24 November.
I am providing as much detail as possible about
the upcoming mission in this letter. I shall also update the Committee
more fully once the draft OPLAN and Council Decision have issued.
However, I hope that the Committee will understand that, given
the pressing need to launch this operation and ensure that there
is no gap in escorting World Food Programme shipping, I may need
to agree the Council Decision at the GAERC on 8-9 December, before
scrutiny has been completed.
The UK's offer to provide the Operation Commander,
Rear Admiral Phil Jones and the Operational Headquarters, the
Multinational Headquarters at Northwood has been formally accepted.
You asked what the command and control arrangements would be and
what interaction there will be with Combined Task Force 150 and
NATO forces. The Member States will exercise political control
and strategic direction of the EU military operation via the Political
and Security Committee (PSC).
A covering mandate confirms that Operation Atalanta
will "liaise with organisations and entities, as well as
States, working in the region to combat acts of piracy and armed
robbery off the Somali coast, in particular the `Combined Task
Force 150' maritime force which operates within the Framework
of `Operation Enduring Freedom'". At the operational level,
the EU Operation Commander shall act as the contact point with,
in particular, ship owners' organisations, as well as with the
relevant departments of the UN Secretary General and the World
Food Programme.
NATO has recently agreed a mandate for Standing
NATO Maritime Groups to enable them to tackle piracy when transiting
through the Gulf of Aden. There is also a specific mandate for
Standing NATO Maritime Group 2, currently on deployment until
December, to take action to counter piracy and escort World Food
Programme aid ships. The end date of the operation will be 20
December but the UK is keen that this remains flexible so that
there is no gap with the launch of Operation Atalanta. EU and
NATO are determined that their activity must be fully co-ordinated.
The UK has offered a Royal Navy frigate for
at least part of the operation, subject to ESDP force generation
requirements and UK operational priorities. Enhanced Rules of
Engagement have been issued to Royal Navy units; they can deter
and disrupt those suspected of pirate activity and they can also
seize and dispose of pirate property, including the sinking of
unmanned pirate skiffs (small boats). But at present there is
a lack in UK law of clear arrest and evidence gathering powers
for Royal Navy officers, so if Royal Navy officers were to arrest
pirates, there is a real risk that such prosecution would fail
on procedural grounds if they had to be brought back to the UK
for prosecution (although it is not our intention in this operation
to bring pirates back to the UK). The Department for Transport
plans to address this in a forthcoming Bill. For this operation
our plan remains to hand over any detained pirates to a state
in the region for prosecution, subject to obtaining suitable assurances
from that state with respect to treatment, and work is in hand
to enable this. Rules of Engagement for Operation Atalanta will
be available when the OPLAN issues from the Council Secretariat
and the Operation Commander on 24 November. Details of these will
be included in the Council Decision.
Under the standard ATHENA mechanism that covers
funding of ESDP operations, current estimates lead us to expect
that the UK share of common costs for the entire one year operation
to be approximately £1.2 million. Although naval operations
to counter piracy directly are important and necessary, we also
need to focus on tackling the root causes of piracy in this area—instability
in Somalia. This operation is thus part of a wider HMG effort
to stabilise the region, with DFID already active with a £25
million programme. The European Commission is also providing significant
funding which is being discussed with Member States in the light
of this planned operation.
You will be aware of the incident on 11 November
involving HMS CUMBERLAND who boarded a foreign flagged fishing
vessel, now known to be Yemeni, which had been hijacked by Somali
pirates. The Yemenis were innocent victims of Somali piracy. This
was a successful example of the Royal Navy's on-going efforts
to counter piracy, deterring an attack and rescuing a pirated
vessel and its crew.
As you will also know, the Sirius Star, a Liberian
flagged oil tanker operated by a Saudi-owned, Dubai based company
VELA INTERNATIONAL, was hijacked on 15 November approximately
500 miles off the coast of Kenya. 25 crew were on board including
two British Nationals. Discussions are currently underway to find
a peaceful resolution and secure the safe release of the hostages.
This incident only serves to underline the importance of the ESDP
mission.
19 November 2008
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