Lords EU Committee holds follow-up inquiry into Somali piracy

• Parliament TV(audio only): Combating Somali Piracy: the EU’s Naval Operation Atalanta – Follow-up report
• EU Sub-Committee C - External Affairs
  

The Committee published Combating Somali Piracy: the EU's Naval Operation Atalanta in April 2010. The report called for both a more robust approach to be taken to prosecution and punishment of pirates as well as more effort to tackle the root causes of extreme poverty in Somalia in order to change the perceived risk/reward ratio for potential pirates.

In their follow-up inquiry the Committee will consider what progress has been made by Operation Atalanta and whether the threat of Somali piracy is being reduced. 

• Inquiry: Combating Somali Piracy: The EU's Naval Operation Atalanta - A Follow-up inquiry 

The Committee will hold their first evidence sessions in the inquiry on Thursday 14 June in Committee Room 2A of the House of Lords. The full details of the sessions are:

• 9:00am – Mr. Jean-Paul Adam, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Republic of Seychelles.
• 9:30am – Adjoe Anyimadu, Head Analyst on Somalia, Chatham House; Dr. Knox Chitiyo, Associate Fellow, Chatham House; and Dr. Lee Willett, Head of Maritime Studies, Royal United Services Institute.
• 10:45am – Nick Harvey MP, Minister of State for the Armed Forces; Captain David Reindorp, Royal Navy.

The Committee will quiz Nick Harvey and Captain Reindorp on the UK’s contribution to Operation Atalanta and that of other EU Member States and also on how successful changes such as stationing armed guards on board commercial vessels has been.

The representatives of Chatham House and RUSI will be asked about the situation in Somalia and whether progress has been made in prosecuting captured pirates. Jean-Paul Adam will be asked about the efforts by the Government of the Seychelles to capture and prosecute pirates.

Further Information  

• About Parliament: Select Committees
• Visiting Parliament: Watch Committees