First of three maritime rule of law exercises comes to an end |02 November 2023
Guests and participants in a souvenir photograph
- Participants from law enforcement bodies receive certificate
The closing ceremony of the first of three maritime rule of law exercise battles by the United Nations office on drugs and crime (UNODC) was held on Tuesday morning at the Seychelles Defence Forces maritime training and support centre at Ile Perseverance.
The exercise was a simulated operation that integrated all areas of expertise – from vessel detection, vessel boarding and prosecution of a maritime crime. The ceremony also saw the presentation of certificates to mark the participants’ accomplishment of the training.
The training, which began on October 18, was attended by 32 participants from various law enforcement bodies from three countries, namely Seychelles, Mauritius and Somalia.
David O’Connell, the Western Indian Ocean Programme Coordinator for UNODC’s Global Maritime Crime programme, said the regional programme provides support and capacity building to member states in order to combat maritime crime in the region.
He explained that this exercise integrates all thematic components that have been delivered in previous UNODC trainings, namely trainings on maritime domain awareness, visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS), theoretical and practical maritime law enforcement, prosecution of maritime crimes, and the maintenance of maritime infrastructure to ensure the operability and longevity of maritime assets.
“I thank you for your dedication to the exercise and trust that the experience served as an opportunity for you all to engage with one another, learn and put into practice what you have learned,” he added.
Also addressing the participants was UN resident coordinator for Mauritius and Seychelles, Lisa Simrique Singh, who explained the training was in line with the UN’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development goals and they were pleased to have the participation of dedicated teams from the three countries.
She also commended all personnel on the ability and professionalism demonstrated to address and prevent criminal activity.
For his part, Seychelles’ Minister for Internal Affairs, Errol Fonseka, stated that the country was honoured to have been the host of the regional maritime security exercise.
In his closing remarks, Minister Fonseka said that while the various country teams convened, they were also afforded the opportunity to learn from one another and establish contacts with fellow law enforcement personnel from neighbouring countries and that such relations form the basis for the joint effort that is required to enhance maritime security capabilities for the region.
“I wish to stress, however, that all of this is pointless unless you put what you have learnt into practise. I know the difficulty of perhaps getting those who were not on this training to understand that, but you have to see this as an investment for our future operations,” said the minister.
The second exercise started yesterday and will continue until November 14, with 45 participants from countries, including Comoros, Djibouti and Madagascar.
The third and final one will run from November 15 to November 28, with a total of 30 participants from Tanzania and Kenya.
Diane Larame
Photos by Joena Meme
