INTERPOL Hostage Debriefing Initiative

Incidents of maritime piracy have increased in both frequency and geographical locations throughout 2008, 2009 and 2010, and continued in 2011, with a slight decrease in 2012. As of 15 September 2013, 57 seafarers were reported to still be held by pirates in extremely difficult circumstances1. With funding from the Trust Fund to Support Initiatives of States Combating Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (the Trust Fund), UNODC and UNPOS established in October 2012 a joint programme to provide medical care, accommodation, food, clothes and welfare items to the isolated groups of hostages during the release phase and support them in returning home swiftly.

However, problems relating to the debriefing of hostages, information gathering and sharing organizations, without these organizations sharing the information or coordinating the purposes of the debriefs. This results in information being lost, or corrupted, and confusing and/or alienating the hostages. Thus a more coordinated and holistic approached is need in order to cover the different aspects of, and purposes for, information gathering in order to assuage the needs of law enforcement, industry, humanitarian aid and - very significantly - securing information that could lead to the release of other hostages in the future, and which can be utilized by policy makers, industry, and other stakeholders to inform the preparation of seafarers for transit through the High Risk Area.

INTERPOL’s role in combating maritime piracy off the coast of Somalia has been recognized in a number of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions (1950, 1976 and 2020), and recently 2077, which inter alia urged States, in cooperation with INTERPOL and Europol, to further investigate international criminal networks involved in piracy off the coast of Somalia, including those responsible for illicit financing and facilitation, and to make their citizens and vessels available for forensic investigation as appropriate at the first suitable port of call immediately following an act or attempted act of piracy or armed robbery at sea or release from captivity.

The ICC-CCS through its International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Centre (IMB PRC) is the only single reporting point for ship Masters and their owners to report incidents of piracy and armed robbery occurring worldwide and has the capability to identify and locate these crews who could then be debriefed by competent authorities.