WASHINGTON — Canada's catch-and-release approach to countering piracy off Somalia is at odds with other Western navies and flouts Ottawa's obligations under international law, according to maritime and international law experts.
“Its ludicrous for the Harper government to claim that it can't arrest and prosecute pirates,” said Michael Byers, who holds the Canadian Research Chair in International Law and Politics at the University of British Columbia. “Canada has a legal obligation under the United Nations and international law to bring pirates to justice.”
Pirates seized by French, German, Spanish and other NATO warships have been clapped in irons – or at least detained – and delivered to Kenya, where they are put on trial as part of a broad international effort to punish piracy using a mix of old national and new international law.
No comments:
Post a Comment