This week the European Union’s EUCAP Nestor capacity training mission took up again the training of 29 members of the Somali Coast Guard in Jazeera Training Camp in Mogadishu after Ramadan.
The training is a joint venture between the maritime security mission EUCAP Nestor and The European Union Training Mission Somalia (EUTM).
Earlier this week the cadets were trained in basic maritime law, police work at sea and detection of improvised explosive devices. On Thursday, three prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Office held lectures in criminal procedure law.
The Coast Guard cadets were given a basic introduction to Somali law in general, including the unwritten Xeer. The prosecutors made it clear that severe crimes like for instance rape cannot only be handled under the Xeer system. In such cases the Attorney General and the police will have to launch investigation and bring the perpetrator before the court. Another significant topic during Thursday’s training was the rights of arrested persons.
Bringing in the Somali prosecutors as trainers in a EUCAP Nestor course is a result of a mentoring program conducted by EUCAP Nestor in cooperation with the Attorney General’s office over the last few months.
EUCAP Nestor is a civilian EU mission under the Common Security and Defense Policy which assists host countries in the Horn of Africa and Western Indian Ocean region (Somalia, Somaliland, Djibouti, Seychelles, Tanzania) in strengthening their capacity to ensure maritime security and in particular to fight piracy.
