Seminar: The forgotten hostages of Somalia’s pirates (København)

In the last decade, Somali pirates have captured more than 3000 sailors in the Western Indian Ocean and in the Gulf of Aden as their ships were transiting through.

Somali piracy has been high on the agenda of international media outlets, and foreign governments have deployed international navies off the coast of Somalia to deal with the problem. We know the grueling stories of Western hostages such as the crew onboard Danica White. However, there are hundreds of other similar stories of abductions that were never told, ultimately because no one cared to listen.

Essentially, hostages can be divided into two categories. There are those who are of considerable value, because they have the backing and support of governments or companies that are willing and able to pay a ransom, and those who are not able to mobilize this kind of support.

At this seminar, Leonardo Høy-Carrasco, a former employee of the UN will talk about his work, which entails getting hostages released. He was employed by the UN in 2012 to set up a program to support the ‘forgotten’ hostages. This involved entering into dialogue with groups of pirates to communicate the fact that no ransom would be paid for the hostages, and at the same time advocate for their release on humanitarian grounds. The work also involved setting up the full logistical machinery for their immediate evacuation, upon release in remote locations across Somalia, and preparing them for their journey home.

The stories of the forgotten hostages remain largely untold, the seminar explores who they and their kidnappers were, and the many dilemmas encountered in ensuring the release of the hostages.

Speakers

Leonardo Høy-Carrasco, former Consultant, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Peter Albrecht, Senior Researcher, DIIS

Programme

14.00-14.10: Introduction
Peter Albrecht

14.10-15.00: The forgotten hostages of Somalia’s pirates
Leonardo Høy-Carrasco

15.00-15.30: Q&A with the audience
Peter Albrecht

15.30-16.00: Coffee

Practical information

The seminar will be in English and live streamed on diis.dk.

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Please use our online registration form no later than Tuesday 20 March 2018 at 12.00 noon. Live stream does not require registration.

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