3 - Pirate Hostage-Taking and Counter-Piracy Measures

Summary

This chapter examines the nature of modern piracy and its impact on the human rights of seafarers taken hostage. By evaluating some of the key counter-piracy measures of the international community, this chapter shows that significant attention has been paid to the protection of the human rights of arrested pirates while the suffering of seafarers has been overlooked. This has been an inevitable outcome of the emphasis that states have been placing on criminal law enforcement measures. The use of force, arrest, detention and prosecution of pirate suspects entail risks of human rights violations, which the international community acknowledged and sought to prevent. This, however, has detracted attention from the need to protect the victims of piracy whose human rights continue to be marginalised.