International trends on the use of private armed security companies for the protection against maritime piracy

On 31 May a Conference was organised by the Clingendael Institute on protection against maritime piracy. It took place at the International Club in The Hague and was attended by many distinguished speakers and participants.

The Clingendael report 'State or Private Protection against Maritime Piracy' and the recent announcement that the Dutch government would change the policy with respect to the use of Private Security Companies (PSCs) formed the starting point of the seminar International trends on the use of private armed security companies for the protection against maritime piracy. During the seminar representatives of different stakeholders in the debate were present, to discuss the existing international regulations, the experiences with regulating the use of PSCs in other European countries, and the outstanding sensitive issues such as the responsibility of the master or the extent of the use of force that is allowed in situations of self-defence and last resort.