Tuesday, May 26, 2009

British envoy: UN Security Council pledges financial support to Somali gov't

The United Nations Security Council agreed to provide logistical support to the government of Somalia engaged in fierce battles with Islamist insurgent forces, and will do so through assessed contributions, marking the first time, said the top British envoy to the UN here on Tuesday.

"For the first time the Security Council has agreed to provide logistical support and to pay for that through UN assessed contributions," British UN Ambassador John Sawers told reporters after the council met on Tuesday morning. "That money, once it's agreed upon in the UN system, will be guaranteed ... and so it's a more reliable source of financial support than is made available through trust funds."

Funding for the United Nations and its agencies comes from two sources -- assessed contributions and voluntary contributions, which are less reliable as individual countries are allowed to decide whether or not, and how much, to contribute.


Currently, the UN Fifth Committee of the General Assembly, which is in charge of the UN administrative and budgetary affairs, is working on the budget for Somalia but Sawers said it is expected to be somewhere between 200 million and 300 million U.S. dollars to be paid over the course of the year, and will fund essential support in terms of rations, electricity, water and basic provisions.

"We will be watching the situation in Somalia very closely and giving what support we can to (President) Sheikh Sharif to seal off attempts to overthrow the government," Sawers told reporters. "I think Somalis now realize that the future of Somalia is largely in their own hands."

Responding to media reports that Ethiopian military forces have crossed back into Somalia, four months after leaving, Sawers said the Security Council wanted to seek support for the Djibouti agreement, which includes the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces.

The UN-facilitated 2008 Djibouti Peace Agreement between the Transitional Federal Government and the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia mandated that Ethiopian troops leave Somalia after crossing into the country in late 2006 to help Somali government forces oust an Islamist administration in south and central Somalia.

On Monday, Somali President Sheikh Sharif called on the international community for assistance in the fight against local insurgents and foreign fighters who he said invaded Somalia.

Intense fighting between the government and the opposition Al-Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam groups erupted on May 8 in several north-west areas of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

The number of Somalis fleeing the latest escalation of fighting in and around Mogadishu has surpassed 67,000, according to a statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

On Tuesday, the UNHCR began distributing aid -- cooking sets, plastic sheeting and blankets -- for some 50,000 people in the Afgooye corridor through its local partners in Somalia.

Somalia is one of the world's largest refugee-producing countries, and the number of Somalis fleeing to neighboring countries continues to rise, the agency added.

Source: Xinhua

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