Members of the Security Council today voiced their full support for Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and urged that it complete priority tasks such as the drafting of a new constitution for the Horn of Africa nation.
Under the Transitional Federal Charter, the interim authority's mandate is set to expire in August 2011. Several tasks remain to be completed such as continuing initiatives on reconciliation, building civilian and security institutions and the completion of the constitution-making process.
Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant of the United Kingdom, which holds the Council's presidency for November, told reporters that the 15-member body reaffirmed its full support for the UN-facilitated Djibouti peace process and the TFG.
“They urged the TFG to remain united and redouble its efforts on reconciliation and the completion of the remaining transitional tasks, in particular the constitution-making process,” he stated.
His comments followed a closed-door briefing to the Council via videoconference by Augustine Mahiga, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia, as well as by Susanna Malcorra, the Under-Secretary-General for Field Support.
Somalia – which has not had a functioning central government since 1991 – has been torn apart by decades of conflict and factional strife, more recently with al-Shabaab Islamic militants. The country is also facing a dire humanitarian crisis in which 3.2 million people, more than 40 per cent of the population, is in need of aid.
Council members expressed their support for the work of Mr. Mahiga, the UN and the African Union – which has a mission in Somalia known as AMISOM – to promote peace and reconciliation in the country.
They also discussed the proposals made by the African Union on AMISOM and called on the international community to mobilize resources to strengthen the mission's operational capabilities, Mr. Lyall Grant said.
Source: The Accra Mail
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