There was no possibility of wide-scale recovery and rehabilitation in Somalia if the situation remained volatile. Yet, without basic investments in development, criminality would continue to thrive and security would not improve, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative told the Security Council this morning.
Briefing the Council on the next steps in the implementation of the Djibouti Agreement and how to make the best use of the first 100 days of the newly installed unity Government, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah said: “A new paradigm, based on the linkage between governance, security and development, is now needed.” A strategy with achievable goals should be used to help stabilize the country. For the next 100 days, goals towards stability should be limited: employment, renovation of infrastructure and humanitarian assistance.
Practical actions by the international community should include immediate support for the new authorities; immediate diplomatic and financial assistance to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM); transparent and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance; the issue of individuals on the sanctions list; impunity; and piracy.
As for piracy, he said, that was, above all, a profitable business, linked to the failure of the State on land and its extension off shore. By drawing attention to the plight of Somalis, the international naval presence was a show of solidarity with the country and the whole region. Fighting piracy was also fighting many criminal activities: illegal fishing; waste dumping; and trafficking in humans and drugs. At the same time, there was a need to consolidate cooperative work to help trace the pirates’ financial resources.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Omaar, describing progress made after the new Government had been installed, said: “There are no warlords today in Somalia.” There were no clan wars or political factions holding the country hostage. Some, however, still refused the offer of peace and dialogue. “Yet, we remain ready to negotiate. But we will only do so across the table. The gun must be put away,” he said.
He said the Somali Government had set its targets for the first 100 days. Its responsibility was to provide credibility, coherence and competence in governance. The Government’s security and peacekeeping strategy was based on the twin pillars of AMISOM and the joint security forces. The joint security forces were not funded, resourced or equipped. The 22 April pledging conference would be crucial for providing resources to the security sector.
Turning to the issue of piracy off the coast of Somalia, he said defeating piracy required the restoration of the rule of law. The Somali Government was ready, willing and able to integrate the required actions against piracy into the twin pillars of its security development and stabilization programme.
Reporting on AMISOM, Ramtane Lamamra, Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union, said the Mission was working closely with the Transitional Federal Government to bring the Somali joint security forces into operation. AMISOM was also providing basic humanitarian relief. At present, he said AMISOM was comprised of two battalions from Burundi and Uganda each (totalling 3,450 troops), against an authorized strength of 8,000. Efforts were under way to complete the deployment of AMISOM’s police component.
He welcomed the Council’s intent to consider a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Somalia as a follow-on to AMISOM, which he understood was subject to a decision by 1 June. He called on the Council to “build on its position” and take the necessary decision to deploy that peacekeeping operation. He noted also that the Council had approved the Secretary-General’s proposals to establish a logistical package for AMISOM, as well as a trust fund to help finance training and provide other assistance to Somali security forces. He looked forward to the General Assembly’s approval of the support package, to be provided through United Nations assessed contributions. Collective action was needed so as not to lose the current “window of opportunity”.
While welcoming the positive political developments and progress made in the Djibouti peace process in Somalia, speakers in the ensuing debate expressed grave concern at the continued insecurity in some parts of the country, violations of human rights and the precarious humanitarian situation, as well as at the continued acts of piracy off the coast of Somalia. Regarding the future transition of AMISOM to a United Nations peacekeeping operation, speakers looked forward to the Secretary-General’s report in April on the issue, in order to determine the most appropriate course of action. They commended President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed for his efforts at reaching out to the parties outside the Djibouti peace process and welcomed the fact that the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces from Somalia had not left a security vacuum.
The representative of the United Kingdom warned that the complexity of the challenges should not be underestimated. Progress was urgently needed in tackling the humanitarian crisis. As for the political track, “Somali solutions to Somali problems are needed”, he said. The international community must continue to support the new Government and give it space to pursue reconciliation. A secure environment must also be created and the joint security forces -- the only long-term solution -- should be strengthened. AMISOM continued to play a critical role and provided a base for the Government to operate in the capital.
The representative of Uganda, one of the troop-contributing countries to AMISOM, said the situation in Somalia was still fragile and there were some groups, bent on the path of violence, who continued attacks in different parts of the country, including a cowardly attack on AMISOM that had killed a Ugandan army officer. Such attacks destabilized the country and impeded the delivery of much needed humanitarian assistance to ordinary citizens. He, like other speakers, condemned the targeting of humanitarian personnel, all acts of impunity and violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
Addressing the issue of piracy, which impeded the delivery of humanitarian aid and interfered with international trade, speakers welcomed the cooperation and naval actions of Member States to provide escorts for World Food Programme (WFP) shipments and other ships, and for suppressing acts of piracy, but noted that the root causes -- a lack of the rule of law and governance on land -- must be addressed. Regional countries should also be involved in addressing the issue, they stressed. Costa Rica’s representative added that he hoped the commitment displayed by the international community in addressing the piracy crisis would increase the attention given to the root causes of the crisis in Somalia.
The representatives of Mexico, Burkina Faso, United States, France, Japan, Russian Federation, Turkey, China, Viet Nam, Croatia, Austria, Libya, Czech Republic (on behalf of the European Union), Norway and Malaysia also addressed the Council, as did the Director of the African and Afro-Arab Cooperation Department of the League of Arab States.
Source: WebNewswire
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