Somalia needs urgent assistance to tackle post-transition challenges, UN
envoy tells Security Council
16 October 2012 - With the nine-year-old transitional period in Somalia
having ended peacefully, the authorities need urgent assistance to meet the
challenges associated with peacebuilding as well as stabilizing areas
liberated from insurgents, the top United Nations envoy to the country said
today.
"The change met the expectations of most Somalis and has raised higher
expectations for more change," the Secretary-General's Special
Representative and head of the UN Political Office for Somalia (
<
http://unpos.unmissions.org/> UNPOS), Augustine P. Mahiga, told a Security
Council meeting on Somalia.
The war-torn Horn of Africa nation now has a new Constitution, a new
Parliament and new elected Speaker and President. Earlier this month,
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud appointed Abdi Farah Shirdon as the new
Prime Minister. Once confirmed, Mr. Shirdon will form the country's first
post-transition Government.
Briefing the 15-member body via video-conference, Mr. Mahiga added that the
Somali authorities now urgently need assistance to meet new challenges.
Among the priority tasks facing the new administration is to move quickly to
lead in the stabilization of the liberated areas.
"This is critical in filling the vacuum which could otherwise emerge from
the retreat of the insurgents," the envoy said. "The immediate challenge
which the Government faces is, hence, the establishment of local and
district administrations, justice and rule of law, as well as to provide
basic services to the population."
He noted that the security situation in Somalia has "vastly improved,"
thanks to the continuing efforts of the UN-supported African Union Mission
in Somalia (AMISOM), the Ethiopian forces and the Somali Government and its
local allied forces.
"The fall of Kismayo, the last stronghold of the extremist Al-Shabaab
insurgents, in late September, marked a decisive turning-point in the
conflict," he stated, referring to the southern port city that was liberated
by AMISOM. "The challenge now is to align the security and political
strategies in Kismayo as part of the overall stabilization strategy in the
newly-recovered areas."
Although the Al-Shabaab has now dispersed into a "rag-tag militia," it has
nonetheless, embarked on more asymmetrical, terrorist and hit-and-run
tactics as it occasionally does in Mogadishu, said the UN official.
"These are tactics which AMISOM and the Somali forces must be equipped to
deal with, as they control more territory and their lines of supply get
extended. Another worrying trend is the ongoing assassinations and targeted
killings of civilians," Mr. Mahiga said. "These trends call for the
expeditious deployment of AMISOM to its full strength, with the necessary
logistical support and the enhanced training and strengthening of the Somali
Security Forces."
It is also essential that AMISOM - the current mandate for which expires on
31 October - is supported to control more effectively the coastal waters
around Mogadishu, Marka, Baraawe and Kismayo, in order to protect its own
forces, supply lines, interrupt Al-Shabaab re-supply lines and effectively
secure the ports for commercial use, Mr. Mahiga added.
The African Union (AU) has informed the Council that, working together with
the UN, it intends to undertake a thorough assessment of AMISOM and how best
it can contribute to the stabilization of Somalia in light of the gains made
on the ground and the challenges ahead. This process is expected to start in
the next few weeks and to be concluded in the coming months.
In the meantime, the AU has requested that the Council authorize a technical
rollover of the current support package for AMISOM for four additional
months, until February 2013, with some slight adjustments "to take into
account pressing issues on the ground," according to a letter before the
Council.
This includes requests for the deployment of an additional 50 civilian
personnel across the Mission area, as well as a maritime component, taking
into consideration "the critical role of naval assets for the effective
implementation of the AMISOM mandate and the stabilization of Somalia."
Mr. Mahiga said that UNPOS had begun a consultative process to review the
future presence of the UN in Somalia, and that this would be led by the
needs and expectations of the Somalis.
He added that the political and security strides that Somalia has made must
not distract the international community from the ongoing dire humanitarian
situation, in which more than two million Somalis remain in urgent need of
food aid and other assistance.
Funding is drying up, less than one year after famine raged and despite
negative humanitarian indicators, he noted. "I urge the international
partners to sustain and expand their assistance to Somalia, to prevent it
from sliding back into famine and misery," he said.
------------[ Sent via the dehai-wn mailing list by dehai.org]--------------
Received on Tue Oct 16 2012 - 16:49:44 EDT
