From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Tue Jan 27 2009 - 17:19:28 EST
COMMUNIQUE OF THE 32nd EXTRA-ORDINARY SESSION OF THE IGAD COUNCIL OF
MINISTERS
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
The 32nd Extra-ordinary Meeting of the IGAD Council of Ministers was
convened at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 27th January 2009 to discuss the
developments in Somalia since the 31st Extra-ordinary session and the
way forward, and received a brief from the Somali delegation and the
IGAD Facilitator for the Somali Peace and Reconciliation process,
received a report from Sudan on the situation in Darfur and the status
of the International Criminal Court's (ICC's) investigation in Sudan.
The Council was chaired by H.E. Seyoum Mesfin, Minister of Foreign
Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the current
Chairperson of the IGAD Council of Ministers. The meeting was attended
by H.E. Mahmoud Ali Yusuf, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic
of Djibouti; H.E. Sam Kutesa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Republic of Uganda, H.E. Franklin Esipila, Ambassador of Kenya to the
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; H.E. Mohamed Jama, Permanent
Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Transitional Federal
Government of Somalia; H.E. Ussama Salaheldin Nuogdallah, Ambassador of
Sudan to Djibouti; H.E. Mahboub M. Maalim, Executive Secretary of IGAD,
and Hon. Kipruto arap Kirwa, IGAD facilitator to the Somalia Peace and
National Reconciliation.
The meeting was also attended by the Co-Chairman of the IGAD Partners
Forum (IPF), H.E. Raffaele de Lutio, Ambassador of Italy to Ethiopia.
After deliberating at length on the prevailing political and security
situation in Somalia, the Council:
On Somalia
1. Recalls its earlier decisions as contained in the Communiqué of
its 31st meeting held on 21st December 2008 at Addis Ababa.
2. Notes the resignation of Abdulahi Yusuf as President of the
Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia and hopes that this
presents an opportunity for all to chart a new course for the country,
and thanks him for the services that he has rendered to his country.
3. Notes further the total withdrawal of the Ethiopian troops from
the territory of Somalia, urges all those who have been advancing the
presence of the Ethiopian troops for their continued fighting to cease
forthwith and expresses its appreciation to the people and government of
Ethiopia for the sacrifices they made by deploying troops in Somalia to
promote peace and stability.
4. Welcomes also the decision of the African Union Peace and
Security Council as contained in its Communiqué following its 163rd
meeting held on 22 December 2008 to extend the mandate of AMISOM for an
additional two months starting on 16 January 2009; the United Nations
Security Council Resolution 1863 of 16 January 2009, which inter alia
extends the mandate of AMISOM for another six months from 16 January
2009 and expresses an intention to establish a United Nations Peace
Keeping Operation in Somalia as a follow on force to the African Union
Mission to Somalia (AMISOM), and calls on the UN Security Council to
implement these decisions without delay.
5. Takes note of the decisions reached following the meetings
between the African Union and the Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) on
Somalia held on 10 and 17 January 2009, and in particular the
communication conveyed on the deployment of additional battalions to
AMISOM in the near future, as well as the pledges made to airlift troops
to Somalia to strengthen AMISOM by Algeria and the USA.
6. Expresses appreciation to the troop contributing countries to
AMISOM namely Uganda and Burundi for the sacrifices they continue to
make to advance the cause of peace and stability in Somalia.
7. Welcomes the progress being made in the implementation of the
Djibouti Peace Agreement/Process and specifically commends the work of
the High Level Committee (HLC) and the Joint Security Committee (JSC),
welcomes further the extension of the transitional period by two years
and the expansion of the transitional parliament, and encourages the
parties to establish the government of national unity at the earliest
possible time.
8. Condemns the acts of anti-peace groups on the ground, and calls
upon the general population of Somalia to remain calm, and recalls its
decision to impose sanctions on all those who are obstacles to the
advancement of peace in Somalia.
9. Takes note of the agreement reached between the parties to the
Djibouti process and encourages them to break further ground in the
quest to bring peace and reconciliation to Somalia.
10. Thanks the government and people of Djibouti for facilitating the
on-going meetings between the TFG and the ARS.
11. Reiterates the position that IGAD, UNPOS and AU should work
synergetically with regard to the issues of Somali and IGAD's position
to continue to assume a proactive role.
12. Calls on the international community and the region to continue the
fight against piracy in and around the waters of Somalia, and affirms
IGAD member states firm commitment to fight piracy along the territorial
waters of Somalia.
13. Decides to call for a special humanitarian appeal to the
international community, international NGOs and whoever can help, for
the provision of humanitarian assistance to the suffering Somali people.
On Sudan
14. Notes with serious concern the recent flare-up in fighting in
Darfur and calls on all the opposition groups in particularly the armed
ones to return to the negotiating table to find a peaceful solution to
the political issues in Darfur.
15. Calls on the United Nations to complete the full deployment of the
United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).
16. Calls further on the International Criminal Court (ICC) not to
pursue charges against President Omar el Bashir as this will endanger
the cause of peace in Sudan.
On the Eritrea-Djibouti Border Dispute
17. Notes with appreciation the briefing given by the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Djibouti H.E. Mahmoud Ali Yusuf on the current status
of the border dispute between Djibouti and Eritrea.
18. Welcomes the UN Security Council Resolution 1862 calling on Eritrea
to withdraw from Djibouti territory and calls on the state of Eritrea to
respect the decisions of the UN Security Council as contained in the
resolution.
On the Venue and Date of the next regular IGAD Council of Ministers
Meeting
19. Decides that the next regular meeting of the IGAD Council of
Ministers shall be held at Djibouti in the month of March with the
specific date to be communicated by the Secretariat.
Issued at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 27th January 2009.
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