Statement by the United Nations Special Representative for Somalia,
Francois Lonseny Fall, to the Special Meeting of the IGAD Council of Ministers – Nairobi 1 August 2006.
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Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies and Colleagues,
I am very pleased to be here with you once again. The rapidly evolving situation in Somalia is being viewed by the international community
with growing interest and concern. The United Nations Security Council and the
International Contact Group on Somalia, have met twice in the last two months and I had
the privilege to attend each of these meetings. I also visited Baidoa and Mogadishu last
week in an effort to encourage the Transitional Federal Government and the Supreme
Council of Islamic Courts to participate in the next round of talks in Khartoum. Both
sides have told me directly that the door to dialogue remains open. However, daily shifts
in the Somali landscape make it essential for the international community to continue to
impress upon both sides the need to sustain their commitment to this course of
interaction. The importance of continued dialogue was emphasized by the Security
Council in the last Presidential Statement of 13 July and in the statement of the
International Contact Group on Somalia on 17 July. This is a view shared by the entire
international community.
The Presidential Statement of 13 July provides important political guidance. The starting
point for the United Nations, as outlined in this statement, is support for the
Transitional Federal Institutions, “as the internationally recognized authorities to restore
peace, stability and governance to Somalia.” The statement also underscores “the
importance for stability in Somalia of broad-based and representative institutions and of
an inclusive political process, as envisaged in the Transitional Federal Charter (TFC).”
Any solution to the present crisis must therefore be sought within the framework of this
Charter.
Mr. Chairman,
The latest Presidential Statement of the Security Council and those that preceded it over
the last year, also contain useful guidelines regarding the African Union’s request for a
partial lifting of the UN arms embargo: “to pave way for a possible deployment of a
Peace Support Mission (PSM) and to help facilitate the re-establishment of the national
security forces of Somalia.” The UN Security Council, in these Presidential Statements,
expresses its willingness to consider this request, if it judges that a peace support mission
would contribute to peace and stability in Somalia. It also seeks a detailed mission plan
from IGAD or the AU as the basis on which an exemption could be considered.
The Security Council has also, in this context, repeatedly emphasized the need to
establish a comprehensive and verifiable ceasefire. It is necessary to have the agreement
of all parties not to engage in hostilities in any form and for their forces to remain in
place and not make any move that could be seen by others to be provocative. Dialogue in
Khartoum offers the parties an opportunity to negotiate such an agreement.
Once an agreement has been negotiated, there may be a role for the peace support
mission, as a neutral third party, to observe and possibly monitor the ceasefire through
the deployment of a relatively small-unarmed observer force. This may become the first
phase in a staggered approach to the deployment of the proposed peace support mission,
leaving scope for expansion if circumstances require and allow it to do so.
With regard to the TFG’s plans for the development of the security sector in Somalia, the
Security Council has welcomed the adoption by the TFIs of the National Security and
Stabilization Plan as “an important step towards providing a framework for effective
security sector reform in Somalia.” In the Presidential Statement of 13 July, the Council
expressed its readiness to “consider a limited modification of the arms embargo to enable
the TFIs, on the basis of a sustainable peace process, to develop Somalia’s security sector
and national institutions capable of responding to security issues.”
With regard to both the deployment of the Peace Support Mission and assistance with
security sector development, my office and the United Nations Department of
Peacekeeping Operations stand willing to provide technical advice in the areas of mission
planning, DDR and police training, provided that a request for such assistance is made
through the African Union.
Mr. Chairman,
We have reached a critical stage in the political process in Somalia. Every step that we as
the international community takes can either improve or worsen the situation on the
ground. Any decision we take can make all the difference between the consolidation of
peace or its unraveling. It is therefore very important to take each step with due
consideration and extreme care and to refrain from any action that could exacerbate the tense situation in Somalia. IGAD has played a vital role in beginning and pursuing
the peace process. It now has an even greater responsibility to see this process through to
a successful conclusion.
I would urge regional countries to exercise the maximum restraint in order to help the
cause of peace in Somalia. The United Nations remains committed to supporting IGAD
and other regional players in achieving the objective of peace, reconciliation and stability
in Somalia.
I thank you, Mr. Chairman |
