Statement by UN Special Representative for Somalia, Amb. Francois Lonseny Fall, at meeting of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Contact Group on Somalia – Jeddah, 26 Feb. 2007
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Thank you Mr. Chairman for giving me the floor.
1. I am very happy to be here at this meeting. I am especially pleased that the OIC which had played, in the past, a key role in promoting peace and stability in Somalia, is once again reactivating its interest in this country which has been suffering for the last 16 years not only from a never ending cycle of conflict but also from a series of unfortunate national disasters.
Mr. Chairman,
2. I would like to take this opportunity to brief on the recent developments in Somalia.
3. Somalia has been without functioning institutions of state, and in a state of perpetual conflict for the last decade and a half. As you all know the latest political process emerged from the Somali national reconciliation conference held in Mbgathi and Eldoret in Kenya. The outcome of the process was the establishment of the Transitional Federal Institutions in 2004 which were to function in accordance with the Transitional Federal Charter agreed by the Somali parties themselves for a period of five years.
4. The Transitional Federal Institutions suffered from internal problems from the very start and when they returned to Somalia in June, 2005 they divided themselves with one group based in Jowhar and another in Mogadishu. Although through internal and external pressure the TFIs were able to resolve their differences through the Aden Declaration of January 2006 and convened the first meeting of a Somali parliament in 16 years in Baidoa, events in Mogadishu took an unfortunate turn. The warlords in Mogadishu formed an anti-terrorist alliance and attacked the Islamic Courts in the city. The Islamic Courts eventually drove out the warlords and took control of the city. They formed the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) which was able to restore peace and security to Mogadishu and , in a very short space of time, take over eight of Somalia’s 18 administrative regions.
5. There were two rounds of talks between the ICU and the TFG but failed to address the essential political and security issues, and the third round of talks was abandoned after procedural disagreement. This was accompanied by heightened military tensions and followed by the verbal escalation. As a result, fighting broke out on 22 December between the ICU forces and those of the TFG supported by Ethiopian troops. As a result, the ICU forces were defeated and Mogadishu fell on 28 December. The ICU remnants were chased to Ras Kamboni, where a military
operation is still going on. The American air force has reportedly carried out two air raids apparently targeting Al-Qaeda members operating alongside some hardline elements of the ICU.
6. After the fall of Mogadishu the TFG has been trying to reach out to the various leaders in Mogadishu. TFG President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed met with former Presidents Abdikassim Salad Hassan and Ali Mahdi as well as Hawiye clan elders. He also met with some of the former warlords in Mogadishu and got an undertaking from them that they would disarm their militias. In spite of this the security situation in Mogadishu is deteriorating with daily incidents, including mortar attacks, gun battles and assassinations. Security in the rest of southern and central Somalia is not good also with a return to inter- and intra-clan violence which had been suppressed during the last several months.
7. On 20th February the Security Council adopted the Resolution 1744 authorizing the deployment of an African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Efforts are underway to expedite the deployment of this African Union’s peace support mission – AMISOM. Thus far, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana and Burundi have offered 4,000 of the 8,000 troops required for AMISOM. AMISOM is also in need of financial and logistical assistance. The cost of AMISOM for the first six months is over $370 million. The African Union is still in the process of marshalling these resources.
8. In the meantime, under resolution 1744, the Security Council has authorized a Technical Assessment Mission to Somalia to assess the political and security situation and to report on the possible UN takeover from AMISOM at some later stage.
9. While the preparation for the peace support mission is going ahead, we are continuing to encourage the TFG to engage all the Somali stakeholders, including religious leaders, clan elders and members of civil society in an inclusive dialogue, with a view to having genuine reconciliation and broad-based governance. In this regard, President Yusuf has announced his intention to convene shortly a National Reconciliation Congress. We are having further discussions with the TFG on this topic.
10. My office has also prepared a draft road map for the Transition. It is based on the tasks the TFIs have to achieve in accordance with the Transitional Federal Charter and the security and international assistance that is required to help attain those objectives.
Mr. Chairman,
11. Somalia is one of the founding members of the OIC and this Contact Group played a vital role in the Somali political process in the 1990s. Now that you have begun to re-engage on Somalia, I strongly encourage you to redouble your efforts and work collectively with a common purpose to promote peace, security and reconciliation in this brotherly country.
12. I would like to take this opportunity, especially, to request member-states who have contacts with the leaders of the UIC, especially those in Yemen, to encourage them to accept the Transitional Federal Charter and join the ongoing reconciliation process. Somalia is in a critical position now, it needs all the help it can get from its brethren in the OIC. I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to the OIC Contact Group to support the national reconciliation efforts in Somalia and to find ways to end the conflict that has put brother against brother in Somalia for far too long. This Organization has a special responsibility to engage constructively with the Somalis and help them chart a course away from mutual conflict towards not only peace and reconciliation but also security and stability. On behalf of the United Nations, I am eagerly looking forward to working with you closely to achieve these common objectives in Somalia.
Thank you for your kind attention. |
