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Tuesday, 8 January 2013
Press Release: UN News
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Somalia: Welcoming Recent Gains, Un
Envoy Says Consolidating Peace Still ‘Not Easy’
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| Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Augustine P. Mahiga |
New York, Dec 31 2012 5:00PM
The top United Nations official for Somalia today signalled the need for uninterrupted international support for the Horn-of-Africa country if gains over the past year are to be consolidated and advanced.
“For the first time in a generation,
a safe, secure and prosperous Somalia at peace with itself and its neighbours
seems more like a reasonable aspiration than a distant dream,” said
Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Augustine P. Mahiga, in
a ‘year-end’ letter to the people of Somalia and the international community.
“However, the road to stabilization
will not be easy,” he added. “Somalia remains a state in need of support from
the international community, which will need to re-invest comprehensively and generously
if it is to capitalize on its massive investment of time and resources.”
August marked a historic political
watershed for modern-day Somalia with the swearing-in of the country’s first
formal parliament in more than 20 years.
The event brought to an end the
so-called Somali “transition,” which had begun with the 2004 launch of a
UN-backed interim government after Somalis had been without a functioning
government since the overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
In his letter, Mr. Mahiga spoke of
the New Year being “full of promise and hope” for the country, which, since
1991, has seen warlords, Islamist militants, and its neighbours variously
involved in its affairs.
“After several failed attempts to
end of the Transition in Somalia, we succeeded this past year because the
process was inclusive, transparent, legitimate, participatory and
Somalia-owned,” the UN envoy said.
The Special Representative also
heads the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), which the was established in
1995 to help the world body “advance the cause of peace and reconciliation
through contacts with Somali leaders, civic organizations and the states and
organizations concerned.”
UNPOS supports the African Union (AU)
peacekeeping force in Somalia which, known by the acronym AMISON, has since
2007 been trying to help bring peace in the country.
A series of Somali Government and AU
offensives, as well as a Kenyan army incursion in 2011, resulted in the end of
frontline combat involving the al-Shabaab Islamist militant group in the Somali
capital of Mogadishu in August last year. Al-Shabaab lost its last urban
stronghold – the important southern port of Kismayo – this past October, along
with the significant inland town of Wanla Weyn.
“At the beginning of the year, my
office and half of its staff relocated to Somalia and continued to work
alongside key Somali partners in a variety of sectors,” Mr. Mahiga said in his
year-end letter, in a reference to the move from UNPOS’ former office
headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.
“The centre of gravity has shifted
to Mogadishu, and UNPOS (is) completing a major strategic review to ensure full
alignment of its policies and programs with the goals and aims of the new
government,” he added.
Mr. Mahiga said the mission is in
the process increasing staff presence in the Somalia “by 100 per cent in the
coming weeks,” as he called on other members of the international community “to
come to Mogadishu.”
The Special Representative noted
that, in the last year, UNPOS had “closely cooperated with key regional
interlocutors to ensure a unified and coordinated approach on important
political issues.”
According to Mr. Mahiga, initiatives
included the establishment of a “joint framework” between the AU and the
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) – an eight-country regional
body that aims to encourage cooperation between its member states.
He said the framework ensured “close
collaboration on issues affecting the Somali peace process.”
“This harmonized international and
regional response to challenges within Somalia played a critical role in
enabling the international community to speak with one voice in support of the
process,” Mr. Mahiga added.
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For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
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