S/PV.5579 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. Members of the Council have before them document S/2006/940, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by the United Republic of Tanzania, Ghana, the Congo and the United States of America. It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. If I hear no objection, I shall now put the draft resolution to the vote. There being no objection, it is so decided.

There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 1725 (2006). I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements following the voting.

The United States is pleased to co-sponsor this resolution on Somalia with all of our African colleagues on the Security Council. In Somalia, the security situation is deteriorating and tensions continue to run high, which is of deep concern to the United States. Like many other Member States, we are concerned about the prospects for a wider regional conflict. However, the United States views the deployment of a regional force to Somalia as a key element in preventing conflict. Through the International Somalia Contact Group, the United States is committed to working with our international partners to encourage dialogue among Somali parties. Despite these efforts and the 22 June Khartoum Declaration between the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFI) and the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), the situation in Somalia has not improved. Although both parties have violated the terms of the Khartoum Declaration, the UIC has done so through concrete military expansion. It has sought to further destabilize the Horn of Africa region through irredentist claims on the Somali-populated regions of neighbouring States and support for insurgent groups in Ethiopia. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the African Union have put forth a proposal aimed at helping to restore stability in Somalia through deployment of a security, training and protection mission. The primary purpose of that deployment is to help stabilize Somalia by providing security in Baidoa, and protection and training for the TFI, not to engage in offensive actions against the UIC. The United States strongly believes that a sustainable solution in Somalia should be based on credible dialogue between the TFI and the UIC, and we continue to work with our African and other partners towards that end. The continued military expansion by the UIC, however, has not helped to promote dialogue and, in fact, has created the need for deployment of a regional force to stabilize the situation inside Somalia. The United States supports that regional proposal and views the deployment of the IGAD Peace Support Mission in Somalia (IGASOM) as a critical element to help resume credible dialogue between the TFI and UIC. It will also help to create the conditions for Ethiopian and Eritrean disengagement from Somalia. The deployment of IGASOM is only one of the critical elements, however, of what must be a comprehensive plan to reach a durable solution in Somalia. A political settlement is needed, and dialogue towards it must resume. A security protocol, including a verifiable ceasefire and military disengagement, is the next step towards a longer-term solution. The international community must be united in its efforts to bring the parties back to that dialogue. The United States welcomes the recommendations of the United Nations Somalia Monitoring Group regarding ways to strengthen and improve the effectiveness of the United Nations arms embargo on Somalia. We continue to work with our partners in the Security Council on these and many other issues as we seek a solution to the Somali crisis.

I welcome the Security Council’s adoption today of this resolution, which supports the efforts under way for quite some time now by the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to bring peace back to Somalia. For years now, that country has felt abandoned by the international community. Last week again, in Abuja, the Prime Minister of Somalia asked his peers, the African leaders, to do everything in their power to ensure that the Council would adopt the draft resolution being negotiated at that time in New York. I welcome the fact that the Council has adopted this text unanimously. In particular, I am thankful to the delegation of the United States of America, which joined the three African countries members of the Council in sponsoring the text, so important for Africa. With the adoption of this text, IGAD will be in a position to deploy a training and protection force, whose purpose has been and remains to restore peace in Somalia, to assist in the dialogue among all parties and to support commitments already undertaken, particularly in the Khartoum talks. As everyone knows, the African Union recognizes the transitional federal institutions, but it encourages dialogue between those institutions and the Union of Islamic Courts. Finally, we invite all States, in particular neighbouring countries, to strictly respect this resolution. In this regard, respect for the arms embargo constitutes significant proof of their commitment to the restoration of peace in Somalia.

We too want to thank the United States for joining us in sponsoring this resolution and for contributing to its support. It is not a perfect resolution. It does not offer all the answers to the challenges facing Somalia. It is, however, a step in the right direction — a step that needed to be taken. It encourages all of Somalia’s parties to work together towards the restoration of peace and security in Somalia. This is as it ought to be. Furthermore, the resolution responds, to a degree, to the concerns raised by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the African Union. It is clear that both IGAD and the African Union will continue to need the support not only of this Council, but also of the international community in supporting Somalia as it walks towards this tenuous road to peace and stability. We are glad to associate ourselves with the resolution and we thank the Council for having adopted it.

I will now speak in my national capacity in explanation of vote. The State of Qatar has voted in favour of the resolution out of our belief in the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia, as well as its political independence and the unity of its territory. In the consultations that were held over the resolution, we affirmed our readiness to undertake any measures as long as they will genuinely contribute to easing the intensity of the crisis in Somalia. Therefore, we have reaffirmed the need to continue to deal with the situation in Somalia cautiously and without rushing to any preconceived judgement. Our main purpose is to spread peace and stability in Somalia and to entrench a cooperative and comprehensive national rule. Our support for the resolution stems from our understanding that it aims to encourage all Somali parties to reach a peaceful political settlement through a comprehensive dialogue among all groups. This would accomplish the hoped-for stability. It is important that this resolution not have a negative impact; it must not be construed as being directed at one party at the expense of another. This must be kept in mind when the resolution is implemented. I now resume my functions as President of the Council. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council will remain seized of the matter.