S/PV.7181 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of Somalia to participate in this meeting. In accordance with rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite Mr. Nicholas Kay, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia, to participate in this meeting. On behalf of the Council, I welcome Mr. Kay, who is joining today’s meeting via video-teleconference from Mogadishu. Under rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedures, I invite Mr. Mahamat Saleh Annadif, Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and Head of the African Union Mission in Somalia, to participate in this meeting. On behalf of the Council, I welcome Mr. Annadif, who is also joining today’s meeting via video- teleconference from Mogadishu. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2014/330, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on Somalia. The Council has before it the text of a presidential statement on behalf of the Council on the subject of today’s meeting. I thank Council members for their valuable contributions to the statement. In accordance with the understanding reached among the members of the Council, I shall take it that the members of the Security Council agree to the statement, which will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/2014/9. I now give the floor to Mr. Nicholas Kay. Mr. Kay: I thank Security Council members for this opportunity to brief the Council and for their continued and united support for Somalia. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) completes its first year of work on 3 June. A year ago, the Federal Government of Somalia asked the United Nations for “one door to knock on” to help coordinate international assistance as the country emerged from decades of conflict. In response, UNSOM has established an integrated United Nations presence across Somalia. Despite significant security challenges, I am proud that today the United Nations family has a larger presence on the ground in Somalia than at any time in the past 18 years. The United Nations commitment to live and work alongside Somalis is strong. Our plans are for even greater expansion. Our work depends on having strong partnerships with the Federal Government, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the European Union and Somalia’s neighbouring countries and key partners. Our partnership with AMISOM is extremely strong. With both leadership teams firmly based in Mogadishu, we are working increasingly jointly on delivering our mandates. I am pleased that, despite setbacks and disappointments, Somalia has made political, economic and security progress in the past 12 months and in particular in the last quarter. Politically, the Federal Government has started to address some of the outstanding disputes between the centre and the regions. It has engaged actively with the Interim Juba Administration in the south and decided to support a three-region solution for State-building in south-west Somalia. To the north, relations between Mogadishu and Puntland are strengthening once more. Somalia’s leaders are travelling and engaging in the regions, which is an encouraging development that needs to be strengthened. However, I am concerned by the political turmoil in Mogadishu, which I will address when I turn to the challenges ahead. Economically, the country has continued to show signs of growth, albeit from a distressingly low base. The Federal Government has also taken steps to re-establish donor confidence. A new financial governance committee has been established, composed of Federal Government, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other representatives. There have also been security successes in the past three months. We discussed the recent AMISOM/ Somali national army offensive in our interactive dialogue with AMISOM in April in New York. My friend and colleague Ambassador Annadif will brief the Council further on that. I pay tribute to those Somali and African Union colleagues who have lost their lives in the past year bringing peace to Somalia. There have also been recent improvements in security in Mogadishu. A new Government strategy and closer joint work with AMISOM are beginning to show positive results on the ground, although it is too early and too rash to say that we have seen the end of terrorism. Somali civilians are the ones who make up the vast majority of the victims, but the United Nations is not immune. The deployment of the United Nations guard unit, which was officially inaugurated on 18 May, will help us stay and deliver. Recognizing political, economic and security progress should not and does not blind us to the significant shortcomings and challenges that remain. Under the leadership of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the new Government of Prime Minister Abdiwali Sheikh Ahmed has injected fresh momentum. However, progress on State-building has not been as rapid as needed. When I last briefed the Council in March (see S/PV.7132), I stated that the Federal Government was close to finalizing a detailed blueprint for building a federal Somalia, revising and implementing the Constitution and preparing for elections in 2016. Unfortunately, that critical plan, with timelines and benchmarks, remains pending. As a first priority, the formation of inclusive interim regional administrations  — the first step in the formation of federal member states  — needs to be finalized this year. Progress made with the implementation of the Addis Ababa Agreement, which created the Interim Juba Administration, also needs to be accelerated. We welcome the vital role IGAD is playing in that respect. Police, judiciary and corrections are essential to building sustainable stability and peace, as is the rehabilitation and reintegration of disengaged combatants, including through programmes tailored to children. We must also ensure that those accused and convicted of crimes related to Al-Shabaab have access to programmes to curb extremist ideology and behaviour. The incidence of gender-based violence in Somalia remains unacceptably high. The United Nations team of experts on sexual violence visited Somalia in December last year. We are striving to implement their important recommendations with the Government, AMISOM and other international partners. UNSOM has also been working closely with the Federal Government and AMISOM to provide training on human rights, international humanitarian law and refugee law, including child protection. The national human rights commission has not yet been established. I have travelled a lot in Somalia in the past year and I have listened closely to the concerns and hopes of the Somali people. One message I have heard loud and clear is that they want to see a stable and united country. They also want to see progress by the Federal Government and its international partners to move much further and faster. The year 2014 is critical for Somalia. Time is short. I remain a firm optimist, but it is clear that the Government and its international partners must make faster progress. I fear that Somalia is approaching a critical phase in a number of areas. Politically, there needs to be urgent progress in establishing the mechanisms to revise and implement the Constitution, oversee the establishment of federal states, and prepare for elections. I am concerned that the current political crisis in Mogadishu, which includes a call by over a hundred members of Parliament for the President to resign, could herald a return to the cycle of deadlock and infighting between Somalia’s political institutions that has paralysed Governments since 2000. Somalia needs continuity and stability in its political leadership. The expectations of the Somali people are high and patience is a virtue in short supply. I have worked and will continue to work with international partners and with the President, Prime Minister and Speaker. They are united in their search for solutions. Somalia cannot afford further delays in its State-building process. Its institutions should work together within the distinct roles and responsibilities set out for them in the Constitution to deliver what the people need and expect. There must also be urgent progress on security and stabilization in the newly recovered areas. Locally acceptable administrations need to be established and local people must see peace dividends soon. Access to those areas, currently obstructed by ongoing Al-Shabaab activity, also needs to be secured urgently. The United Nations Peacebuilding Fund has allocated up to $10 million to support the Government’s efforts to deliver tangible peace dividends to communities in those areas and other parts of south-central Somalia. The lack of military helicopters for AMISOM is a critical obstacle. And without further contributions to the trust fund for the Somali National Army, vital logistical support will be impossible. Building a sustainable, professional and truly national Somali army is a strategic priority. To date, despite the considerable efforts of international partners, progress is still fragmentary and insufficient. Without action on those issues, there is a danger that military success will not be consolidated and that insecurity will return. Without more economic progress and development, the credibility of the international community and the Federal Government is also in danger. The Somali people must see greater benefits from the Somali Compact. The United Nations Multi-Partner Trust Fund is now operational, and a national stream has been established to allow for a gradual increase in direct support to the Treasury. More money needs to go into and come out from this and the other international funding mechanisms established to support Somalia’s development. The humanitarian situation risks slipping into the danger zone as well. My deputy and humanitarian coordinator has recently flagged the troubling similarities between the situation today and that before the 2011 famine. There is a real danger of a worsening of the existing crisis as a result of ongoing conflict, poor rains and lack of sustained access to towns due to Al-Shabaab tactics of blocking main supply routes. The funding crisis affecting existing humanitarian operations is further exacerbating the situation. So far this year, the consolidated appeal has received only 19 per cent of the $933 million requested  — leaving a gap of $756 million — to meet the needs of almost 3 million people. The funding situation is so bad that aid agencies are looking at closing down life-saving programmes. For example, UNICEF primary health- care services for 3 million people are on the verge of being cut. Some $60 million are needed immediately to maintain current life-saving operations in just the next two to three months. While we do not know which way the food security situation will go, this is no time for business as usual in Somalia. If Somalia’s humanitarian situation is allowed to slip back into emergency, it will jeopardise the political, economic and development gains that have been achieved. The period between now and my next briefing to the Council will be a testing time for Somalia. I remain confident that its leaders and institutions will rise to the challenge and that international partners will continue and enhance their support in equal measure. But we should not ignore the dangers. I am proud of the collective efforts being made by Somalia’s friends in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union, the European Union, the League of Arab States and the United Nations. They all do so at some personal risk. I pay tribute to those who have lost their lives in this endeavour, as we saw again when two United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime colleagues were tragically killed in April. Building peace comes at a price, but as we all recognize that failure is a cost we cannot afford. I thank the Council for its unwavering support and for its decision to visit Somalia later this year.

I thank Mr. Kay for his briefing. I now give the floor to Mr. Annadif.

One month ago, on 23 and 24 April, my friend Mr. Kay and I joined the Council in New York on the occasion of the interactive dialogue on Somalia. Today, the Council is meeting to discuss the situation involving our main partner, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). Once again the Council has invited us to participate in the discussion. Allow me to convey, on behalf of the African Union and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), sincere thanks for that privilege and especially for the Council’s ongoing support through the adoption of numerous resolutions, in particular resolution 2124 (2013) of 12 November 2013. Concerning UNSOM and all the United Nations entities in Somalia in general, it is a pleasure to be able to tell the Council that our collaboration and that of all the partners with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has been exemplary, as the Special Representative just said, despite the fact that the challenges of the situation in Somalia are numerous and sometimes complex. Regarding AMISOM, as I informed the Council on 23 April in New York, the first phase of military operations was completed on 30 March. The various logistical problems that existed at the start were dealt with thanks to our partnership with the United Nations Support Office for AMISOM. As the Ambassador just mentioned, simultaneously with those operations work was also being done in Mogadishu by the Joint Operations Centre between AMISOM and the Somalian Government, and we can say that security in Mogadishu has improved significantly, despite the persistence of some suicide attacks, targeted assassinations and the planting of improvised explosive devices. In regard to military operations, I should inform the Council that on 29 and 30 May a meeting to assess the first phase will be held in Addis Ababa, aimed at extracting useful lessons and highlighting challenges to be tackled. Meanwhile, AMISOM will continue to keep up the pressure militarily while raising the people’s awareness and organizing them so that they can defend themselves. Secondly, it will continue to deploy police in the liberated cities in order to ensure better security. Thirdly, it will continue to secure the major supply routes to the liberated cities. Fourthly, as Mr. Kay just said, AMISOM will continue training the Somali military to enable them to secure rural areas. Fifthly, the Mission will continue to implement quick- impact projects,. Lastly, as Mr. Kay also said, the issue of helicopters remains a crucial expectation for which we appeal to all partners, particularly the African Union, to find a solution. Concerning the Somalian Federal Government, I firmly agree with the analysis given by the Ambassador just now, but at AMISOM we continue to encourage and assist the Government in appointing local officials to administer the liberated cities in consultation with the communities concerned. Secondly, AMISOM welcomes the various visits the Government has organized to the liberated areas, including that of the Prime Minister and many of his ministers. But one challenge for the Somalian Government that still remains is the failure to pay the Somali military forces’ salaries. The dialogue between the Federal Government and the various States on the periphery is indeed making progress. The Addis Ababa agreement has made progress in Juba, and according to our information, the process is going well in Baidoa. As for me, yesterday I was in Garoowe, in Puntland, and AMISOM is also pleased with the good relations that are developing between Mogadishu and Garoowe. Finally, I wish to inform the Council that the humanitarian situation is still worrying. Financing for the special fund for supporting the Somali national forces remains a concern. To that I should add that the various partners are requested to stick to the plan for providing the resources the Somali Government needs to enable it to carry out its principal task. In conclusion, I can say that the situation in Somalia is developing well. There are challenges, but there is hope, too.

There are no more names inscribed on the list of speakers. I now invite Council members to informal consultations to continue our discussion on the subject.