S/PV.6020
6020th meeting
Thursday, 20 November 2008, 10.30 a.m.
New York
The situation in Somalia
Mr. Dabbashi (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (spoke in Arabic): I wish to begin by thanking the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as well as the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, the Director of the Africa II Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and the representative of Somalia, for their briefings.
The security and humanitarian situation in Somalia is of great concern to my country and to the international community, despite the progress achieved in the negotiations between the Transitional Federal Government and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia. Acts of violence and war continue, and in that respect we reiterate our condemnation of the attack that took place in October 2008 that targeted the office of the United Nations Development Programme. We renew our condolences regarding the victims of that attack.
There is no doubt that recent developments on the ground could represent a regression in the efforts that have been made by Mr. Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, and could negate all the hopes generated by the Djibouti agreement and the ceasefire agreement.
Today, we call upon all of the parties in the Transitional Federal Government to overcome their differences and to unify their efforts to hasten the formation of a new Government to serve the people of Somalia. We also call for the coordination of all regional and international initiatives and efforts in keeping with the role of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, in order to ensure that these efforts are mutually supportive, rather than parallel efforts.
The humanitarian situation in Somalia is deteriorating daily. Humanitarian organizations and emergency aid workers are targeted by threats and attacks from armed groups. The situation has caused certain organizations to suspend their activities, which has had an adverse impact on nearly one million people, who require emergency humanitarian assistance. The humanitarian situation in central and southern Somalia is growing particular dire, because those areas are not covered by humanitarian organizations.
Another humanitarian problem has been caused by the violence between factions, which is of concern to us. That problem affects Somali refugees and displaced persons. Fighting in Mogadishu has forced 108,000 people to flee the city, and the number of displaced persons now exceeds 1.3 million.
We also note the acts of piracy off the coast of Somalia, which pose a real threat to international shipping. International Maritime Organization statistics give a sombre picture of the situation. However, there has been a swift positive reaction on the part of several countries to Security Council resolution 1816 (2008) concerning the fight against piracy. We appreciate the efforts made by all countries that have cooperated with the Transitional Federal Government in the fight against piracy and armed maritime robbery. We support the Secretary-General’s appeal to Member States to participate in those efforts.
In that respect, our appreciation goes in particular to States that have ensured the delivery of humanitarian assistance to those who need it. We support the European Union’s proposal that DPKO play a role in the coordination of operations to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia. We hope that DPKO will study the proposal and that it will formulate an opinion on it.
We are convinced, however, that piracy is a result of the conflict and instability in Somalia and that it will end once a political solution to the problems of Somalia is found. Such a solution must be based on a comprehensive approach in order to deal with all the issues related to Somalia.
Now more than ever, there is an urgent need to deploy an international force on the ground, whatever it may come to be called. We believe that the recent agreement signed by the Transitional Federal Government and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia could form the basis for the deployment of such a force. The agreement on the cessation of armed confrontation signed on 26 October, following a meeting of the High-Level Committee, constitutes an important step in that direction. There is no doubt that priority should now be given to the establishment of an international stabilization force and to strengthening the African Union Mission in Somalia so that it can be an integral part of that force.
Unfortunately, however, the report of the Secretary-General (S/2008/709) provides no timeline for the establishment of such a force, and the two briefings we heard today from representatives of the Secretariat raise further concerns for us. If we understand matters correctly, it was observed that conditions are not ripe for the deployment of such a force, owing to the continuing precarious security situation. But we all know that the United Nations has gained a great deal of experience in the deployment of peacekeeping forces and multinational forces in conditions of instability in their areas of operations.
If we do not wish to deploy a force at this time, what are the alternatives? Can we tell the millions of suffering Somalis that we cannot help them or provide aid? I do not think that is a solution. In my view, we must take advantage of the Djibouti agreement in order to pacify the situation and to begin immediately, in collaboration with the African Union, to deploy a stabilization force in Somalia. We support the Secretary-General’s appeal to Member States to contribute troops, equipment and financial resources for the establishment of such a force, and we urge countries in a position to do so to respond to that appeal so that we can buttress the Djibouti agreement and restore peace and stability to Somalia.
It is our hope that we will very soon hear the views of the Secretary-General, as promised in paragraph 52 of his report, including the alternative proposals of which he wrote in that paragraph.
